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.