The 9th Annual National British Tang Sou Dao Championships was held this year in the south east of England at the Clements Hall Sports and Leisure Centre, Hawkwell, near the Essex town of Southend on Sea.

As usual, there was a gradual drift of students and families into the sports hall which built up to a mass entry as the clock neared the planned start time of 09:00 hours on a very bright and sunny Saturday, the 23rd of June.

Having all obtained their competition numbers, the hall was called to order and the black belts duly marshalled the ranks of competitors into neat rows.

The Grandmaster then addressed the massed ranks with a speech of welcome and extolled all to do their very best and with as much courtesy and respect possible, not only for their opponents and officials but for the final decisions as well. Grandmaster Loke also reiterated what is virtually our competition 'slogan' that it is "not the winning that counts but the participation and the efforts by all to make the day yet another success for our martial art family".

A very well-organised photo shoot then took place, recording everyone for posterity in their finery and finished on time, a tribute to photographer David Brown and his assistants with so many people to manoeuvre and capture on film.

The Thau (forms) competition began with a reasonably slow start as many settled into the format but then rapidly increased to a general buzzing in the hall as the nine rings did their business.

As usual, the vast majority of competitors entered their particular event with a concentrated wish and determination to overcome their nerves and balance their memory with ability. Alas it was not to be for a few as the nerves completely wiped out any memory and they were unable to complete their forms. (People - if it happened to you - you are not the first and most certainly will not be the last. Performing in public stretches many people in many arenas of life and is certainly not the sole preserve of Tang Sou Dao; so don't worry - small consolation I know - but better luck next year.)

Incidentally another point must be made here; it was also quite gratifying for the forms judges who, whilst unable to see what marks their colleagues were giving each competitor, to find in post-event discussion that generally they all agreed on the top three placings within their groups, whatever the order, and in most cases the order tallying, even when the action was close despite the variations (albeit very slight) from the various clubs and regions.

This can only be due to the Grandmaster's continued uncompromising teachings and the effort made by all to attain a nationwide and indeed international uniformity of performance with these patterns.

However, the forms competition came to a close with the Duan grades having to perform two forms in the centre rings and being judged on both and then the presentation of trophies by the master instructors to those fortunate enough to be more successful in the morning's events.

The mats were then quickly sorted out by the students of the local classes and the free sparring competition duly began.

Sterling work was done that day by both competitors and officials and the level of techniques used was extremely high with all aspiring to give as good a performance as they possibly could. In this respect it was noted that many combatants used the block and counter to good effect rather than just single or 'automatic' action. It was pleasing to see more and more judges spotting this and awarding double points accordingly. Obviously all the "adjudicating" training the officials do in their spare time is paying off, likewise with the students, who appear to be thinking more when they fight.

Overall the standard was very high and injuries were minimal although one Duan grade had to be double-checked but he was back on his feet by the end of the evening with no problems.

For those of you who may have spotted it, the excitement got rather too much for one young man who could not believe he lost his fight and said as much to anyone who could hear , including the referee, judges etc. - this is so far removed from his normal temperament it is untrue but nevertheless we did have a chat, his pending grading went back a month and matters are now back to normal with a very contrite and embarrassed young person. Wouldn't life be boring without the odd hiccup?

With the vast majority of fights however, all went well with hopes and dreams either being dashed or realised. The officials of each ring who had been delegated with the enjoyable duty of selecting those showing most spirit throughout the day had a very difficult task to do. Eventually those concerned came up with their list for outstanding, individual spirit and the five have their names listed at the end with distinction.

The mats were cleared, the assembly gathered and once again the master instructors had the pleasurable task of distributing the trophies with Grandmaster Loke himself presenting the above special awards and the one which I know gives him great pleasure each year, that of the "Bill Edwards Memorial Trophy" for the under 16 student demonstrating either commendable advance in training, true martial art spirit or having overcome some physical or other such obstacle in their lives. The winner this year was Samantha Isbell, 1st Duan of Braintree in Essex who generally is one of the first nationwide to submit her competition entry form each year, trains three to four times per week (ensuring her father and two brothers get out of their armchairs to train also) and has an overall excellent attitude to her martial art practice.

This year for the first time, the Grandmaster decided to give a special award and this went to Mr Steven Merrell, 3rd Duan, for his continued dedication each year as the games controller and master of ceremonies. Without Steve, things would not go as smoothly as they do and his constant vigilance and organisation needed public recognition. Unfortunately Steve had to leave shortly before the end of the day's proceedings and so the award was not so public as we would have liked but an announcement was made. We are sure he enjoyed the bottle of Scotch that accompanied the award in private and did not need the public for that.

Some excellent demonstrations followed with:

Mr. Korel Gokcezade, 2nd Duan, vertical punch on 6 tiles from an upright stance.

Mr. Sam Peniston, 1st Duan, superb demonstration by one so young of the complicated Luohan three form.

Ms Angie Thomas, 3rd Duan, defending herself against the unwanted attentions of Mr. Neil Arnold, 2nd Duan, with the desired results, much to the pleasure of the audience.

Ms. Stephanie Harvey, 2nd Duan, close quarters tile break and immediate turn with side kick on breeze blocks.

Mr David Lyons, 2nd Duan, demonstrating some extremely agile high and long jumping kicks.

Our commiserations to all the other demonstration volunteers who offered to perform but we simply ran out of time. Next year, please!

The audience and competitors applauded and cheered all demonstrations enthusiastically and Grandmaster Loke then stood to deliver his closing speech.

He thanked all for attending, especially those who had travelled long distances, and applauded the efforts made by all to ensure yet another successful national championships.

With rousing cries of "Tang Sou", the tired but happy assembly duly dispersed either homeward bound or to the nearest watering hole, all discussing the block that missed or the punch that got away and with many of the younger members clutching their trophies oh so tightly as if to say: "I worked blooming hard for this and I'm not losing it now!"

Sums it all up really!

Our very grateful thanks to:

The manager and staff at Clements Hall Sports Centre

Mrs Loke for many, many hours of computer work etc.

Master Adam Goward (5th Duan) for spending a whole day in preparation of the day's programme

Miss Tina Matania (1st Duan Senior) for certificate printing and administration

Ms Caroline McKeoun for door reception and security

Mr Mick Gevaux and Tara, the efficient and capable paramedics

Danny & Ben Hodgson for delivering mats for two free sparring areas.

All demonstrators, helpers and background boys and girls.

Lastly but by no means least:
You the competitors, your dedicated families and supportive friends and all who attended,

Thank you for joining us, for without you, there would be no competition.

Report by: Master Chris Cook, 4th Duan, Secretary BTSDF

© Ren Yi Wu Kwan Tang Sou Dao, All Rights Reserved