AND THE WINNER IS......!!!

First and foremost, I'd like to thank everyone for supporting us and helping us raise money for the upcoming World Kung-Fu Championship. We are now that much closer to getting to Malaysia!

Now for the winner of the Brand New Hayabusa Convertible Bag is...

Drum roll please... BRIAN HATFIELD!!!!!!!

Again, I'd like to thank everyone who participated in this raffle and please be sure to come and have a great time with us at Starbucks for the fundraiser on October 6 2012 from 2 to 6PM !!

See you guys there! :D

FUNDRAISER?? YEA!!!

Alright Ladies and Gents,

 Here is another attempt for us at trying to raise funds for Team Canada to go to the 2012 World Kung-Fu Championship hosted in Malaysia this year. There will be a fundraiser hosted at Starbucks on October 6th 2012 from 2PM to 6PM. It will be an evening filled with amazing live music and poetry dedicated to help us raise funds. So come join my team and I for some deliciously refreshing drinks at Starbucks while enjoying some of the best music and poetry Mississauga has to offer. And why not also meet the team that will be representing your country?

Here are the details:

A Raffle You Say?!?!

Why a raffle you might ask? So that we can support and send our team and represent Canada at the 2012 Kuo Shu World Championship Tournament in Malaysia!

Cost:  $5 per ticket OR BUY 3 tickets FOR $10!!!!  Buy the tickets from Tim McPhee, James Rowan, or myself Manh-Tu Nguyen. If you wish to purchase tickets online, you can also pay via paypal below and your ticket(s) will be entered with the information you provided with your transaction. Please make sure you provide your full name, address, and phone number. 

2012 Gold Medal for Canada Raffle Tickets

1 Raffle Ticket $5.00 CAD 3 Raffle Tickets $10.00 CAD

Draw Date: September 7^th 2012

Prize:  A BRAND NEW CONVERTIBLE HAYABUSA BACKPACK/ DUFFLE BAG ($100 Value)

Hayabusa will change the way you think about gear bags! The Convertible Backpack/Duffel Bag is perfect for all occasions. The Backpack option is great for the athlete on the move who needs both hands free. What if you need some extra space? Simply convert the Backpack into the Duffel Bag and you can store even more gear than before. Just unclip the shoulder straps, stow them in the pocket, unzip the bottom, extend and attach the carry strap and you now have a large Duffel bag. Great for the athlete who needs to carry a lot of equipment.

This ‘gear bag’ boasts an array of useful features;

·         Fleece lined valuables storage area

·         Earphone/headphone opening

·         Water resistant inner pocket

·         An insulated water bottle holder

·         Heavy duty construction

·         Over-sized compartments help keep your gear stowed safely

·         Ventilated design will help maximize gear longevity

*Winner will be announced at the end of the Fundraiser hosted at Starbucks on September 7 2012 on Thomas St. & Winston Churchill, Mississauga ON. The winner will also be called, posted on this blog and updated on our Facebook status.

A New Journey Begins

Dear Friends and Family,

For those who are close to me, you all know the long and hard journey it took me to finally achieve a Gold Medal in the Full-Contact Sparring for the Heavy C weight division at the 2012 U.S.K.S.F International Championship Tournament.

My first year in 2010 was one hell of a hard battle. Going into the 2010 U.S.K.S.F International Championship Tournament with very little experience but with a lot of preparation, I managed to take upon my first opponent with ease. Although, my second opponent was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. With the little energy that I had saved after my first fight, I struggled to finish my second opponent and winning only by split decision. Moving onto my last opponent, my lack of experience definitely was the cause of my loss for the gold medal that year. My fight came to an end when my opponent pushed me off the 2 ½ foot raised platform 3 times within the first round. Unable to maintain a striking game with me, my opponent quickly changed his strategy. Due to my lack of experience, I failed to catch his new game plan and remain on the platform, hence I had to settle for a Silver medal that year.

My second year in 2011 was a rude awakening. Going back into the same tournament for that year, I was ill-prepared but with more experience.  Thinking I would be able to manage my opponents with a lot of take downs and sweeps, my training consisted of mostly takedown offence and defense drills. With a very high self-esteem and a lot of confidence, I had my opponents underestimated for that year and took very little preparation thinking that they would be easy. I maintained an average diet with an average workout routine. On my first fight at the tournament that year I was literally punched into reality. The reality that I was horribly unprepared for what was to come and therefore lost my first fight on the second round by split decision. I came back home after the tournament that year, with a very depressed state of mind. I took off 2-3 weeks of training to do nothing else but to sulk in my own misery. My friends and family finally had enough of my moping butt and kicked me out of my sorry state, got me back into the right mindset and into a great training regime. Watching my fight over and over, analyzing every little detail propelled me into a great start for 2012.

Finally my third year at this tournament, I was more prepared then I could ever be. My game plan for this year was literally to stay“Calm, Cool, and Collected”.  I started training 6 months before the tournament date and it consisted of everything you could possibly think of. Training 6 days a week with an average of 3 hours every training session which includes endurance, stamina, strength training, weight lifting intertwined with a great healthy diet, and a lot of sparring with students from our school as well as other schools. My competition this year was extremely diverse; my first opponent had amazing take downs. Within the first round he was able to perform several take downs on me with ease, unfortunately every take down only awarded him 1 point which is the same point awarded for a clean punch or kick that lands on your opponent. The fight ended early after my opponent fell down when I threw two successful knees to my opponent’s face and giving him 8 stitches by his left eyebrow. The fight was awarded to me unanimously and I moved on to my second fight. My second opponent had more power in his punches then a jet engine. For the first time ever, I’ve been knocked down twice on my second round. The first time I was knocked down, I was able to recuperate quickly and get back on my feet, the second time I wasn’t so lucky. After getting knocked down for the second time, getting up was a problem. My feet and legs were all wabbly, I was disoriented and it was clear that I had trouble standing up. I panicked and acted on instinct, before I knew it, it was my opponents turn to get knocked down. I hit him hard enough that the medic had to check him out to ensure he was capable to continue his fight. By the end of the second round I had won it unanimously. My last opponent was for the Gold which was a 6 foot 5 giant that had twice the reach on me. The fight went for the full 3 rounds and I won it in the end by unanimous decision. None of my fights were without struggle, which makes me appreciate accomplishment even more.

The reason why I am writing here today and the reason why you are reading this is to let you know that with my recent win, I have qualified to represent Canada at the World Championships in Malaysia on October 15 2012. I am asking for your help to send me to Malaysia so I may be able to represent my country for this once in a life time opportunity. For those who do not know the level of competition that is present for the world championship, it is the same as the Olympics but with Kung-Fu as its only focus. Any funds that you may have available would be greatly appreciated. You can send funds via my paypal account at nguyen.manhtu@yahoo.com or click the button below to donate.

Thank you for your time and especially for your help.

P.S. Below is a picture of me holding my newly acquired success with my Sifu. J

Back On Track With The Training Wagon

After 2 weeks of healing, taking some time to relax and indulging myself to whatever I feel, it is now over. I'm back onto my training regime and getting ready to go to represent Canada in Malaysia for the World Championship. At first I was hesitant on going due to the fact that it's only in two months, but also the fact that I don't have that kind of money to go there AND I had JUST booked a vacation to go to Vietnam with my dad. 

Luckily ALMOST everything has fallen in its rightful place and my odds of going has tremendously increased. My first day back to work, all of my co-workers and my boss asked how my tournament went, so I showed them the videos of my fights. They were all very impressed and proud of my efforts and I told them I had qualified to fight for Canada in the World Championship in Malaysia. They all without any hesitation told me to go or more like I HAVE to go. My Boss even called me into his office to let me know that he will support me to go compete and that he will find a way for me to take the time required for me to be there. 

I spoke to my travel agent and we were able to accommodate my flight to Malaysia and Vietnam without any real trouble.

Now all that I have left to do is find the funds for me to go. Two months to get ready for the this tournament and find sponsors and do fundraisers to send me to Malaysia and compete. I can't express how stressful it all really is, but thanks to some of my friends who are taking the initiative in helping me organize fundraisers and find sponsors to send me over there. It definitely is a huge help and relief to have such a supporting home team. I am truly grateful to have such friends. 

In the meantime, my main focus is getting my body and my mind back on track. So I am back to training 6 days a week, on average 3 hours per session and following a strict nutritional plan. Wednesday was my first day back into training and you can't imagine how horrible it was. It was basically like trying to get off the couch after watching TV all day and having to get ready to go out at night. Anyways, all I'm really trying to say is...Here we go again! :)

The Long Journey

"It takes a loss to appreciate a win" has never been more true to me then it does now. Three years in the making and here I am today with Gold medal around my neck.

Going into this International Tournament the first year and coming home with a silver medal was already more then I had expected, and with all of that confidence and experience that I had gained from the first year, I was ready to come back the following year to win the Gold for Canada. Unfortunately, I was ill prepared, over confident, and just simply shocked by the level of competition that was present that year. I had lost my first fight on my second round by split decision and came back with a huge depression. Couldn't believe that I had lost and been pushed out of the tournament so easily when I had made such an impression the first year. There was really no one but myself to blame and that was why I had a hard time getting over it. Finally after a lot of help from close ones, I got out of that pathetic depression and once again was more then ever hungry for success. I started my training at 6 months of the tournament and with time dwindling down, my training became more and more intense. Being humbled at my last defeat and with a more realistic perception of my competition for this year definitively helped me prepare for what I was getting myself into.

Still I could not have made it without all the support from my team, coaches, and supporters. This note is really for all of them...so here it is.

First I would like to send my appreciation to my Canadian Team who was there to support me and cheer me on:

(Alphabetically)

Grand Master Augustin Ngu
Abigail Ocreto - Equipment Manager
James - Corner Coach 2
Haley Family
Irfaun Ally - Training Partner
Tim McPhee - Corner Coach
Mary Ram - Equipment Manager 2 / A/V Specialist
Mikhail Family
Wu Family

It would not have been the same without you guys there. Thank you all of you for providing me with a sense of home and familiarity in a strange and unfamiliar place.

Also a Thank you to those who supported me and helped me prepare for this tournament:

(Alphabetically)

All Master's Lei Tai and Advanced Sparring Team
Sifu Calvin Chung and his Chung's Martial Arts Academy SandaTeam
Christopher Torrano
The Toronto Throwdown Group
Sifu Zack George and his Double Dragon Sanshou/Kickboxing Team

I wouldn't have made it without you guys. Should you guys ever need anything from me please do not hesitate to let me know.

Thank you everyone and see you guys hopefully at the World Championship.

One Month Countdown

Only one month to go before the Lei-Tai Tournament at the U.S.K.S.F. Unlike last year, I feel more prepared and more focused. I do feel the hunger for success and the thirst for first. 

I've been able to go back to Double Dragon Martial Arts in Kitchener this year for a good training session. Thank you Zack for allowing us to come and train with you and your students. It always feels great when the martial-art schools pulls together and helps one another to thrive for success. Met some great people while training there and what an amazing training facility I might add. You Kitchener people are very lucky to have such a trainer like Zack and a facility like his...I wish I could train there all the time.

I also had the opportunity to spar with some amazing people at the Toronto Throwdown which was held in May at the Fighting Arts Collective located in Toronto. Thank you Shawn for the invite and I will definitely be going back for another sparring session in July before I leave for my tournament.   

My training this year consists of training 5 to 6 times a week for on avg 3hours per training session. It involves strength training, speed enhancement, drills, a healthier meal plan and lots and lots of sparring with partners from all kind of different martial art background, size, age, and levels. 

Also this year, another student from my school with be joining in Lei-Tai which would definitely help me out with my nerves. Looking forward to training everyday and for the tournament. First thing first, I need to get my blood test done and my physical check up. 

So....Until next time!