#hand form

Glove designer

Checking the details of a large hand form

On Saturday, August 30, 2011, I participated in the ICMAC, held for the first time in Boston. The competition showcases different levels and styles of Chinese Martial Arts. The senior team from Wu Dao has competed in these tournaments at other cities over the last few years. The competition being held in Boston allowed more of us students the opportunity to compete and test ourselves.

My friend Tabea and I were eligible to compete in the Women's Beginner Traditional Hand Forms Division.  We both did the same Shaolin hand form that we have learned over the last four months.  In the last competition held at our school, Tabea placed first and I placed third.  So my simple goal this time around was to beat her... nothing like friendly competition! I did achieve my goal and came in first place!  

Sadly, we were the only two competitors in our division.  It would have been nice if there were more female competitors. In general, there were very few women adult competitors in traditional Chinese martial arts compared to those competing in wushu or tai chi divisions. Regardless of the lack of competitors in my division, my reason for competing was to continue to challenge myself in kung fu.  I also competed in front of a larger audience, something that I am very uncomfortable with, but constantly working to overcome.

Overall, watching the tournament was an eye-opener.  And not necessarily in a good way.  It amazed me how in some divisions, style and flashiness scored higher than good form, technique, and power.  

A year ago, when I decided to try Kung Fu as a martial arts path, part of the reason I thought it would be a good fit was because it seemed creative in nature, and that my dancing experience would compliment it.  Boy was I wrong.  The only thing dancing brought to the table was some flexibility.  Otherwise, much of what I learned in dancing was counterproductive to traditional Kung Fu.  

I recognize now that what I thought I was going to train for in Kung Fu was wushu. Wushu is a modern style of martial arts primarily aimed at exhibition and competition, and often includes more acrobatic jumps and movements added for enhanced visual effect.  Much of what you see in the Kung Fu movies involves wushu.  However, Wu Dao focuses on traditional Kung Fu, with less exhibition and more basics of techniques and their practical applications.

The reason I mention this is because many of the competitors had flashy moves and jumps to "wow" the judges and audience, yet their techiniques were lacking.  Eye contact was on the floor, posture was bad, stance work wasn't sharp.  And yet some of these people ended up getting higher scores than those who had clean stance work and more powerful movements. I disagreed with a lot of judges' decisions.  It was disheartening to watch some of our team lose to others that were not as solid in their forms and techniques. 

That being said, this competition reinforced my love for Wu Dao. I truly appreciate the training that Shi-Fu provides us in class every time. Even when I spend 30 minutes on the same floor drill and I feel drained of energy, I recognize that it's for a reason.  The basics are important; the application is key.  With determination comes power.  

This tournament completes my first year of kung fu training.  May year two be even better.

On Saturday, April 9, 2011, I competed in my first kung fu tournament.  It was held by my school, Wu Dao, as an all day event. All ages from children to adults were able to demonstrate hand forms, weapon forms and sparring.

I went in the afternoon to help with photography of the teen and adult divisions.  I also competed in the adult novice hand forms.  It made it a little easier that in the division, I was competing with my classmates, so some pressure was taken off. I ended up getting a bronze medal in the event.  It was nervous and exciting to participate, especially since I never competed in an athletic-based event in my entire life.  The competition made me want to strive even more to get better in Kung Fu specifically, but also my physical fitness as a whole.  I really need to do more muscle conditioning and weight lifting.

This event also compels me to compete in more events.  My hope is to compete in the ICMAC Tournament in July.  Just need to ask work for the time off on that Saturday...