That Austin Martial Arts Festival is a gathering of many different arts right? I remember they had a BJJ tourny there last year.
Yep, but turn out was poor last year. Only one dude showed up for no gi on the 2nd day. I don’t know about the reg. Bjj comp.
But with all the other tournaments going down, this year should see more participation. Kung fu wise atleast. 
White its sad that the event has been “postponed”, according to the e-mail I got, it think holding it every 2 years would be a good idea.
Mainly I say this because having a tournament puts alot of stress on the hosting school (Mentally, physicallly and $$). And the students get burned out as well.
This is what probably also happened for Tat mau Wong. But as we know the tournament never came back, but his school did become more successful.
as for the politics hey thats just flavor to the pot. Its actually better to have independent tournaments. The acceptance of standard rules and judges training is the problem though.
the AAU is making a strong comback in this area. Just look at how they’ve incorporated democratic voting rules and regulations.
there have been alot of reasons given for the non-inclusion of Wushu in the olympics but an obvious one is that there was no unity amongst the organizations. While the IWUF recognized the WKF they did nothing for promoting the sport fairly and continously throughout the world. This was the key reason why Karate never made it in the olympics but Taekwondo did.
ex: China would come up with new Compulsories and rules but would not distribute them outside the country in a timely manner. Also they didn’t send out the required coaches and trainers to prepare foreign athletes to compete. So as usual China was able to take the lead/wins. Fine for the motherland but a no no for an olympic sport.
Remember the Jamaican Bobsled team:D
anyhow what I’m really looking forward to is the 100th anniversary of the Chin Woo. thats going to be a cool event I hope to attend.
[QUOTE=1bad65;846729]That Austin Martial Arts Festival is a gathering of many different arts right? I remember they had a BJJ tourny there last year.[/QUOTE]
Yes, the Austin Martial Arts Festival is supposed to be a gathering of all Martial Arts. I have participated in it for the last two years. The first year had an o.k. turn out but I think that many people were disappointed due to the lack of organization and the turnout was not as big as anticipated, and a lot of the Masters that were there did not come back the second year because of this. I think the most participants were in the BJJ category.
The second year tournout was abismal but this was due to the lack of promotion. Some of the Masters that did show up were very disappointed, one told me that he was led to believe it was a bigger event than what it was and felt ripped off.
It was sad indeed, not sure if there will be another one due to the last two years. I know it can be very hard on the sponsoring school. It takes a lot of money to rent out a civic center and get volunteers and judges.
I was kind of disappointed in the martial arts community here as well, there are tons of martial arts schools in Austin, because they did not get behind this and support it. I feel that more participation from these schools would have led to a better event with more competitors. But again you can’t really blame them for not supporting something as disorganized as it was in the first year and this may have left a bad taste in their mouths. Austin really needs something like this. But again a lot of blame for the event does lie with the promotor. Can’t really have a big event without the promotion now can you? As for the AAU tournament, can’t really say much on that one, I didn’t go last year, but this year I will be going and encouraging some of my students to compete.
Yeah, Austin is a very diverse city and that includes the MA community. I really wished it could have been better, as the premise of various arts and schools gathering and holding events is a good idea.
I tend to wonder if stupid MA politics are a factor for the small turnout. I will say that the BJJ turnout would have been alot bigger if not for politics.
Bullshido Throwdowns I have attended are quite friendly and politic-free. But I’ll be the first to admit the majority of attendees are BJJ/MMA practitioners.
Wow! They cancelled it?!?! That is 2 out of 4 tournaments that have been cancelled here in Texas. Last I checked, Sifu Dave Pickens is scheduling the AAU Tournament for Aug 16-17 somewhere in Austin. Hopefully that one doesnt get cancelled too! It looks like I may have to compete in the open karate tournaments. 
[QUOTE=masherdong;846925] Hopefully that one doesnt get cancelled too! It looks like I may have to compete in the open karate tournaments. :([/QUOTE]
That’s what I am doing. Forms only though. Open tournaments only do point sparring. Which is, pardon the pun, pointless. Which they would at least have continious sparring.
Here’s the org. that hosts all over TX. http://www.theaok.org/where2008.htm
Here’s the org. that hosts all over TX. http://www.theaok.org/where2008.htm
Yes, that is the org that I was going to go through. Some of them look promising like the U.S. Championships and the Ocean Nationals.
This one is in San Antonio in May. I have never participated in it before. The promotors are Karate guys but it is an open tournament. I may check it out this year.
[QUOTE=sha0lin1;847036]This one is in San Antonio in May. I have never participated in it before. The promotors are Karate guys but it is an open tournament. I may check it out this year.
www.theworldinternationals.com[/QUOTE]
Ooohhh they have countinious sparring…gonna have to think about that one. Depedning on gas prices. SA is 4hrs drive from where I am.
Looks really inviting!
[QUOTE=xcakid;847039]Ooohhh they have countinious sparring…gonna have to think about that one. Depedning on gas prices. SA is 4hrs drive from where I am.[/QUOTE]
let me know if you come down here 
[QUOTE=Pork Chop;847102]let me know if you come down here :)[/QUOTE]
Gas drops to $2.50 a gallon by May, I am definitely coming down. Will shoot you a PM if I do. Lost you number cause I changed phone. You probably changed it since moving anyways.
[QUOTE=xcakid;847117]Gas drops to $2.50 a gallon by May, I am definitely coming down. Will shoot you a PM if I do. Lost you number cause I changed phone. You probably changed it since moving anyways.[/QUOTE]
sounds cool; yah I’m getting a new phone in may, till then it’s the same; after that it’ll be local san antonio.
If the Houston Tournament was cancelled, then why dont the promoters of TJL look into the Stafford Center where the Houston Tournament was going to be at?
[QUOTE=masherdong;847291]If the Houston Tournament was cancelled, then why dont the promoters of TJL look into the Stafford Center where the Houston Tournament was going to be at?[/QUOTE]
Have they actually officially said that its cancelled, or this all hearsay?
Even TJL is not officially canceled. According to the email I got, and what everyone got as well, there is a chance they can secure the new venue in the fall.
Even TJL is not officially canceled. According to the email I got, and what everyone got as well, there is a chance they can secure the new venue in the fall.
Well, they stated that IF they are able to secure a new location, then they will have it in the Fall.
Let’s cross our fingers!
[QUOTE=masherdong;846966]Yes, that is the org that I was going to go through. Some of them look promising like the U.S. Championships and the Ocean Nationals.[/QUOTE]
Well I went to the Big D Open here in Dallas yesterday. Same org that is organizing the one in Houston. Matter of fact they were handing out flyers for it.
Here’s my observation.
Aside from me, and some of Sifu Lee’s(My Jhong Lawhorn) students, there weren’t many traditional kung fu guys. The kung fu guys that showed up were far from traditional. Pretty much an eclectic type system that happened to include kung forms.
That said, the soft style division consisted of myself(traditional long fist), a lady that claimed to do wushu, but more like a bunch of made up moves and not your standard conteporary wushu compulsary forms. There were a bunch of Kenpo guys there. I manage to pull a 3rd place with a basic Gung Li Chuan in the black belt division :eek:
The weapons forms were all nunchuks, bo, and sai. I am the only that went on with a straightsword and was scored poorly. I think out of ten, I placed 5-6th. Not to toot my own horn, but I belive I nailed the form, far better than when I did it at Taiji Legacy.
I did not spar, but saw the sparring division. In the beginning and intermediate division, it was your classic karate “let’s play tag” type point sparring. In the Advanced(brown and red belts) and black belt division, they allowed a heck of a lot more contact. Points were not being counted unless you made a good contact and heard a thud. There were quite a few contacts that caused the recipients to be dazed. Definitely not your typical point sparring. Matter of fact the womens black belt actually drew some blood. Again, never seen that before in point sparring. They were letting the advanced and black belts go at it. In the rules if you drew blood, you got DQ’d, they did not seem to follow that in the black belt division. They went 2mins and whomever scored the most won. I am thinking about sparring next time. Although I am probably gonna be disqualified for sweeping and trapping 
If I can just curtail that, at least I know I will not get DQ’d for making contact.
Well I went to the Big D Open here in Dallas yesterday. Same org that is organizing the one in Houston. Matter of fact they were handing out flyers for it.
Here’s my observation.
Aside from me, and some of Sifu Lee’s(My Jhong Lawhorn) students, there weren’t many traditional kung fu guys. The kung fu guys that showed up were far from traditional. Pretty much an eclectic type system that happened to include kung forms.
That said, the soft style division consisted of myself(traditional long fist), a lady that claimed to do wushu, but more like a bunch of made up moves and not your standard conteporary wushu compulsary forms. There were a bunch of Kenpo guys there. I manage to pull a 3rd place with a basic Gung Li Chuan in the black belt division
The weapons forms were all nunchuks, bo, and sai. I am the only that went on with a straightsword and was scored poorly. I think out of ten, I placed 5-6th. Not to toot my own horn, but I belive I nailed the form, far better than when I did it at Taiji Legacy.
I did not spar, but saw the sparring division. In the beginning and intermediate division, it was your classic karate “let’s play tag” type point sparring. In the Advanced(brown and red belts) and black belt division, they allowed a heck of a lot more contact. Points were not being counted unless you made a good contact and heard a thud. There were quite a few contacts that caused the recipients to be dazed. Definitely not your typical point sparring. Matter of fact the womens black belt actually drew some blood. Again, never seen that before in point sparring. They were letting the advanced and black belts go at it. In the rules if you drew blood, you got DQ’d, they did not seem to follow that in the black belt division. They went 2mins and whomever scored the most won. I am thinking about sparring next time. Although I am probably gonna be disqualified for sweeping and trapping If I can just curtail that, at least I know I will not get DQ’d for making contact.
That is the thing about the AOK, from what I have heard, it is all politics. For example, if you are a competitor that has shown up at a few AOK Tournaments, then the judges tend to lean to your favor than someone who hasnt been there. If you continue to go to AOK tournaments, then I am sure that you will be placing higher.
[QUOTE=masherdong;848316]That is the thing about the AOK, from what I have heard, it is all politics. For example, if you are a competitor that has shown up at a few AOK Tournaments, then the judges tend to lean to your favor than someone who hasnt been there. If you continue to go to AOK tournaments, then I am sure that you will be placing higher.[/QUOTE]
We shall see. Since there won’t be any Traditional KF tournaments this year in my area, I am stuck with them for a while. Planning on going to at least 4 more this year.
AOK and other Karate type events bewilder me.
First, if you do a Chinese style and compete in forms, they have ONE division. I mean, how much can you get out of competing with Taijiquan in the same division with Long Fist, Hung Gar, and Contemporary Wushu? And can you REALLY classify Long Fist or Hung Gar as Soft Style?
Then you get to the weapons… The last one of these I went to, they had ONE weapons division. OK…spear vs. staff vs. bo vs. broadsword vs. Kwan Dao…and so on… Strange.
Now the last one of these I went to, I was a spectator..or so I thought. I went because I had a junior level classmate who was competing. I get in and soon hear my name called on the PA. I went where I was called for - expecting to be helping my classmate - NOT SO. I was drafted to be a judge.
Now, I have a LOT of judging experience at Chinese events…but these guys didn’t know me from Kermit the Frog. I was polite and agreed. They introduced me to my fellow judges - wherein the first question was what degree black belt I was. Now, NONE of my teachers have ever done the belt thing. My belt holds up my pants or matches my uniform…nothing else. I stated that My teachers did not use belts but followed it with how many years I had been training. They all looked puzzled.
I judged…and noted that the louder the competitor yelled his or her name before doing anything, the better they scored them. I saw recognition levels when the competitor announced their name, style, and form…and the higher the recognition level, the better the score…even though to me, I saw many of them that were not deserving of the scores they got. In fact, there was one competitor from Japan that I recall to this day. He did one of the best traditional Japanese forms I had ever seen - came in third - he did not yell at the judges and was not a known name.
They did the “Will all black belts not competing please come to…” announcement at one point in time. I later found out that they were populating rings with judges and that pretty much anyone could go over and claim to be a black belt.
Sorry…I don’t understand why a competitor would pay money for this.