Chinese Teams Dominate
Tianjin Shuaijiao Tournament
US Team, Europeans, put up a strong fight

Members of the US Team at the Tianjin Tournament, left to right:  Jan-yu Weng, Eric Brooks, Willie Theunissen, Daniel Cliff, Jamie Van Doren, and Nick Masi                  ~ photo by Heidi Theunissen

2005 Year of the Rooster Tournament
Is Last in OSU's Larkins Hall

Thanks to all the participants in what was the historic LAST Shuai Chiao Kungfu tournament in Larkins Hall.  This Summer we will be moving to the new Recreation and Physical Activity Center (RPAC) facility.  Larkins Hall will be demolished, and the new PAES building will rise on the site.  This last tournament was smaller than some in the past but very successful.  There were no major injuries, and despite the tough round-robin format, not a single contestant dropped out or forfeited a match.  A total of 23 Shuai Chiao students from four separate schools participated in 42 matches over a two hour period.  Extra thanks to the ring referees who donated their time and expertise: Tim Braun, John Ervin, Matt Mollica, Jerry Sheldon, and Jeff Williams, to announcer Suzanne Heckman, and to our ring timers and scorekeepers.  Also, thanks to former OSU Kungfu Club members of over a decade ago, Al Karnai and Jonathan Thomas, who came in to help with the tournament.

Court 5, in Larkins Hall at the Ohio State University, has been the venue for over twenty years of shuai chiao kungfu tournaments.  The OSU Shuai Chiao Kungfu Club was founded in the early eighties by Dr. Daniel (Chi-hsiu) Weng while he was completing his doctoral studies at OSU. Over the years dozens of tournaments and hundreds of shuai chiao classes have taken place in the cavernous Court 5 area, with its ample spectator gallery and wall-to-wall mats.  We are looking forward continuing our tradition in the exciting new RPAC facility soon to be opening.

These Rooster tournament officials were all contestants in the 1986 tournament

The new RPAC facility rises beside Larkins Hall
With over 25,000 square feet of fitness space featuring 4 gyms with 12 courts for basketball and volleyball, 14 racquetball/squash courts,
a 4-lane jogging/walking track, 5 multipurpose rooms and more, it has been dubbed the "Taj Mahal" of college recreational sports facilities.

    Jerry Sheldon            Mike Grigsby         Matt Mollica              Jeff Williams         Tim Braun

McCarter, Dennis 5th
Hopner, Ben      5th
Chen, Timothy    5th
Shih, Jonathan   4th
Chang, Paula     5th
Isoda, Shigero   2nd

Wong, Trevor     5th
Chen, Janet      5th
Ting, Leonard    5th
Chen, Julia      4th
Ting, Antonia    3rd
Wong, Aaron      4th

Roman, Christina 2nd
Lin, Charles     1st
Chen, Robert     4th
Chen, Robert     3rd
Wong, Corey      5th
Tsai, Philip     5th

~ Analysis of Tianjin YiChuan JuLong Cup continued... 

While not any faster than the average competitor at the competition, the Mongolian athletes had the strength to muscle through techniques that were lacking in, for example, speed or angle.  The techniques that seemed most popular to the Mongolian teams were those that involved grinding (mo), but when given the opportunity, they would pull off big techniques like inner thigh thrusting and vertical lifting throws.  Like the Chinese teams, they also excelled at hand control.  So much so that many of the athletes seemed as content at just controlling their opponents hands as they were getting a grip on the jacket.  Easily the largest of the heavyweights, the Mongolians dominated the higher weight classes.
     European teams had a strong showing with athletes from France, Italy, Spain, and Great Britain giving a tough fight to their Asian counterparts.  The team captain from France put on an exceptional showing against one of the best fighters in his division.  That match was one of the most dynamic of the night with many fast and hard throws.  The French athlete, for the

most part, stayed low with leg and knee seizing throws while his competition looked for pulling and hip throws.  One of the tallest in his division, an Italian competitor stayed high, using strong pulling (la) and shaking (yao) techniques.  The Italian coach credits his athlete's strength at these techniques to his use of fa jin.
     Considering the amount of preparation time and the quality of the Asian athletes, the US team did admirably.  Three of the five athletes passed on to the second round of competition.  The other two had the hard luck of fighting, in their first matches, the athletes that would go on to place in the top of their weight classes.  The US athletes tried an array of techniques to counter the speed and strength of their opponents.  For the most part, the US athletes played a defensive game, relying on counters and quick footwork to gain points.  As US and European athletes become more experienced and have more exposure to international competition, we can be sure to see some world-class fighters coming out of the West.

Reflections on the 2004 Tianjin International Shuai Chiao Tournament
By Wilhelmus Theunissen, OSU Shuai Chiao Kungfu Club

In December 2004 the Tianjin YiChuan JuLong Cup International Shuaijiao Tournament was held in Tianjin, China. We arrived in Tianjin on the 15th of December. The tournament started on the 17th and ran until the 19th.  The US team included Dr. Daniel Weng and Jan-yu Weng as coach and manager and Eric Brooks, Daniel Cliff, Nick Masi, Willie Theunissen and James Va Doren. The tournament was very well organized and attended by 16 countries, including China, Mongolia, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Japan, Korea and the United States. China and Mongolia dominated the proceedings and entered six and two teams respectively with two persons in each weight class.

The US team had a few students assigned to us from the local university as interpreters and helpers for administrative purposes. We became good friends with them and they really helped a lot to make things run smoothly and stay organized. The hotel in Tianjin served breakfast, lunch and dinner and it was very interesting to have dumplings and rice for breakfast. The food was good but we visited the local McDonalds frequently for a culinary change of scene.   ~ continued, page 4

~ Reflections on Tianjin Tournament -- continued...

The first day we had opportunity to work out on the mats in the gymnasium where the tournament was held. As a first time participant everything was very new to me. In international rules Shuai Chiao wrestling shoes have to be used. One big advantage I found changing from barefoot to shoes is that it is harder to sprain toes. Shoes detract in speed but the footing feels more secure. It was a good experience for me to work out with the more experienced team members, Eric Brooks and Daniel Cliff. I would have liked to work out more before the start of the tournament but each team had only one session in the gymnasium. The night before the start of the tournament we had a banquet with speeches delivered by local dignitaries of Tianjin. There was also an acrobatic performance by children that was really quite amazing. The food was very good and we had a selection of about twenty dishes.

Once the tournament started it was clear that the Chinese were going to be formidable in the lower weight classes with the Mongolians dominating in the heavier classes.  Unlike the US tournaments, points are lost for stepping out of bounds. I was out after the first two matches. The first was against a Spaniard and the second against an athlete from the Chinese team. The speed, strength and skill of the Chinese was impressive and it was a very one sided match. We all had very hard matches against the Chinese. James VanDoren and Nick Masi won one match each.

For the less experienced team members the trip was exciting and a big opportunity to learn from and see the best Shuai Chiao competitors in the world in action. We had a lot of opportunities to meet and talk to athletes from other teams. Shuai Chiao is a popular sport in many European countries as well and they did fairly well against the Chinese teams, especially taking into account the lower number of participants. Although we have a long way to go the experience gained made the trip more than worthwhile.

Eric Brooks of the US Team looks for some leverage against his sturdy Chinese opponent