By Matt Mollica, 6th Degree Black Belt,  2003 Paris Team USA Coach

Although it was held close to Christmas, December 20th and 21st, the United States team led by Dr. Chi-hsiu Weng made a strong showing both in the individual categories and as a team.  The team was joined by Pan-American Vice-President, Master Li Wing-Kay who served as the team judge as well as Master Tat Mou Wang as the team manager.  The women of Shuai-chiao captured the most medals with Tamera Lake earning a silver medal and Una Ilic also coming home with a silver medal in a hard fought contest against her opponent from Italy.  Both Una and Tamera are from Ho-I in Columbus, Ohio.  Angela Bigelow from Cleveland's Wing Lam Kung-fu took home a silver medal in a "nail biter" with an Algerian Shuai-chiao competitor.  California's Christina Roman, 13 years old (the youngest competitor in the tournament) fought as an adult, won a bronze medal in double overtime grueling battle of wits and will.  In the men's division which was crowded with as many as eight to ten people per weight category, She-Peng Weng won a silver medal in an overtime match that was arduous and exciting for all.  He managed this win while his father,

Coming up soon!

(Dr. Weng) his coach Master Mollica, team captain (his brother) Jan-yu Weng and the whole U.S. team shouted encouragement and advice!

Ellis Dixon fought a few of the best light weight fighters in the world and impressed the fighters from all countries who were impressed that at such a young age (14) he had so many moves and was able to respond to attacks naturally and counterattack with combinations.  Ellis not only won over the crowd but took home a bronze medal.

Team-wise the U.S. slipped a bit in the International rankings finishing fourth out of about twelve countries represented.  It did not help that the Algerians and
                               
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Women's Division
1 Tamera Lake
2 Julie Boron
3 Melinda Foot

Men's Lightweight Division

1 Jamie Van Doren
2 Ian Donovan
3 Johnathan Ho

Men's Welterweight

1 Matthew Corbett
2 Daniel Beck
3 Ryan Schumacher
4 Edward Booker

Men's Middleweight

1 Brandon Dever
2 David Blocksom
3 Jason Hall
4 Tim Goytowski

Men's Middle-Heavyweight

1 Wille Theunissen
2 Tom Dowd
3 Daniel Thomas
4 Jeremy Wolford

Men's Heavyweight Division

1 Raymond Trepanier
2 Jamie Doak
3 Jaron Bernstein

Men's Openweight Division

1 Josh Fragoso
2 Anthony Catalano
3 Robert Armstrong
4 Aaron Fown

The Shuai Chiao Kungfu Club at The Ohio State University held a regional tournament in Columbus, Ohio, on February 14th celebrating the Chinese New Year.  Featuring fighters from Wing Lam in Cleveland,  Ho-I in Columbus, and the OSU Kungfu Club, the adults-only tournament ran surprisingly fast, finishing in only three hours.  The experienced officials, two rings, tight match scheduling, and a single three-minute round per match, rather than the standard  two, two-minute rounds, resulted in an average time per match of only four and a half minutes.   Although some divisions were small, most of the 28 competitors got to fight three to four matches in the round-robin format.  Immediately following the tournament, Sifu Tim Braun gave an informal seminar on tournament technique, focusing on the importance of angle of attack and power from the center.  The day ended with a banquet at Fortune Restaurant.

Paris Tournament continued...
French had two full teams of men and women.  The Algerian team was nationally selected through a tournament and paid to train together specifically for this tournament.  Many of the team consisted of national athletes in other fighting arts.  China and Hong Kong had separate teams including male and female fighters which made it that much more difficult to move up in the rankings.  Most of the gold medals went to the Chinese team, but the Algerian team did manage to pry some gold from their hands.

Everyone enjoyed the trip to France and following the tournament there was a lot of touring and socializing as members of the different countries ran into each other for the next few days in many parts of Paris.  The tournament further confirmed that Shuai-chiao continues to grow worldwide.  In order to remain competitive in the future, the USSA will need to continue developing great fighters, coaches, and teachers.  This competition and partnership with other countries can only help Shuai-chiao, it is an exciting challenge for all of us.

Other Upcoming Events for 2004 ----

Founded in November, 2003, The World Cardio Tai-chi Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the benefits of Cardio Tai-chi and ensuring its continued safe, effective, and fun practice.  Cardio Tai-Chi is a combination of ancient Chinese wisdom and modern sport science. It is a high energy, low-impact exercise based on the philosophies of the Chinese martial art and holistic health system, Tai-Chi Chuan. Using an innovative teaching approach, the "Tai-Chi Bird Story," Cardio Tai-Chi is easy to learn, remember, and practice by oneself or in groups

Announcing the World Cardio Tai-chi Association Website

The official website for the World Cardio Tai-chi Association was launched in early March, 2004. The website provides general information about Dr. Weng's Cardio Tai-chi system, information about where classes are being offered, ordering information for merchandise, and a calendar of events. Please check back for information about upcoming seminars, events and the 2004 Inaugural Tai-chi for Fitness Wushu Championships, scheduled for August.

-- Dr. Paul Wright of the University of Illinois receives his instructor certificate in the Tai-Chi Monkey system from Dr. Weng