My first martial arts instructor, Sifu Tom Laroche of Laroche World Gung Fu in Kamloops BC emailed me to let me know that he and one of his students, 18 yr old Jason Szakal are in Toronto for the Canadian wushu and Kung fu championships….

Jason is fighting in Sanda (san shou) for Canadian title. If he wins his fights he will represent Canada in Singapore Dec. 2-10 at the World Wushu championships. His record is 7 wins no losses. he is fighting in the 69 kg. and under category.

Sifu Tom tells me I may have some photos of Jason Szakal. This may be one of them, but I am not too sure:

What I have found that is for sure Jason is a nice Sanshou fight for Jason at the 2010 West Coast Can-Ams, where I also competed in another division. Jason does a body slam against his competitor and puts an end to the match.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Best of luck to Jason at the Canadian Wushu and Kung Fu Nationals!

Premiered in 1979 as the First Annual West Coast Can-Am Championships, this tournament has developed into one of the most prestigious and longest-running annual tournaments in Canada, as it enters the 31^st year in 2010.

The goal of this event remained the same throughout the 31 years, to provide a safe, fair and fun competition event for Martial Artists of all styles. The Can-Am is known for its quality 5 ft and 6 ft trophy awards for both forms and fighting competitions, as well as handsome awards for judging officials.

Over the years, many world-famous Martial Artists from all styles such as Karate, Kung Fu, Wushu, Taekwondo, Hapkido, Tang Soo Do, Tai Chi, Jiu-Jitsu, Kenpo, have competed and performed in the Can-Am.  The Can-Am has indeed become a showcase of Martial Arts.

There are over 700 divisions to compete in, such as hand forms (Kata/Pattern), weapons forms, Karate Style point-fighting, Continuous Fighting, Sanshou fighting, Pankration, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Each category is further divided by gender, age, and ranking.

In this year’s 31^st Annual, we are again anticipating top competitors coming from China, the United States, and other parts of the world, and of course, our own excellent Martial Artists of Canada. To more accurately reflect the international level of competition, this tournament will soon be renamed “The International Can-Am Championships”. This historic name change will be announced in the 31^st Annual Awards Banquet, to mark the official entry of this quality event into the international arena.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This video is also on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8jOGceedfw

A tournament is always a busy scene and participants have to show up well in advance because anything could go down. For example if divisions are too small, they can get combined with other divisions, and suddenly the day goes by faster, or if there are free mats and enough judges a division can get moved to the open mat and the day progresses faster. Injuries, meetings, impomptu debates can also prolong the day.

The schedule for the day would include Kung Fu, Weapons, Kata demonstrations, Pankration, and WKC no face and full contact continuous sparring. I got there at 11:00 and met up with friends from the gym and I shot photos of the action until my division was called to the mat around 5:00 PM.

Jon Funk

Jon Funk, Sifu instructor of Mantis Kung Fu and Organizer of Tiger Balm International 2010, stopped and talked with me during his busy day just after addressing competitors for a Pankration division. We talked briefly about what busy events tournaments are, and that things were proceeding to plan with the usual concerns that happen during the event. A two day martial arts tournament takes months of planning and preparation and the end result is a gymnasium full of people and the action goes on all day long. I asked him briefly about other attempts to present martial arts events in Greater Vancouver such as the recently announced cancellation of MMA Expo. Jon understood how such an event could have its difficulties not understanding how to work with all the different stakeholders in the community and various levels of government, all who could have an impact on the future of holding such events. Its something that takes some skill in knowing how to do. Just as I thought, organizing such events is a black art unto itself.

My fight was the first up in the division. I was put up against a guy from Basi’s Lions Den Kickboxing from Calgary. I started out strong but didn’t figure on what I had to do during a ninety second long fight. So I knew when it was over that I did well; I got in lots of head shots, I listened to Sensei Ali and fought like he told me to, but the judges decision went to the other guy and that was ok. I cant control whether I would win or lose the fight, but I wanted to have a good strong fight and that is what I got.

My training partner Aaron Blanchette did a little better and won his first fight and was 1-1 for the day. Way to go Aaron! Osu.

There are 225 Photos in the Tiger Balm International 2010 Day 2 Photo Set. Here are a few of my favourites.

Link to the full set on Flickr.com:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/superwebdeveloper/sets/72157623730470672/

Weapons fight

Kickboxing - best fighter trunks

Young Martial Artists

Jon Funk Adressing Pankration Division

Pankration fight

Kickboxing

Kickboxing

Kickboxing

Link to full set of 225 images on Flickr.com:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/superwebdeveloper/sets/72157623730470672/

Tiger Balm is one of the two largest martial arts tournaments in the greater Vancouver area along with the WCMAC held in October at BCIT. Tiger Balm fills the Capilano University Gym with participants from a large number of disciplines, with men and women participating at all ages.

San Shou Fight at Tiger Balm 2009

And moi, the Martial Arts Nomad, is going to be there fighting in my first tournament. Who wouldn’t want to beat up on guys half their age? Been training hard, cutting weight, so lets see how it goes! See you there!

Date: Saturday, & Sunday, March 27/28, 2010

Where: Capilano University Sportsplex 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver, B.C., Canada

More info http://www.mantiskungfu.com/TigerBalmInternationals.htm

Link to a few photos from last year

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!

MORE INFO Here: http://www.mantiskungfu.com/TigerBalmInternationals.htm

HOST TOURNAMENT FOR THE 2009 CANADIAN ISJA SPORT JUJITSU CHAMPIONSHIPS

SEE: Karate vs Kung Fu vs Tae Kwon Do vs Kenpo vs Jujitsu vs Kickboxing
See black belt contact fighting, including throws, and ground fighting
submission holds with the best competing for ISJA Canadian Sport Jujitsu
Championship gold medals.

NINE SPARRING CATEGORIES

SKIL point fighting, SKIL & WKC continuous sparring, Sport Jujitsu, padded weapons sparring,
San Shou fighting, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Free Style Grappling & Modified Pankration.

LOCATION:
Capilano College Sportsplex 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver, B.C., Canada

WORLD MARTIAL ART GAMES:
The Tiger Balm Internationals is a W.O.M.A.A. sanctioned, qualifying event to help pick members for TEAM CANADA for The W.O.M.A.A. World Martial Games.

SAFETY EQUIPMENT IS MANDATORY:
Includes: Hand/foot pads, mouthpiece, and headgear. Protective equipment will be available for sale on site. Gloves will be provided for the WKC Continuous, and Sanshu sparring divisions.

NINE SPARRING CATEGORIES:
SKIL point sparring, SKIL & WKC continuous sparring, Sport Jujitsu, padded weapons sparring, Sanshu sparring, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Free Style Grappling, and Modified Pankration.

PADDED WEAPON’S POINT FIGHTING:

Padded weapon’s point sparring combatants are required to have the following:
Martial arts uniform, mouthpiece, athletic cup (male combatants), fingernails and toenails trimmed, and protective hand pads. Recommended equipment: Knee and shin pads (optional but highly recommended), shoes (non-marking soles), elbow pads (optional but highly recommended), and any safety pads a combatant feels are necessary to prevent injury without restriction of motion.

Supplied equipment by the event:
Weapon of choice (tomfa, nunchucks, three section staff, katana, staff, and arnis sticks), headgear (re-enforced steel wire cages and full faced head), and chest protectors.

MORE INFO Here: http://www.mantiskungfu.com/TigerBalmInternationals.htm