Saturday at the 2009 Western Canadian Martial Arts Championships featured Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and Submission Wrestling. The event was as well attended as the night before at the big gymnasium at BCIT. Even MMA fighter Kalib Starnes came by to cheer on his friends. There were also a couple of entries from the gym where I train, Versus21.

Full Flickr set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/superwebdeveloper/sets/72157622532152799/

Full Flickr set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/superwebdeveloper/sets/72157622532152799/

Friday night for the 2009 Western Canadian Martial Arts Championships was well attended, with lots of action. I’m still getting to know my new D90 and shooting action photography is a good place to give a new camera a real workout. Its also a good chance for me to watch fighters up close and seeing what really works. You can bet that its always things like good combinations, staying on your opponent, speed, aggression, and conditioning that work here just like anywhere else.So while I am there to shoot photos, I am also there for a bit of an education.

I would also mention that the Modified Muay Thai event was also paired with Kung Fu on the North side of the arena. While the crowd was focused on the fights, there were Kung Fu demonstrations, with Tai-chi, and competitors performing routines with staff, sword, and other weapons. Although I dont focus much on those events in this photoset, I have always found the art of Kung Fu remarkable to watch.

Enjoy the photos below, or dive into the whole photo set at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/superwebdeveloper/sets/72157622650374528/

The stands were packed for fight night at BCIT

Kung Fu demonstration

As I mentioned above, This full photoset is available on my flickr site

2009 Western Canadian Martial Arts Championships

October is coming soon and that means its time for the 2009 Western Canadian Martial Arts Championships. Its a great place to several different disciplines of martial arts, different classes and different age groups all together at one place. I attended last year’s event and blogged it, since a fellow martial artist and occasional sparring partner, Adam Blanchette, competed in kickboxing.

This year promises an exiting tournament with two days of action with new and expanded divisions in Karate, Kung Fu, Grappling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Modified Muay Thai. Dont forget that besides fighting or just watching, this is a community event that needs volunteers for setup, registration tables, timekeeping and other tasks. Volunteering gets you the best seats in the house and a sweet T-shirt if you register before October 9th.

There is also the event Facebook page.

See you there!

Western Canadian Martial Arts Championships 2008

The 2008 Western Canadian Martial Arts Championships was the first tournament I have ever attended. I was really impressed by the size of the local community and how everyone could come together to create such an amazing event. There was a full range of events going on all day long, like a veritable martial arts festival. People of all age categories gathered to gain rank in Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, as well as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kickboxing.

I was there as a part of the Versus 21 team to cheer on Adam, our entry into the kickboxing matches and Josh who entered into BJJ at the last minute. That was my first reason for being there – cheer on Team Versus 21.

getting ready to fight

But something else I saw that day was what made the greatest impression on me. For a while I turned and watched the juniors who were there to win higher ranking belts and challenge themselves. I remember seeing a young man, about 10 years old, in a Tae Kwon Do match. I saw him take a kick to the gut that knocked him to the mat. We all know that feeling, from one time or another in our lives. And when you are so young, its your whole universe that has just caved in. He lay there folded up for about 20 seconds. Then he sprang to life and bounced back to his feet with a Kiai shout. A good recovery by any measure. I dont recall if he won the match or not. Its not really the point. I was really impressed by how he found the inner strength to get up again when he was down and face off again. He meant it. He was determined. He will be able to draw upon that inner strength for the rest of his life. Years from now, when he is in a rut, he will think back to that time and use it to pick himself up and try again. Isn’t that what martial arts is for?

Versus 21 team: ali, sensei blake, adam, iman, and norm

It was humbling to see other people as well, who tried and failed. The students were there in their gis, representing their schools with pride. A few of those students took a heavy hit. Maybe it was a moment of inattention, they their guard down or maybe their opponent got in a lucky kick. They looked like they were knocked into next week, stunned, bloody nose and all. Of course first aid attendants were on hand to attend promptly to everything. But there is no first aid that can provide much comfort for the hurt deep in the eyes of those students. They believed in themselves enough to be there, trying hard for that next belt, only to have those hopes crushed. Lets hope they will come back and use that experience to face a new challenge and prevail.

sensei blake and adam