For Part 1, click here.

Drunk in Form But Not in Mind
The Thursday just prior to the Tiger Claw Elite Championships and KUNG FU TAI CHI DAY, there was a downpour. That was really weird because California was in the middle of a terrible drought. The same thing happened at the 50th Annual Remembrance of the Late Lau Fat Mang late last year. I like to think of it as auspicious. In Chinese mythology, dragons bring rain. Perhaps a dragon was blessing us. Right now, they are calling the next big El Nino storm Bruce Lee, so maybe a dragon will save California from its parched state next year. But for us, at the very least, the streets were washed.

Our load-in went fairly well overall. There were some random incidents with breaking a door that was already broken and some breaking some glass, but beyond than that, it was one of our most efficient load-ins so far. I was experimenting with Instagram and a hashtag promotion where we would give a free subscription out to someone who hashtagged a photo to #tigerclawelite on Instagram, Twitter or facebook (the winner was announced in our September+October 2015 issue). We had to lay out some 1200 mats for all of the rings. Our IT guy, Matt Ng and I, along with two union workers with the facility, did almost all of the mats on the KungFuMagazine.com side. The two union workers were really fast and enjoyed doing it as it was a really easy task compared to their typical load-in jobs. Laying out puzzle mats is pretty easy really. Because we have to lay out the mats from the Chinese side first, we finished up quickly and then went over to help out the Korean masters and their volunteers lay out their mats. But I had to retreat from that quickly. There were too many people and everyone was getting in everyone’s way – too many masters and everyone wanted to be in charge – so there were commands and counter-commands. I got tired of being ordered about. Besides, they didn’t help us lay out our mats. Don’t get me wrong. I have the utmost respect for the Korean masters and their volunteers. They are all gentlemen and fearsome fighters. It’s just when their boom box started blaring a K-Pop version of Bonnie Tyler’s “I Need a Hero” and Gangnam style, I just couldn’t take it. Gangnam style? Srsly? That’s so 2012.

Back at the office, things were more hectic, or so we were told. Our senior graphic designer Patrick Lugo was supposed to come down for the load-in, but he got trapped with last-minute tasks at the office. The plaques needed correction, some classic Chinglish like “Kis Tiger” and “Outstanding Couch.” Outstanding Couch became a badge of honor for my Dragon Crew.

Once load-in was done, my Kung Fu brother and partner-in-crime Chris Lewin (who now works for Tiger Claw full time) and I fought traffic to get back to Fremont for the Welcoming Banquet at World Gourmet, an Asian buffet that’s right next to our office. I ate there just a few days prior with Professor Wang Peikun. He is one of those Kung Fu masters who can really put away food, and amusingly, he ate mostly. Christopher Pei (our September+October 2013 cover master) generously volunteered to serve as our emcee again. In his eagerness to introduce everyone in the room, he skipped me, much to the amusement of everyone who noticed. I didn’t take it personally. Chris is an old friend, my comrade emcee, and a fellow martial artist who has a Pomeranian, so we’ve bonded in the most unusual manner for Kung Fu brothers. And I will exact some sort of revenge, something steeped in poetic justice, because that’s what Kung Fu people do. The banquet was fun, as always – so many old Kung Fu friends.

Chris Lewin and I made it back to San Jose for a nightcap at the hotel bar. We were both trying to pace ourselves for the weekend, so while there were several participants hanging out there already, we weren’t overly social. One judge tried to propound his beer knowledge to us but he really didn’t know that much about beer. He made a major gaff when he tried to profess his knowledge on one of the California breweries where one of my good friends works. Srsly?

Drunk in Step But Not in Heart

Tiger Claw Elite Championships 2015 got off to a rough start for me. One of my tasks is to oversee my Dragon Crew, which mostly serves as gatekeepers. Mad props to the TCEC 2015 Dragon Crew: Rich Anderson, Paul Blair, Jeff Ferreira, David Hardy, Jeff Hung, Chris Lewin, Shawnie Ledbetter, Ti Pence, Kuga Pence, Edgar Puga, Hoel Rainier, Hieu Tran, Manh Tong Tran, Ernesto Viniegra, Alex Yu, and Yu Yu (also worthy of mention was the Bad Ass Bunny Productions, who fall under the Dragon Crew umbrella: Greg Lynch Jr., Jon Chan, Rii Kanizaki, and Mark Maggi). I was delighted to have three father-and-son volunteers on the Dragon Crew this year, the Pences, the Trans and the Yus. I was also pleased to get them all in red shirts (most of the Dragon Crew appreciated that as they know Star Trek).

The bulk of the Dragon Crew arrives early because we have to secure the gates first. But in that scramble, someone swiped a bunch of the red shirts. Now I oversee crews at music festivals, so I’ve distributed crew shirts many times in the past. It’s reflex for me to count them out and double-check to make sure my crew is covered, so I know I had them when I got there. But I left them unguarded for a moment and that’s surely when someone snatched them. It put me in a really bad mood at the start. Fortunately, the Tiger Claw booth could replace them, although not with “SECURITY” on the back because they didn’t bring any of those to sell. I was tempted to use the Girl Pow! because I was rather grumpy about this, but that would have punished the wrong people, so I went with a Yin Yang.

Adding insult to injury, additional last-minute gates were added, stretching my crew pretty thin. And other crews kept trying to steal my crewpersons. Chris Lewin was fair game as he was now a Tiger Claw employee so other divisions tried to lay claim. And Jeff Hung was stolen to judge.

All of this shuffling kept me off the microphone for most of the morning, which was just as well; the day got off to a really bad start. Not having the mic turned out to be a blessing in disguise because when I have a mic, everyone gets up in my face, part and parcel an emcee. I was grateful for the break, even if it was short-lived.

I always try to take notes, mostly for this report, but there is so much going on that I seldom get the chance. When the Tiger Claw Elite Championships are actually going down, it’s just a huge blur for me, a constant stream of problem-solving and schmoozing. I’m sure it’s the same for all our division leaders. But it’s fun too. I love the chaos of it.

This year, several of the schools upped their game. There are so many schools in the San Francisco Bay Area that it takes some real style to stand out. This is especially true for the ubiquitous Modern Wushu schools here now. Modern Wushu fashion struggles to be trendy. There is a trend towards modern sport attire with snazzy Olympic-style sweats. Li-Ning, China’s most prominent athletic brand, makes Wushu uniforms, but their logo feels sadly derivative of the Nike swoosh and their fashion sense borders on Star Trek uniforms, just without enough red shirts. On the opposite edge, there’s also a trend towards fancy uniforms like the lavish costumes in movies. Some of these remind me of figure skating outfits, all sequins and shiny silks. It’s quite dazzling, almost to the level of cosplay. Then there are those traditionalists who still dress like Chinese peasants, simple Kung Fu Pants and a school T-shirt. The uniforms at Chinese martial arts tournaments are anything but uniform. Again, don’t get me wrong. I love all the diversity and encourage this completely. I love the way schools and competitors strive to express themselves with such a colorful array of fashion, but no matter how flowery and embroidered the uniforms become, it still comes down to the skills.

Despite the fancy uniforms, only a few teachers and coaches really prepare their kids for competition. They know their forms but they don’t know the unspoken etiquette of a tournament. This is especially true for the bane of any emcee – the parents. When I inevitably took the mic, parents came up to me complaining in droves. I anticipate this. I’m a parent too and my kid has competed (although not in martial arts), so I can sympathize. The difference is that I competed in martial arts tournaments as a youth, and things were much tougher in my day. Nowadays coaches might score their students higher. My old Kung Fu master would score us lower. My classmates and I used to dread if he was judging us at a tournament. But that’s how old skool Kung Fu used to be.

What surprised me was that over a dozen of the complaints were parents requesting “do overs.” Srsly? I had to explain to them that there are no “do overs” at a tournament. That’s partly the point. I exercised the utmost restraint and am rather proud of myself that I answered as respectfully as possible without the slightest hint of sarcasm. Here’s one exchange that stuck out in my head.

Parent: “My kid was distracted. When he did his form, someone called out his name from another ring so he stopped. Can he have a ‘do over’?”

Me: “There are no ‘do overs.’ Every tournament has lots of distractions and every competitor must be prepared to deal with them.”

Parent: “But he doesn’t have any experience at tournaments.”

Me: “He does now.”

Remarkably, all of the “do over” complaints conceded to my refusals. But it made me ponder how many of today’s martial arts schools are after-school babysitting programs. There’s nothing wrong with that. That’s just business and it’s great that these kids get a chance to start martial arts so young (as long as it’s not Drunken Style). But if schools begin to coddle their students, they lose the essence of Kung Fu. Just like there are no “do overs” in tournaments, there can be no coddling in Kung Fu.

Not all the kids were coddled. The new WildAid Kid Tigers divisions for the WildAid Tiger Claw Championship was awesome. We were eager to expand the division because all of the proceeds from this go to WildAid, so the more competitors, the better. Plus it’s the next generation that we really want to reach with this (it’s the next generation that we really want to reach with everything moral). The kids came out in force and competed valiantly. I’d almost go so far as to say that the Kid Tigers divisions were more exciting than the adult division. But you can judge for yourself.

The Drunken Style Championship went well too. Turnout was small, only five competitors, but there was a pleasing range of Drunken Style exhibited, some traditional and some Modern Wushu. The Drunken Five were like the Five Deadly Venoms, with each competitor delivering a unique interpretation of the style. Everyone was satisfied. Even several of the head judges and grandmasters commented that it was a special treat.

TCEC 2015: Drunken Style Highlights

 

The Tiger Claw Elite Championships 2015 ended on time, which is something I’m always proud to report as so many Chinese martial arts tournaments fail here. And despite all my Drunken fervor, there was a very mellow after-party, probably the least attended so far, but it also went the latest. Chris Lewin and I were the only Tiger Claw reps present there and we both went the distance.

The next morning, it was overcast yet very pleasant for KUNG FU TAI CHI DAY. The weather was cool, with light cloud cover, perfect for a day in the Plaza de Cesar Chavez. I confess I might have been a little hung-over, but did my best to keep things rolling at our little street fair. My role there isn’t as significant. To be honest, I don’t even remember how the Simplified Taiji 24 went for me this year. It was the most coordinated mass demonstration so far, thanks to the tireless efforts of Jeff Lin, but for me personally, I don’t remember messing up so I must not have. I’m just going to stick to that story.

Later that day, I noticed that I had cut my knuckle over the course of the weekend. Did I hit someone? Not that I could recall. Maybe one of those parental complaints went really badly and I blocked it out of my memory. They say that finding mysterious injuries is a warning sign of alcoholism, but I don’t remember drinking that much at all. Maybe I blacked it all out. I’m going to stick to this story too.

One More for the Road

The Monday after Tiger Claw Elite Championships and KUNG FU TAI CHI DAY, things slowly came back to normal. The raspy sounds of tape guns echoed through the vast Tiger Claw warehouse as the staff returned to their daily task of fulfilling orders. For our publishing department, we started digging into production of our September+October 2015 issue, and posting photos on our facebook and sharing stories from the weekend, as each of us saw the events from a different perspective.

For our Kung Fu Wisdom end page in that issue, our March+April 2003 cover master and most prolific calligraphy contributor, Grandmaster Tu Jin Sheng consented to providing a special small piece at my request. Xing zui yi bu zui; bu zui xin bu zui. It’s a saying from Drunken Style Kung Fu, ‘Drunk in form but not in mind; Drunk in step but not in heart.’ This might well be the epitaph for my dear Drunken Style Championship. To be honest, I’m not sure if we’ll be able to stage this event again. Despite all of the enthusiasm for it, it will depend on getting a sponsor. Kung Fu Girl Riesling has become very popular. I see it at restaurant bars everywhere. They don’t need our promotion anymore. So if any of you loyal readers have a lead on a potential sponsor for next year, please send them to me.

The 2016 Tiger Claw Elite Championships and KUNG FU TAI CHI DAY is scheduled for May 21-22. Next year is the Year of the Monkey so we will hold a Showcase Division, the Monkey King Championship, open to all proponents of Monkey Style Kung Fu. We are consolidating our event so it will all be held in the South Hall of San Jose McEnery Convention Center. This won’t affect the non-Chinese Championships, only the KungFuMagazine.com Championship. Both the Internal and Showcase Divisions will be held on Sunday. Sunday will also have all of the attractions of KUNG FU TAI CHI DAY, the Masters’ Demonstration and workshops, and it will be free admission for spectators.

We are also developing another Showcase Division, the 1st Wushu Nandu Championship. Spearheading this are veteran Wushu proponents Emilio Alpanseque and Brandon Sugiyama. Advanced Nandu athletes will compete with ONE Empty Hand Routine (Changquan, Nanquan, Taijiquan) and ONE Short Weapon routine (Daoshu, Jianshu, Nandao, Taijijjian) for a combined total score that will determine the winner of each division. There will only be four divisions: Men’s 14-17 years or 18+ years and Women’s Men’s 14-17 years or 18+ years. This Championship will use the International Wushu Federation IWUF 2005 Rules for judging. As a Showcase Division, the Wushu Nandu Championship is independent of the Modern Wushu Divisions and will have no effect upon the Modern Wushu Grand Champions. This will be held on Saturday, but the other Showcase Championships, the WildAid Tiger Claw Championship, the Monkey King Championship and the Drunken Style Championship (if we find a sponsor) will be held on Sunday.

Cheers!