14-8-09: Those cats were fast as lightning…: Lowdown on the throw down at the kung fu showdown

prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" / 

The prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /Logan brothers fight with expert timing…

On the morning of their first tournament, I told my three boys “lads, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose. What matters is that you’re too busy looking good…!”

They regarded me blankly, then asked what time we’d be getting lunch. Ryan, Calvin and Kyle have been training in Hung Kuen under my own teacher, the redoubtable Mak Chi-kong Sifu. Though they don’t live with me in the week, they bust their moves on Saturday and Sunday, and Mak Sifu decided they were sufficiently skilled to join his other students in entering the Hong Kong Chinese Martial Arts Dragon and Lion Dance Association (whew….) tournament.

My competition days are way behind me, but its interesting to note how little has changed: a crowded sports hall (albeit this one in Tsuen Wan), herds of competitors, fretful teachers and parents, little in the way of organization… The three boys signed in, and were each given a cloth number to pin to the back of their kung fu uniform. And then it was hurry up and wait…

Ryan was up first, and I made him take his glasses off. “But I won’t be able to see anything!” he protested. Perfect, I told him, if you can’t see the audience, you won’t be nervous.

With a few last words from Mak Sifu, my eldest boy took to the tournament floor to perform (Lau Family Fist).

He performed with power and energy, but lost points because, after all those hours in front of a damn computer, he tends to slouch slightly between techniques. Heck, I was just proud to see him power his way through the form. I can remember when he was so small I could hold him up by one hand while practicing my horse stance in the living room.

The twins had to wait even longer, and I was worried they’d burn all their energy off fighting each other, or else fall asleep...

“Daddy, what if I forget the form?” asked Calvin, who was performing next. “Chehhhh, these judges don’t know the form either,” I told him. “Just don’t stop, act like you know the moves, keep going and then throw three spinning kicks at the end, give the judges the thumbs up and strut off like you own the place…”

So, when it was Calvin’s turn, he got two thirds of the way through, forgot the form, acted like he know the moves, kept going, threw three spinning kicks at the end, gave the judges the thumbs up and strut off like he owned the place… And they scored him higher than the other two!

Poor Kyle lost his way one third of the way through the form, and, following Calvin’s example, unleashed a blitz of kicks, spinning on the floor, giving thumbs up and V for victory signs… The judges were amused and amazed, but still didn’t give him the same score as his brother. Anyway, Kyle’s forte is the (straight sword), so we’ll let him cut loose with that next time.

After the competition, we navigated the evil maze that is the Tsuen Wan traffic system to find a mall, and in the mall a restaurant, with bad food served badly (this was Tsuen Wan, after all…). The kids were took stoked to care. As were leaving, we saw a kid in a karate suit. Let’s challenge him! , suggested Calvin. Let’s not…, I muttered. We headed back to the taxi rank.

Back at the sports hall, the boys proudly received their certificates. It was great to see the look of satisfaction on their faces: they won something by their own effort and they were proud of it. Martial arts really are a great discipline for kids, and seeing them compete gave me a whole new perspective on them.