To LA and Back

Have not had a chance to post lately....so time to catch up.  It has been very busy with Chinese New Year's coming up....we have been out Lion Dancing alot.....this is the busiest time of year for us.  I took a short break and attended Matt and Cathy's wedding in Cerritos.........I had a great time......it was good to see many of the members of SCWA........and also many of the Wushu World in LA area.  I have not been back to Cerritos in more than 20 years....it was the site of the 2nd US Wushu National Championships..........that was my last Nationals......I won three gold medals there.......head Judge for the event was Coach Wu!  Anyways, it was good to see Li Jing.............who"punked " me..........she called me up and told me she was in SF.........which so disappointed me........then she " jumps out of the shadows" to surprise me! Wang Wei was there.......looking sharp in his Jungshan Jong...........think what Jet Li wore in the Fist of Legend.............his English has really improved....school has really helped.   Also. must thank Viet for picking up Ely and myself............he was a gracious host and had great stories about his teacher.....the legendary Sung Bek.  Viet knows I believe in practice hard and eat well...... so we went to some fabulous places to eat  !! .

Matt and Cathy....congrats!  Ely and I had a great time!

Matt and Cathy with the wedding party......Aya looking very spiffy!

The Girls of SCWA in uniform......well not Wushu but still kool!

It was a real "kicking" party.....as Ngan shows Ely how weddings are celebrated in Vietnamese Tradition!

This was our table....a real slice of the Wushu World.

The Immortals did the Lion Dance for Matt.......I wanted to see them too, since I was the contact but had never seen them perform.  They did an excellent job..........they are presenting wedding wishes to the Matt and Cathy.

This was a real Martial Arts Wedding....after Lion Dance was a great Taiko Performance....the entire building reverberated.......they were so loud all the other wedding banquets had to pump up their PAs.

It was a long day.......but it was great fun and good to see everyone!

Next day Viet picked me and Eli up and it was time for brunch.  Viet took us to his favorite Thai hole in the mall.....Thai Gulf....food was excellent...the owner gave us some special side dishes and all the Thai Ice Tea we could drink.

Thai Gulf was brunch....Pad Thai and the wings were fab!!

Afterwards before leaving for the airport Matt changed with Viet and took Eli and I for Yang Ro.......lamb sticks!!  Man other than Beijing this is the bomb.........food just like China.....and the seasoning and decoration of this place..........looks like Beijing!

In the back of the Resturant was a big plasma TV.........showing Chinese New Year Celebrations in China....what else!!

Peanuts and lambsticks...really good, and the soup hit the spot just right......

Thanks again to Matt and Viet......they made my weekend very enjoyable.  For a Coach of Wushu it is always good to see students grow and develop....it makes coaching worthwhile and rewarding....while I never actrually coached Matt....he has always sought me out for tips and training ideas....he engenders the spirit of Wushu.....work hard, be humble and respectful.....as Matt and Cathy move on to their next stage in life....I am certain they will apply their training to have a great life together!!

Off to Taiji, cya all...good to be back!