Martial Artistry: Shaolin kung fu, wushu, tai chi, Chinese lion dance, dragon dancing and weapons training in Albuquerque, NM - exhibition, Belen Tournament results, Shaolin Temple Training Trip

This Page Last Updated 05/23/03

JUNE 2002
(Kung Fu & Wushu at Little Flower, Belen Tournament, Shaolin Training Trip)

Kung Fu and Wushu Exhibition at Little Flower Daycare

Wednesday June 12, 2002

Oopsie! Guess who forgot the camera . . . AGAIN!

This was a fun little demo for a bunch of cute kids in the parking lot of Little Flower Daycare. "Interesting" memories include:

The "Listening Test". Did YOU pass? Johnathan, Nick, Diana and Alex: No...

The "Reading Test". Did YOU pass? Iwin and Chris: No...

The "Listening AND Reading Test". Did YOU pass? Lan, Danielle and Nancy: We did!

Italian ice - YUM!

Chris unveils his buzzsaw kick! Oops...

Water fights and diaper dust -- a deadly combination!

Iwin and parking -- another deadly combination!

Hub City Open Tournament

Saturday June 8, 2002 Got kung fu? We do! We also got trophies. Lots of 'em, especially this weekend. That's Kris Klarer with one, at right, and by the way, ain't his pants spiffy? Five of our students competed in the Hub City Open in Belen, NM, and -- naturally -- they rocked. One of the cool things about this tournament is that the promoters do their best to support soft style: that is, kung fu and wushu. They even give us our own divisions.
		Well, as usual, *our* Wild and Crazy students don't know the meaning of the word "fear". They've already figured out that it's not the trophy that counts, but sharpening one's self against the skills of others. When offered a guaranteed first or second by being separated into a small division, these guys and gals declined. The more competition, the merrier! The rule here is: until you give up, you are never defeated. Someone else got that first place? Well, then, better train harder. *(LEFT: Reserve National Champion Monique Cordova competes with double head spear)*
At right, Paul Klarer doesn't look at all daunted by the fact that he's competing against both hard and soft stylists in the weapons division, and that every single one of them has more - and most far more - experience than beginner he.
	It's that kind of "heart of a lion" attitude that enables Martial Artistry students to pull off surprises like this one: Meet beginner Iwin White. Iwin decides he'd like to have a go at Full Contact Fighting. Too bad he has no competition at the beginner level. So who does he end up fighting? A black belt with 12 years experience! The black belt takes a swing at Iwin's head. Iwin ducks and steps in neatly for an equal and opposite sweep.
Wham! The black belt goes down, and Iwin is on him like a tiger. End of story. Beginner Iwin wins against a seasoned black belt by unanimous decision.
		At left, Kris Klarer competes in the beginner forms division.
As you can see from the photo below, our gang did real well, sweeping the weapons division, among other things. The results, in no particular order:

	KRIS KLARER 3rd Place: Beginner Forms Age 10-11 3rd Place: Weapons Age 10-11 PAUL KLARER 1st Place: Beginner Soft Style Forms-Executive 1st Place: Weapons - Adult CHRIS BACA (at left) 2nd Place: Adult Kyu Men's Forms 1st Place: Adult Kyu Weapons 1st Place: Adult Team Forms
MONIQUE CORDOVA 1st Place: Adult Kyu Women's Forms 2nd Place: Adult Kyu Weapons 2nd Place: Adult Kyu Sparring 1st Place: Adult Team Forms (that's Monique at right, finishing skyward kick with sole into splits)
	IWIN WHITE 2nd Place: Beginner Soft Style Forms-Adult 3rd Place: Adult Kyu Weapons 2nd Place: Beginner Men's Sparring 1st Place: Men's Full Contact Fighting (Iwin finishes wheelarm at left)

Training with the Shaolin Monks in Henan Province

June 23 - July 3, 2002 Keep your eye on this website for photos and details of our upcoming trip to Songshan (Mountain) in Henan Province, home of the original Shaolin Temple. Thanks to the gracious assistance of a disciple of Shi De Cheng, Sifu and Assistant Instructor Chris Baca will be training for two weeks with some of the martial monks. Just to whet your appetite, here are some photos from some of Sifu's past China trips... Nobody remembers what town this was, but this display had been put up for the Clinton visit. That's Sifu way down at the lower left hand corner.

These training trips aren't all work and no play, however. Here, Ken gives one of the demons in Feng Du, the Ghost City, a high five.
	Fengdu was such a friendly place! One of the helpful ghosts even gave Sifu a massage. We understand he was a graduate of the Lan Nguyen School of Massage Therapy and Brutal Pummeling.
Yes, we did cross this bridge. Do we remember where it was? No . . . We think it was Fengdu, and seem to recall returning across it in the dark. Kinda creepy . . .

A photo on the scenic Yangtze River. Fishermen ply these waters all up and down the river, but it's a dangerous occupation. The current of the Yangtze is extremely strong and treacherous. Note the steepness of the rocks. Notice any trail? And look above and slightly to the left of the fisherman's hat. Those two little dots in that white area are his shoes...
The mist-shrouded mountains of the Yangtze . . .

We're not sure where in China this one was taken. We've traveled the country pretty extensively, and were really bad about (a) getting film developed in a timely manner and (b) labeling photos. Now all the trips are hopelessly jumbled together. A digital camera and a computer on this journey should help to keep things better organized... Questions? Comments? Email Martial Artistry