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July 13, 2002 July was a big month for us, with the training trip to the Shaolin Temple in China, and kung fu and wushu exhibitions every weekend. Things were pretty crazy, and we had to turn down and/or reschedule some awesome venues, but somehow, we survived. Heck, we thrived! Summerfest changed its format this year, from highlighting different cultures to highlighting different styles of music and what-have-you. Anywho, the focus on this night was sports, and with wushu being the new sport introduced by China when Beijing hosts the Summer Olympics, well, we were a natural. Combine the grace of ice skating with the thrills of gymnastics and the power of the martial arts and its easy see why wushu will take the world by storm when it is added to the Olympics in Beijing in 2008! And, who better to showcase it than Martial Artistry's Team Steel Phoenix? |
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| Nothing like an emergency to get the old creative juices flowing. At the last minute, we discovered one of our team members couldn't make the show. To help fill in the gap, National Champion Chris Baca and Gold Medalist Diana Ma (above) came up with this snake spear vs. pudao fighting set -- that afternoon! | ||
| The acrobatics portion of our program is always popular with the crowds. (right) Beginning wushu and kung fu student Alex Daniels performs multiple back walkovers. |
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(below) Alex Daniels, Danielle Stender and Nick Montoya drop into dragon stance during the Kung Lik Kuen, or Power Fist Form. |
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(below) Lan Nguyen and Alex Daniels levitate their side kicks -- that is, side kick and freeze, holding the kicking leg aloft for several seconds. |
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(left) Nicole Neff and James Cole tornado kick into a fall, then scissor and side kick from a prone position. | |
| (right) Reserve National Champion Monique Cordova confronts her imaginary opponent with mandarin duck razors crossed and ready. |
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(left) Senior Student, Steel PhoenixTeam Leader and Instructor's Aide Amir Shirkhorshidian rises into crane with double tiger's paws in Nanquan, or Southern Fist. | |
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(below) National Champion Chris Baca and Gold Medalist Diana Ma clash weapons in a snake spear vs. pudao fighting set . . . |
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| . . . as the crowd cheers them on. | ||
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| (right) Junior Instructor's Aide Danielle Stender and Nicole Neff push palm in crane stance in He Shan, or Crane Fan. |
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(left) Instructor's Aide James Cole soars sky high in the aerial -- a cartwheel with no hands. The aerial has been added as a requirement in two of the current wushu compulsories: Changquan, or Long Fist, and Daoshu, or broadsword play. | |
| (right) Instructor's Aide Jonah Donnarumma also takes to the air with the aerial cartwheel. Martial Artistry is the only wushu school in New Mexico that has a specialized class that focuses on these high-end, but essential, wushu techniques. Which is why so many of our students can do all of the qualifying moves for the new, more demanding compulsories. |
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(left) Assistant Instructor Jason Padilla presents Shenyu Changquan, or Oracle Long Fist -- an extrememly popular form with Martial Artistry students. | |
| (right) National Champion Lan Nguyen takes to the sky in the jump split front kick. She kind of looks like a little puppy, doesn't she? But the real trick is her landing -- in full side splits. Ow! |
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(left) Beginner Alex Daniels side kicks and strikes with the fan in He Shan. | |
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(below) Our own Li Mu Bai, Amir Shirkhorshidian, displays grace, precision and power in the straight sword set, Hua Zai Feng Jian, or Blossoms on the Wind Straight Sword. |
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| (right) National Champion Chris Baca front flips. |
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| (below) Instructor's Aide James Cole and Assistant Instructor Amir Shirkhorshidian in jianshu, or straight sword play (get those back hands up, guys!). | ||
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(left) Although he appears to be levitating in his sleep, Instructor's Aide Jonah Donnarumma is actually executing a butterfly twist. Note the height he gets in this technique, not to mention his perfectly horizontal position in the air. Way to go, Jonah! | |
| (right) Jason Padilla snags some air in the jump front kick. |
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(left) Assistant Instructor and Reserve Nation Champion Monique Cordova strikes out of a forward roll with the dao, or broadsword. | |
| (right) Nicole Neff looks toward her descent from the butterfly kick (arm position, Nicole....). |
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(left) Alex Daniels pulls her leg aloft in skyward kick with sole. (right) She starts her descent, still in splits. (below) Alex falls all the way to the ground, never leaving the splits, in this seldom seen ditangquan, or ground tumbling boxing, technique. |
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(left) Team Leader Amir Shirkhorshidian strikes a dramatic pose with the straightsword, or jian. | |
| (below) Instructor's Aide Amir Shirkhorshidian and Reserve National Champion Monique Cordova lean back and parry in Golden Phoenix Double Daggers. | ||
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| (right) Assistant Instructor and National Champion Chris Baca spins the three tip lance. He'll be debuting a new lance in our "Feast with the Beasts" show at the Albuquerque Bio Park on Friday, August 23. This huge monster stands taller than Chris can reach with his arm and hand fully extended, and is a heavy combat weight. An impressive and intimidating weapon! |
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(left) Instructor's Aide James Cole backflips, to the delight of the audience. Backflips are a must for such advanced and athletic styles as Hou Quan, or monkey Fist, Ditang Quan, or ground tumbling boxing, and Zui Quan, or Drunken Boxing. | |
| (right) And, speaking of monkey fist and ground tumbling boxing, Instructor's Aide Jonah Donnarumma has learned a bit of both. Here he finishes a ditang quan series of headsprings with a front kick into a fall. |
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(left) Johnathan Padilla snaps into a salute as he finishes a changquan set. | |
| (right) Alex Daniels finishes a wheeling arm (extended foot flat, Alex, and back palm faces down). You can see why many students envy her dragon (aka crouch) stance . . . |
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(left) Steel Phoenix Team Leader and Senior Student Amir Shirkhorshidian descends from a airborne 180 into splits as he performs the demanding straight sword set, Hua Zai Feng Jian. | |
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(below) Nicole Neff and Instructor's Aide James Cole carp kip up in Nanquan, or Southern Boxing. |
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| (right) National Champion Chris Baca in the tiger boxing set. |
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(below) Instructor's Aide James Cole and Assistant Instructor Chris Baca land in splits from the flying lotus kick |
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(left) Jonah Donnarumma is a
real hit with his monkey staff. Note the straight up and down position
of his body. As all the basics fall into line, Jonah should be ready to present a monkey staff set by the time of our State Fair Kung Fu and Wushu Exhibitions. Click to see our appearance schedule. |
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(below) Assistant Instructors Monique Cordova and Jason Padilla play Feng Huo Lun, or the wind and fire wheels, just one of the many exotic weapons taught at Martial Artistry. |
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| (below) Instructor's Aide James Cole tornado kicks over the whip chain. | ||
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As always, we had a blast showing off at
Summerfest. Thanks to all you folks who braved the blazing heat to
come out and cheer us on. See you at the Albuquerque Bio Park and the
New Mexico State Fair! Questions? Comments?
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