2006 Chinese New Year Celebration

[SiGung Vincent A. Cabais]

Our 11th Annual Chinese New Year Celebration is upon us!  This is the 9th year here in Missouri and I expect it to be grand one.

I scheduled our Celebration & In-School Tournament for Saturday, February 11, 2006 starting at 11:00 am.  Details to follow.

[SiGung Vincent A. Cabais]

Alright.  This year we will start with the Celebration (Demonstrations, Hoi Gong, Lion/Dragon Dances and meal) @ 11:00 am.

The In-School Tournament will promptly start at 2:00 pm.  Entry Fee = $5.00/ per division (per person).

Divisions are as follows:

Empty Handed Forms:  Novice, Beginner, Intermediate and Instructors.

Weapon Forms:  Beginner and Intermediate.

'Lun-Da' (Mutli-Gate Sparring):  Novice, Beginner and Intermediate.

Demo Team:  Springfield, Rolla, Kansas City and Saint Louis. ($5.00 per team)

Ma Bu (Horse Stance):  All ranks for the Grand Championship.

Awards will be given to the winners of each division.  There is no such thing as 2nd Place.

[Ron Davenport]

Are spectators allowed?? Just asking. Take care and have a good one.

[SiGung Vincent A. Cabais]

Traditionally our In-School Tournaments are closed to the public.  However, you are more than welcome to attend the Celebration.  There will be some Kung Fu there.

[Ron Davenport]

Sifu Cabais, Thats understandable. Thanks.

R.Davenport

[SiGung Vincent A. Cabais]

I don't want to speak for anyone else, but I had a great time this year.

There were not that many of us this time around.  Regardless, it was great to see all of those that did show up this year.  It was nice to have Sifu Joe Craig and the Apex Training Center join us also.  It is amazing how close Silat and Kung Fu are.  However, I think Tim Rivera was being a bit gentle with his partner in their demonstration.

The unity and brotherhood that we all share is a special thing.  Regardless of of our different methods or backgrounds we all share something in common, Honor!  Our family is getting larger.  I look forward to next year!

[tim rivera]

i had a good time as well.  the lion dances were great; i didn't expect to see a children's lion dance.

i hope it wasn't too obvious to the audience that i was being too gentle with my partner during the silat demonstration (presenting silat gently would give a false impression).  plans changed at the last minute; i wasn't supposed to be giving the demo, so i just winged it.  jason (my partner) is very new to silat and didn't know what i was going to do to him.  so, some of the more violent throws i did at a walk-through to let him know how he was going to fall; afterwards, i'd do the throw with a little more speed to make it look good.

re: silat and kung fu

it's funny- a couple of your students that i know long ago got to witness you demonstrating some applications of leopard.  their immediate reaction was 'that looks like silat!'  there's a long history of interaction between the malay and the chinese.  i know that chinese immigrants (mostly from southern china) to the malay archipelago brought their kung fu, and in many cases, it adapted to and blended with the local silat to the point that it is considered distinct from its origin.  it's often called kuntao (or kuntaw) or kuntao silat.  i haven't studied any kuntao styles, but it's said that the original kung fu and silat styles fit together very well.

so, perhaps there was some influnce as a result of the cultures coming into contact, or maybe it's coincidental, considering how secretive martial artists tend to be.  we're fortunate to live in times where things are much more open, and we have many options to find what suits us.

 

tim