After a 10 day
break in early August we came back just in time
to make last minute preparations for the the
Annual Open Black Belt World Championships. We
sent 3 competitors from our school, (Ian
Sinclair, Johnathan Naughton, and Chris Follet)
and were joined by our friend, Nic Langman, a
Karate student of local Sensei Gill Gauthier.
Some of you may remember Nic from his friendly
visits to our club last winter.
To say that we were happy with the outcome would
be an understatement. Ian Sinclair entered six
events and placed first in all six. Chris Follet
brought back four trophies - 3 second and 1
third. John Naughton won 2 second place trophies.
Mr. Langman won first in the Semi-contact
Kickboxing, and third in Okinawan Kata.
In addition to meeting some legendary martial
arts figures and movie stars, we met competitors
and masters from many countries. Martial artists
from Africa, Brazil, Japan, China, India, Nepal
competed, shared, taught, and demonstrated a
great variety of styles, some of which we had
never seen before.
The event had 200 registrants from 15 countries,
although post 9/11 paranoia seems to have caused
many competitors to be refused visas. The number
of actual attendees was lower than hoped.
There was a great list of guests and dignitaries.
The opportunity to visit with high ranking
masters from a wide range of martial arts, made
the event worth the trip. All of these VIPs
agreed that the event itself was one of the best
events they had ever seen. Very impressive for
its first year.
The most noticeable thing about this event for
the competitors was the obvious dedication of the
promoters to make the show about the arts and the
artists. The events were fair and well organised.
The judges were all qualified and marked
according to recognised standards.
Too many tournament promoters take advantage of
the competitors’ money and time, and give them
nothing of value in return. Judges are usually
not trained to judge, and sometimes are not even
martial artists. Promoters have been known to
pick judges out of the audience on the day of the
event. How many times have you been at a
tournament and heard the words “Could we have a
black belt judge to ring 7 please?” Such events
make a mockery of themselves and of the
competitors who attend. That is why so few
schools encourage their students to attend open
tournaments.
Fortunately this event has a good chance of
changing all that. There was only one ring. The
judges were chosen well ahead of time for their
qualifications, and represented at least as many
countries as the competitors did. The criteria
for judging was determined and known well ahead
of time by the judges and the competitors.
There were marvelous demonstrations of martial
arts from many countries. Chinese Wushu, Sikh
Gatka, Brazilian Capoeira, Japanese Jiu Jitsu,
African Angolo, Korean Tae Kwan Do and Hapkido,
American Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Tai
Chi, and more.
There were celebrity demonstrations by Cynthia
Rothrock, Bill “Superfoot” Wallace, Dan and Chad
Netherland, Michael Jai White, Don “The Dragon”
Wilson, Germon Miller, Klaus Schumacher, Jocelyn
Toy, Robert Cutrell, and more.
My hat is off to Werner Leuschner, his family,
and all those who helped him put on such a
wonderful event.
And to those who missed it, you can watch the
event in Cineplex Theatres across Canada on
October 20.
All serious traditional martial artists should do
their best to attend next year. You will be glad
you did.
On another note:
Hong Luck Kung Fu, one of the oldest kung fu
clubs in Canada, celebrated their 46th
anniversary this August. Kara and Ian Sinclair
had the good fortune to attend and join in
congratulating Master Paul Chan and his many
students.
