Nick Scrima`s 2004 Tournament

[yu shan]

Oso- Nick has a school in Dunedin Fla. He teaches Mi Zong Lou Han and has trained in many styles. He is a good Teacher, you can tell this by just watching his students, they train hard. If your ever in Tampa, check his school out, very nice! You might PM the poster named "Tak", or google for more info.

I just wish Nick would be fair with our group, and allow us to support MA at his tournament. Because a certain MA School which has large numbers $$$ doesn`t want us there, he caves. What do you do!?

[18elders]

Unfortunately MC (WL) has banned pong lai from judging or being in the Masers demo. Too bad, you will lose quality judging and miss out on some great kung fu. So much for the fellowship. I imagine all my kung fu brothers from wah lum that i have know for years will be too afraid to talk to us also.





www.ponglai.com

[woliveri]

18Elders,

Why don't you guys just go to the tournament and relentlessly kick ass.

Show your colors and the truth will come out.

Eventually there will be enough MA diversity in Florida where WL will be banning themselves.

[Oso]

pong lai, yu shan, 18elders:

woliveri has, imho, a point. let's just kick some ass.

i dunno about about the tampa school but let's send J and maybe R from the Nashville school in for forms. None of my folks are ready for big time forms comps yet and I'll handle the sparring end...hope that's not egotistical, but...I am PL now

let's just show what it's all about...

[Hua Lin Laoshi]

I learned 25 years ago that politics, in one way or another, dominates competitions no matter what their claims. It's all a matter of how much you value trophies (although it is a good way to get your name out).

One of my goals at WL was to be good enough that they can no longer ignore me. Work hard, build a following and promote the arts and you won't be brushed aside so easily.

As for any other 'resolutions' then, you know, open Peac0ck feathers and all that.

Stupid censoring software! You can't even say pea****. Can you tone that thing down a little?

[flem]

hua lin,
not to be an a$$ or anything, but "being good enough" hasn't seemed to work. it seems that you are either have to be without personal standards or you have to be willing to sacrifice them in order to succeed in the wl org. thats the way it seems from my perspective. seems you're always having to "take one for the team", but when you need the team...!

[Starchaser107]

I'll be there.
i hope it's fun, it'll be my second time competing overseas.

[18elders]

the part that bothers me is that i think they need more judges, if you look at any of the rings, at least 2 out of the 4 judges are wah lum. It is not fair for ANY OTHER STYLE, there should be only 1 judge from any school in each ring, no 2 or 3 from the same organization.
Maybe we should just wear wah lum t-shirts and we will score higher.
I think it really sucks, you have people coming from all over, spending alot of money to come and they won't be judged well.
I won't be scored well anyways, i don't have any flips, splits or acrobatical stuff in my form.

[Starchaser107]

is the politics really that bad?
that's sort of depressing.
i'm not a mantid or anything i dunno much about this.
i guess i'll just have to see for myself.

[Tainan Mantis]

My friend Shanghai Kid,
That is the spirit!

Hua Lin Laoshr,
I agree with you about you being noticed if you were good enough.
But the question I ask is what is good enough?

Here are some of my view points.

For punches,
To be able to punch through a brick wall.
And no wise ass comments about bricks not fighting.

To have a pi smashhing action like Paul Bunyon on a giant redwood.

The kick of a bucking bronco.
And I don't mean after the hoedown, but while he is fenced in next door to lass in hotness(Chinese translastion of the term).

A head like a granite block.

A bag of those Pilates exercise balls for courage.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.
So that we can tie this all together with Wude and a shaolin spirit.
We need a heart of love.

[Hua Lin Laoshi]

Tainan and flem
My comment about being good enough concerns the general public and your peers. If you're seen around and show you know your stuff you can't be ignored. At first you can be dismissed but sooner or later people begin to wonder. During the Tournament 2000 Masters show quite a few students saw me and another Temple instructor (who's name will not be mentioned so we'll just call him M, or Mr. Big) sitting in the audience and questioned why were weren't up there performing.

I don't rank anywhere near the upper level of talent that came out of WL and is still at WL but I believe I've gained a fair level of respect with a lot of the students and with my martial arts brothers in other styles. I've reached the level of Sifu within the system and I've been working on promoting myself rather than waiting and counting on others to give me a leg up. Like me or not, they all have to deal with me know.

Specifically speaking, Tainan, good enough is being able to execute the moves correctly, cleanly, with power and understanding, and the ability to demonstrate the application when teaching. Also any other specialized skill that's beyond the ability of the general public. Your knowledge alone as demonstrated on this forum has given you a reputation that's not easily destroyed. If I tried to say you were a nutcase and didn't know what you're talking about or that you weren't good enough to teach everyone would think that I'm the nutcase.

Generally speaking let others see what you can do, what you know and how you conduct yourself. Don't try to steal power and strength through negativity towards others. Instead build your own power and strength through your deeds and others will notice. Nobody is without fault but try to minimize any area that could be open for attack (verbally speaking). If anyone tries to dismiss you or marginalize you the rest of the world will question their motives and integrity. I guess this is just a long way of saying be the better man but fight when you have no choice.

BTW, never sacrifice personal standards to succeed. Rather, use your standards to succeed.

[Hua Lin Laoshi]

Another thing flem, in my personal experiences there is no team. I may be a bit jaded but that's how I grew up. I've had friends turn against me in a fight. When sh1t goes down I'm always prepared to be on my own now matter how much people tell me they have my back. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Then when it's their turn, well, no obligations is sometimes a good thing. Sorry, can't help you out this time.

Life is just a long series of problems to solve. I guess I'd be bored if it wasn't.

[yu shan]

Starchaser107- By all means, go to the tournament, and good luck. While there, keep an ear out for KFM posters. We are trying to get together.

Hua Lin Laoshi- I also wonder "what is good enough". I have seen MANY very talented MA Teachers in WL get booted or leave. I have questioned this for years. WL does attract high quality. Yet after years of dedication, the so-called Temple turns their back on Teachers, unfortunately when they are doing bad, or Suzi gets upset.

Shanghai_kid This rif between Pong Lai and Wah Lum originated from a WL Shifu`s wife egging on a student posting on KFM. The student was pressured into "saying things" on KFM. I must agree, at some point there needs to be a fight. We have tried to be civil, but WL has nothing to loose... but a fight!

[Frogman]

“Shanghai_kid This rif between Pong Lai and Wah Lum originated from a WL Shifu`s wife egging on a student posting on KFM. The student was pressured into "saying things" on KFM.”

yushan

With all due respect sir,
I find it hard to believe that one individual’s remarks in a post could cause such a rift. I know what your talking about and as much as I would like not, to respond, I think the record should be set straight about WWW. The student posting acted on his own most likely thinking he was doing the right thing, school pride and all that. He was a character, no doubt, and has since moved on. At no time was he egged, ask, instructed, or pressured into “saying anything”. On the contrary, the only request made of him was to consider what he posted before putting his foot in his mouth. It was WWW and WWW alone that submitted those posts, if I remember he did also apologize. Besides there are lots of things said here online if you put to much into the text you need to back away from the PC. Things can easily be misinterpreted. There’s nothing wrong with a little controversy (mantis style), and politics are unavoidable with so many people, but it doesn’t have to be a soap opera. The rift is well beyond WWW a 2 year student who posted about things he did not understand. The tournament issue is unfortunate but is doubtful that it was determined by any of these posts. This is also beyond me and I am stepping out of this one.
I personal have no reason to not have an open communication with everyone here, and am looking forward to meeting many of my online friends, regardless of where they train.

Peace,

RibHit
fm

[Starchaser107]

"good luck. While there, keep an ear out for KFM posters. We are trying to get together"
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cool, tnx
same 2 u,
I'll keep an ear out.