"To Be a Champ, You Must Train Like a Champ"

My belief is that if you TRULY want to become GREAT not just good... but GREAT at any specific thing, it MUST be engraved into your lifestyle. You must commit the time and focus to become GREAT at it.

The best example I can think about is the P90X program and others of that sort. I'm sure a lot of you know what it's about and for those who don't, in summary; it's a fitness program that promises to help you lose weight, get fit, and look amazing in only 90 days. How it works, is the intensity of physical training you must endure for 90 days alongside with a very strict diet that they provide you. The real key factor in the success of that program isn't the work out they put you through or the diet they give you. In fact, it's not any different from going to see a personal trainer and get a dietary plan from your local nutritionist. But in reality, it's based on how they change your life during those 90 days. How much you eat, what you eat, what you do after work, before work, during your lunch break, before you go to sleep, how much physical activity you do a day, a week, or month. They have now changed your priorities, pushed everything else going on in your life to the sidelines, focusing you specifically into getting healthier and fitter to look amazing.

Then what? What happens after those 90 days are over? You have now achieved what you wanted, what will you do now? Without any real knowledge and understanding of physical fitness or nutrition what can you possibly do? For most cases, people just stop and revert back to their old lifestyle keeping in mind that if they ever require to get fit again they'll just do the program again or for some they can put a check mark next to "Get Fit" and move on with their life. That is what I call a phase and slowly they will just go back to a less physically active and worse eating lifestyle.

How does all of this relate to Martial-Arts?  Everything. In martial arts, unlike anything else out there, you are your own tool or instrument. Your body is like the skates to a hockey game, the music sheets to a musician, the hammer to a construction worker, or even the keyboard to a computer. In that sense, your body is literally like your temple. How you treat it will define how well you will perform in martial arts and it must be with a good lifestyle that you can maintain the right kind of training.

Martial-Arts must be carved into your lifestyle for you to become great at it. You must attend class on a regular basis and the more you go the greater you will become. Even with minor injuries you can still maintain a good level of training such as a sprained wrist you can still work on your kicks, or a fractured toe you can work on your punches. I've seen students get injured and stop training for months and when they come back they get frustrated with their skill level. You can retain the knowledge but never the skill, it's like a plant that constantly requires water and care. Don't get me wrong, even with a high attendance but poor focus you won't excel. You really need both with pinch of hunger to become better that you will be GREAT!

That would be the preferable choice for most, but again we are not Shaolin monks. We all have school or work, kids and families which are more of a priority. It's understandable that not everyone can come to class as often as they would like and perhaps only come once or twice a week. In that situation I can only suggest one thing for you...MAKE IT COUNT! Increase the quality of your training and if you can come early and start your warm up so that when class actually starts you won't waste time with it. You can jump right into your training without missing a second of it. Focus on key areas that you believe you need more improvement on, ask for your Sifu to look over your material and ask for feedback. If they are not available get one of your Sihings for help. Write down their feedback and then drill it over and over and over again until you've MASTERED the move and go to the next one.

In martial arts, no one has control over your skill level and no one can ever tell you how great you will be or bad you will be. YOU are your own master, your body is YOUR instrument and unlike any team sports you won't let anyone down by failing but yourself...only YOU can say how good you can truly become, so don't ever let yourself stop you from your true potential to GREATNESS.

I know Kung-Fu...

Martial-arts is part of who I am, it's been intertwined with my life. I sweat it, dream it, breathe it, poop it...you get my point, I simply just live it. It all started when I was about 5. My parents signed me up for Tae Kwon Do or Karate. I can't really remember what it was, but I hated it. After I had passed my yellow belt to get my orange belt, I told my dad that I no longer wanted to pursue that martial-art.

Throughout my childhood my parents would expose me to a lot of Kung-Fu movie. When my dad noticed me throwing kicks and punches in the air trying to immitate the Kung-Fu movies that we were watching, he decided to enroll me in a Kung-Fu school. At that time my dad didn't really know any good kung-fu schools but I had some cousins already enrolled in one, so my dad took me there. Sa Long Cuong was the name of it and It wasn't really a school at that time, it was more like a friend of my uncle who learned kung-fu in Vietnam and taught it to us for free in his basement. After a few years, my family had to move away due to a divorce and due to the move I could no longer train there. 

What brought me back to learn martial-arts after a few years was how much I was bullied around in school, so I looked in the phone book and saw the name "L' Academie Shaolin White Crane" in Montreal. I remember thinking..."Dude, It's S-H-A-O-L-I-N! THAT'S AWESOME!!" I showed it to my mom and we went down for a visit. We also went to check out a Hungar school just down the street but I was not going to take Hungar over SHAOLIN. After one visit my mom signed me up for White Crane Kung-Fu.

Some years went on and with a lack of guidance in my pre-teen years, I was heading towards a dark path. My mom who couldn't handle my behaviour along with my baby sister, and teenage brother decided I was just too much. So she sent me over to my dad who lived in Mississauga for him to straighten me up. Coincidently, while looking up the yellow pages in Mississauga I found another Shoalin White Crane school. My Dad took me there for a visit and it turned out that this Sifu was my Sifu's Sifu from Montreal and I've been at that school ever since.  

There were periods in my life where I just couldn't train martial arts, like when I was in High school in Atlanta Georgia there were no kung-fu schools in the area I lived in so I founded my own martial-arts club, I started a petition to open a martial-arts club, I received over 60 signatures from interested students to join, then I found a sponsor, became President and even taught martial arts to the students in my club.

When I was in College back in Mississauga, I was living on my own and I just couldn't afford to go back to kung-fu class. Although I maintained a good level of fitness and kept training kung-fu at my school's gym or wherever else I could find space to train in such as empty dance rooms in the Living Arts Center, it just wasn't sufficient. Soon enough I no longer felt like myself, as if a part of me was dying and right after, I fell into a depression. Everyone around me could see the change in me, they could see my personality change for the worse and one day I knew it wouldn't get any better unless I did something about it.

With the support of my girlfriend, we decided that regardless of our financial situation I would HAVE to find a way to come up with some money to pay for my membership fee. If that meant cutting back on groceries, or cut off our cable TV for a few months, so be it. I would often visit my old kung-fu school just to keep in touch with everyone and on one of my visits I told my Sifu what I had planned to do so I may join the class again, luckily my Sifu is a very accommodating Sifu. He sat me down in his office and found a way to accommodate me and my situation so that I may get back to my training right away. The next week I came back to train. This is the kind of Sifu that you know isn't like any one of those "MacDojos" Sifus. A real genuinely traditional Sifu, which after many years of training under him I have grown to love and respect him like a father.

So this is where I start to discuss with you my philosophy in training in Kung-Fu...but that'll have to wait for my next blog as I need to get back to work. This ending is the perfect start to my next blog, so please stay tuned... :)

Back On The Drawing Board

After a week going by since my return, I do feel like my old self is coming back. I've had a lot of time to analyze my fight through videos, people's comments, memory, and feeling and I have to say that I'm not so dissapointed anymore. Just like Sifu said, it wasn't that I was weaker and lost or beat by a much more skillfull fighter, but it was that my opponent had more aggression and thirst for the win then I did. I'm not trying to bring down my opponent's skills, or his win on our match at all. He was strong, had great posture and he beat me fair and square. All that I'm trying to say is that I could've performed better if my strategy and my mind set were all there.

I rushed straight forward, head on against a bull when I should've been like a Torero or Matadore and wait for the bull to come to me and then STRIKE! Take my time, pick out openings or creating my own so I can sneak a punch or kick here and there. Keep moving around my opponent as they strike, so I can see what type of fighter they are. Understand their timing better, and what they like to use in terms of combinations and preferences such as kicks or punches.

Obviously it sounds easier said then done specially when I was also lacking, before AND during my match, "Peace". By "Peace", I mean peace of mind, keeping myself calm, cool, and collected. I found that very hard to do, instead I would listen to hardcore House, Techno, and Trance music to get myself pumped up for the fight. When really I should've looked for inner peace and tranquility. I'm sure this applies to a lot of you out there, but I found that I can perform much better when I'm feeling calm and relax even when I know there's a 185lbs guy swinging huge hooks towards my face.

My gameplan this year is to achieve that type of "Inner Peace" and like I said in my previous post, I will try to achieve that by participating in more tournaments, whether they are local or provincial or whatever I will be there. I also believe that I need to "Up" to intensity of my sparring. I need to feel that fear of getting hit so that I can truly see what my true capabilities are when my emotions are taking over the bests of me. Then I will be able refine my training and truly understand what I'm doing wrong...or right, correct it or emphasize it.

P.S.: Thank you to everyone who's been by my side and helped me get out of this depression. It always feels good to know that I have great family and friends to hold me up when I'm feeling down. I love you all!

And Now That The Dust Settled...

Obviously I'm pretty bummed out about it. I feel like I've let everyone down, everyone who helped me train for this tournament, everyone who came to support me, and everyone at our school. I feel like I wasted all of my time training for this tournament as I didn't even make it to the finals.

I blame myself for this, as I know I underestimated the competition this year by comparing it with last year’s competitors. I wasn't training properly for what was to come and instead I was training according to what I knew of the prior year. Even with my girlfriend's consistent warnings that I'm slacking in my training, I chose not to listen as I believed I knew best.

Everyone has been telling me that I needed this loss to get everything back in perspective. I believe that too now, this being the first time that I've never placed in a tournament that I participated in. I guess as some say that "I was resting on my Laurels". I was too confident of my own capabilities that I felt no need to go through the same type of rigorous training as I did the last year and by doing so hindering my chances of success.

Sifu gave me some advices before my fight, which looking back at it now I wish I had followed. Instead, I did what worked for me last year during my matches and therefore the results of my current fight. What I am happy about is that I came out of it with new sparring philosophies, new thoughts and ideas that broke some of the previous ones that I had set my sparring skills on. I'm actually pretty excited to see how well they will work for me.

All in all, I haven't quite made my mind up yet on whether or not I will go back for next year's tournament. What I do know is that from now on, I will try my best to participate in every local tournament that I can. I will train according the same mindset that I had the first year and more. 

Thank you to everyone who has helped me throughout my training period and thank you to all those who sent me support. I hope with this experience, I will grow a better fighter if not at least a better teacher/coach.

2011 U.S.K.S.F. Tournament July 29 - 30

Day 1 - Weigh-In : Morning of July 29th 2011 at 2:00PM my team and I lined up for the weigh-in. Actually made some awesome friends while waiting in line from The Peaceful Dragon Kung-Fu school in Charlotte NC. After handing in my Medical Form and Lei-Tai Waiver, we went into a room where a doctor checks your blood pressure. Once we pass, we are then video taped while giving a verbal waiver of liability and death. Then our sparring equipment gets checked by the Lei-Tai officials and finally the weigh-in happens. Stripped down to my brief they weighted me at 74.3kg or 163.5lbs.

Day 2 - Fight Day : My Coach Tim, went to the coaches meeting at 10:30AM where they gather information on the fight schedule and weight division's information. There were 7 competitors in my weight division this year, which means that whoever won my match would have to spar someone who hasn't yet had a match. Total matches for 1 competitor in my weight division to get to the Gold medal would total 3 matches in one day.

I was the second match lined up in my weight division. My opponent was coincidently from Montreal, so ironically I was able to understand everything my opponent and his coach were discussing without them realizing it. It was obvious his size was much bigger then mine, it became clear when we were in line for our match and we were watching the fight going on at the moment and he said in french to his coach "Hey, this should be my weight!" when I asked the officials standing next to me what weight division that was, they told me Heavy B which is (76.1kg to 82kg). Just by looking at the guy you knew he was at least 10lbs heavier then me.

Finally the fight we were watching ended and it was now our turn to spar. It was now about 3PM, we both were introduced, then asked by the referee to step onto the platform. We bowed to the Head Masters and then to each other. I then got into my usual fighting stance making sure I keep my back hand to my cheek and my front hand a bit further away from my chest. The referee gave the signal to go and at that exact moment I quickly move forward to bridge the gap while throwing a left right combo. Both of my hits landed but as I ended my right cross, he responded also with a left right combo to the head which rocked me enough to drop my guard. Completely dazed, I lose all focus and posture and return to fighting basics...Haymakers. A lot of my strikes were blocked and responded, a lot of take down attempts where made on both sides but every time they were stuffed. I was able to avoid being pushed off the Lei-Tai this time, something I wasn't able to do last year. When the bell sounded for us to break and return to our corners, I knew he had this round. My Coach and Equipment manager did a great job keeping me ready and fit for the next match, while snapping me out of my sparring 101 techniques. Abi, my equipment manager, brought to my attention that I was swinging too much and my opponent is anticipating them, while Coach Tim was reminding me to use what I know and do best...the low sweeps. Judges call... all 5 judges awarded the round to my opponent.

The Referee calls back the fighters onto the 2 1/2 foot raised platform. Now with more self confidence and a better gameplan, I was ready to face him again. Referee signals us to go, this time he moves in to bridge the gap and throws a left right, in response I bob and weave his punches avoiding both strikes and retaliates with a right over the shoulder hook followed by a left hook. He clintches with me and decides to try a takedown. I was able to reverse it and took him down instead. Referee brought us back to our starting positions and signals the judges a succesfull takedown and a point is awarded to me. Referee then signals for us to continue. Again my opponent decides to bridge but this time with a kick. With my fighting stance, I was easily capable of anticipating his kick and caught it and responded with right cross to the face followed by a takedown attempt which was unsuccessful. He regained his posture and returned a very hard left, right combination, which again he was close enough to clinch and shoot for a takedown, after a bit of sprawling he finally succeeded in his takedown. Referee breaks us up and announces to the judges that a successful takedown was awarded to my opponent. Referee then signals us to continue, again my eager opponent moves in and i successfully avoided them by bob and weave and answered back with a right left hook. He clinches and returns a hook while in clinch, let's go of the clinch to apply more pressure with his other hand. Bell rings, we are called back to our corners. Judges call... 2 to me and 3 to my opponent.

Match was awarded to my opponent... I was certain that round should've gone to me, but unfortunately the judges didn't see it my way... so goes the story of my first loss.

Day 1

Baltimore here I am, later this evening will be the weigh-in.

5 Days To Countdown

Getting injured SUCKS! Here I am, 5 days before my tournament and I got injured... It happened last week Monday during our sparring session. I took a kick to the shin ...nothing particularly different from all the other kicks to the shin I've received before, so after I got home I iced it before going to sleep. Tuesday went on and regardless of the light pain I had on my shin I continued my training. By Wednesday afternoon, as I removed my socks after I got home from work, my ankle was swollen and a huge bruise appeared. Even though it looked really bad, I was still able to walk and run just fine.

My Sifu always drilled the crap out of us to wear proper protective gear when sparring...but we never listen. At least until, we do get injured and then start putting on the appropriate gear lol! It was exactly for that reason that my arsenal of sparring gear is as big as it is today. When I first started to spar, all I would have would be a pair of sparring gloves. Until I got kicked in the groin, I then added a groin cup to my sparring gear. Then another day I got punched in the face and my eyebrow got cut, so I then purchased a sparring helmet. Slowly as I received more injuries all over my body, I would add a new piece of protective equipment to my sparring gear.

Some people doesn't seem to understand the importance of the protective gear. I've heard some people say that they want to make sparring as realistic as possible to a street fight, but already they are wrong. In a real street fight, there are no rules. Anything goes for example, they can be 3 on 1, have baseball bats or knives, and might as well throw in a German Sheppard in there for good measures. My rule in real fighting if ever it was to happen is, 1 on 1 should be an honorable fight, 2 on 1 can still be manageable, but at 3 on 1...screw the honorable BS...I'm gonna karate chop you in the neck and jump kick you in the groin. ANYTHING GOES!

Others say that wearing gear will hender their movements and vision. GOOD! Train with a handicap now so that when you are without it, you will be THAT much greater...or just buy the right gear for you. There are thousands of brands, makes, and models for sparring gear, choose the one that suits your needs the best. For those who say that chest protector is restricting, then buy the foam material. Although it offers less protection, it's lighter, more maleable and less restricting around the chest to allow deeper breath. For vision, they make head gear with a transparent material face mask now...try it. There are sooooo many different type of gear out there to suit everybody's particular needs, you just need to find it and if they don't have one that you like, then there is your opportunity for a business venture.

 Lastly, some believe that not wearing gear will help with their "Iron Body" training. That is just ridiculous and here is why I say this. Every type of training is intended for a specific purpose for example, punching a sand bag will help enhance your Iron Fists, Shadow boxing will help enhance your speed, stretching will help enhance the flow of your movements. Assuming that sparring will help you out in all aspect of fighting such as "Iron Body" conditioning is like believing that practicing your forms will help you become good at sparring. There are no shortcuts in becoming great at any specific thing. You have to train like a champ to become one. Those who say otherwise are full of themselves. Nobody has ever achieved greatness without struggle.

Remember sparring itself is not fighting. Sparring to me,  is a way to become good at reading body language, to train our body to act and react to a situation given by your adversary, and learn how to combine techniques with strategy. Without the proper protective gear, you will eventually get seriously injured wether or not you were doing "Light" or "Intense" sparring, which will definitely take you away from proper training, and hence your skills will regress. The goal here is to be productive and efficient with our training so be smart and stay safe :)

P.S.: For those who are wondering, I went to the hospital to get some X Rays. No broken bones or anything, so now it's just a matter of healing the bruise and swelling in time for the tourney.

How To Lose A Fight For Dummies

As some of you are already aware, last year was my first ever international level tournament and in preparation for it, I went out and seeked help... a LOT of help from many different people. One of which was my Sihing Calvin Chung, who told me that the first thing I should do is go online and do some research about the tournament, understand the rules (Like my Sifu always says " If it's not illegal, then it's Legal!"), and watch the Lei-Tai and Sanshou videos people have uploaded on Youtube. Honestly, watching those videos scared the crap out of me but I have to admit that the fear I got from watching them, is what pushed me to train extremely hard. Knowing the possibilities of serious injuries, I would train as hard as possible to make sure I wouldn't be the one getting the injuries but instead giving them.

Soon I ran out of online videos to watch so I started to make my own by recording the sparring sessions at my school and wherever else I would go to train and spar. The original sole purpose of watching those online videos was to get an idea of what I signed up for, but soon after I realized, why not study them since there are so many of them available? I would take notes on what makes the dominant fighters dominant and  I came to conclude that they all have similar traits.

Common traits for dominant fighters is that they are usually the aggresors in a fight, they would continually apply pressure onto their opponents with a constant flow of strikes and those strikes flow extremely well in terms of their postures, speed, and power. They all seem to be very comfortable throwing combinations with their feet as they are with their hands and hence combine them to make devastating combos.

After studying the dominant fighters, I thought to myself "Why not also study the inferior fighters and see what they are all doing wrong? What causes them to lose?" And so I started to take notes down, I decided to pay close attention to all the common wrongs that the inferior fighters would do.  I also noticed all my Sidais are doing the exact same things. So here is my guide to "How To Lose a Fight for Dummies"

1. Always aim for the head and face.

2. When being pressured, move back and root your feet down.

3. Do lots of Haymakers

4. Tendencies to drop your guard

5. Retain a wooden dummy  posture

6. Do a 1 or 2 hit max combo

7. Get emotional

How you use what is written here is up to you.

Sparring Day!

At my Kung-Fu school, every Monday is Sparring day. Classes starts at 7PM but I usually get there by 5:30PM to start warming up and stretching. When I started to take sparring seriously (around the time i was 13), I never needed to warm-up or stretch. All I would do is put my gear on and jump right into it. Now at 25, I've realized like many others have, just how important it is to have a good warm-up and stretch before a sparring session. Not just to prevent injuries such as a cramps or tear in the muscle tissues, but also to increase my performance. After my normal warm-up routine, I can feel such a major difference. I can now kick higher, punch faster, and flow my combinations better. I don't know if it's an age thing or just something that's always been there and didn't know it.

Sparring yesterday went extremely well, also one of my Sidais just passed his 1st level and was now allowed to spar. It was his first ever sparring session in life and it sure seemed like he was having a blast :) That being said I noticed a few things about all of my Sidais when they are sparring.  I took them aside and explained it to them quickly, but now that I had more time to think about it, I figured here is the perfect opportunity to be more detailed about what I told them the other night.

You shouldn't concern yourself too much about winning, beating, dominating your sparring partner or focus too much on landing every hit. While you keep using the same techniques you are good with, you leave the rest of your skills raw. This sparring time is the perfect moment for you to go above your comfort level and try new things, refine some techniques. Experiment new combinations, work on your flaws (Perhaps speed and/or accuracy not so much power as you do not want to injure your partner), and fine tune the moves that needs refining. THAT is progression and with different sparring partners you will be able to figure out what works and what doesn't. My Sidais seems to be missing that concept and usually ends up brawling and injuring each other.

The next point I want to bring up is that you have to remember that you are sparring, so getting hit is going to happen. Don't try and block every strike bring thrown at you, learn to dodge some. It's okay to get hit once in awhile, you can't expect never to get hit in a sparring match but make sure if you do take a few hits make yours count more then theirs (obviously for training purposes, watch your power as it is very easy to get caught up in the moment).

Another things that I've mentioned before I end this blog: Learn to read your opponents movements. Each individual fighter have "Instinctual" actions and reactions. For example a consistent parry to a jab, or a twitch in response to your front kick. I guess you can call it "flinching" if you want. Learn to exploit them. Same for movements, each individual fighter kick and punch uniquely to the way they are most comfortable with such as opening your foot, distributing your body weight forward, then lean backwards as they are lifting their knee, before throwing their foot forward with their heel out first. Learn to spot these cues. I've always told my Lei Tai, Sanshou and Advance Sparring Training class that if you react to your opponents movements, you are half a second behind them. But predict their movements and you are half a second in front of them. Half a second is all you really need to take control of any sparring situation.

And the countdown begins...

In exactly 3 weeks from today, will be our departure to Baltimore MD for the full contact tournament. I still have 2 more weeks of intensive training before I will need to slow it down and let me body reach it's full potential. 2 weeks really doesn't seem like much when I've been training for over 6 months for this tournament and more intensively the last few months.

The real problem that I've been having is that I'm actually doubting the quality of preparation that I've set upon myself. Looking back at last year's training and compare it to this year's, I find myself a bit dissapointed. Not because of my training partners but because of myself. I feel like I pushed myself so much harder last year and I can't seem to understand why I'm not doing the same this year. I'm wondering if it could be due to some high level of confidence (which I know very well how bad that is), perhaps because I now know what to expect, or maybe the fact that I'm not as "hungry" as I was before? I don't know...I also have no way in telling if I have actually progressed or regressed in my skills and perhaps that also affects the perception I have on my training?

Last year I had an amazing sparring partner, twice my speed , strength, and reach, twice my weight and height, and great at uncovering my openings. We would spar every week regardless of the injuries we would get after our last sparring session and by doing so I could literally see my improvements. I believe that I lack that this year...

Although this Sunday I am taking my Lei Tai class to a new school that have invited us to train along with them. We will be sparring for sure. I have to admit that I'm extremely excited to spar against new people. I think it will give me the opportunity to see where my skills stand with people I've never trained with before. Completely different strategies, techniques, movements, and mentality. Definitely looking forward to this...

As I end this blog, I'd just like to re-iterate that in no way am I trying to make the people who are helping me get ready  this year feel less than those of the previous year. This year, these guys push me ridiculously hard and want to see me excel every time we are training. They are amazing training partners who give a lot of their personal time and effort to get me ready and I have the highest level of appreciation for them. I wish I could return the favor to each and every single one of them. Please continue kicking my ass every single step of the way...

Very soon we will be able to see how well I've prepared myself...

In preparation for what may come...

To introduce my next upcoming blogs, I thought it would be appropriate to repost from my FB notes what I have written in result of the last years full-contact sparring tournament.

So here it is...

[July 27 2010]

"After 9 months of light training followed by 3 months of intense training, I walked out of my first International Lei Tai Tournament with a Silver Medal at the 2010 U.S.K.S.F. Competition. I wouldn't have made it without all of my supporters, coaches, training partners, and sponsors and I would like to dedicate this note to all of them that have been by my side throughout my training.


First and foremost To My Baltimore Team:


Sifu Augustine Ngu (a.k.a. Sifu): Sifu, you are the one who gave me the skills and knowledge that I have today, without you there would be no competition, no tournament, and no medals. You've always pushed me to be better and you never gave up on me since I first joined 12 years ago.


Abigail Ocreto (A.k.a. Equipment Specialist): Thank you for putting up with my crazy training hours, for being my drill partner when I needed one, for coming with me to Baltimore to support me in every possible way, for providing me with amazing Gatorade during my fights, and last but not least for being an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G Girlfriend. I couldn't ask or even imagine anyone better for me then you.


Tim McPhee (A.k.a. Coach): Tim, without your support as my coach I have no idea how I would've gone through the tournament on my own. You've been by my side for many MANY years and your friendship truly shined for me these last couple months. You are truly a friend worth fighting for and I foresee that we shall remain GREAT friends for the many years to come. I hope that I will be able to return the favor to you one day as well.


Kiana Mortejo (A.k.a. A / V Coordinator): Your support from the side line is what pushed me on the platform. Without your constant support I wouldn't have had the motivation and energy to push me throughout the fights. I can't thank you enough for coming all the way to Baltimore with me and the team wouldn't be complete without you. Also with the great videos that you were able to record for me, I'll be able to analyze them and study them to continue and advance in my skills.


Kwokwai/ Ivy /Quin Lin / Little Madison (A.k.a. The Cheering Team): Thank you guys for cheering me on throughout my fights. You guys truly made a world of difference for me while I was on that platform. You all definitely made my fights more fun and enjoyable.


To My Home Team:


Sifu Zack George: You have no idea how much I appreciate what you have done for me. You fixed all my leaks and you strengthened my foundation. Your drills, advice, and pointers are what made me more then ever prepared for this tournament. Thank you for allowing me to train at your studio and letting me gain the experience and knowledge that I needed to make it through this tournament.


Sifu Calvin Chung: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn the basics and fundamentals of take downs and a 411 on what I should expect. You have seriously opened my eyes to new strategies involved in Lei Tai. Something that I KNEW I would have to work on after our discussion and without your guidance I wouldn't have been able to be as prepared as I was.


Kenny Fung: an EXCELLENT training partner that continuously pushed me to excel week after week for three months straight. You seriously helped me prepare for the worst and without your help I really wouldn't know how I would've done on that platform.


Sifu Ben Devine: My sparring mentor when I was only 14. You have helped me develop the skills that I needed to get to where I am today. I have learned a lot from just watching you and I am grateful that you were able to share with me some of your experiences and knowledge regarding Lei Tai. Your advices definitely took me a long way.


Christopher Torranno: You were the first to test my sparring skills, and the one who helped me develop the speed that I needed to win my fights. Our weeks at the boxing gym really helped me blend the speed that I needed with my kung-fu techniques. Thank you for your continuous support during my training.


All Masters Team: Thank you everyone at the All Masters Martial Arts Centre that helped me train and prepare for my tournament.


And last but not least, To My Sponsors:


Abigail Ocreto


Tim McPhee


Kiana Mortejo


Kim Hoang


Han Hoang


Chris Torrano


Manh-Tien Nguyen


Vinh Brian Trinh


Mom


Thank you to all of the above for helping me get to Baltimore and bring back a Medal for Canada in the Lei Tai Event!!"

And in conclusion to this blog, I'm coming back this year with more fire in my heart, focus in my eyes, and Gold on my mind...

The First of Many...

After much debate, consideration and lots of procrastination at work, I've decided to start blogging. What really held me back for so long, is the fact that I can't write for shit! I'm not a big fan of literature and I'm also not very good at expressing my thoughts...by saying so, this blog will be quite an experience for me. Also with some encouragement and sense knocking from my significant other, I've realized that this will be the perfect opportunity for me to somewhat replace what I use to have in my possession, a Journal. Keep track of my thoughts and ideas and be able to see the changes within myself and in my life, see if perhaps I've regressed or progressed as a human being...if that made any sense at all.

So...Please remain seated, keep your arms and hands inside at all time, buckle your seat belt, and here we go!! My first of many blogs to come. :)