NTD held its 7th International Traditional Chinese Martial Arts Competition in New York state Aug. 25–28. Twenty-five competitors won bronze, nine won silver, but no one qualified for gold.
Forty-eight competitors from around the world took part in seven categories in the finals on Sunday. Two competitors are a father-and-son duo from Colombia, who both won silver.
“We wake up at three in the morning and begin practicing martial arts from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. It’s been this way pretty much since I was born,” Armilali Pinzon said.
Armilali’s father, Mauricio Pinzon, said: “We pay a lot of attention to our spiritual cultivation, that’s why we’ve been able to do martial arts well. Because our spirit and body are one.”
Another silver medalist is Lin Chi-Hsien from Taiwan, who participated in the Southern Fist category.
“A competition like this one makes us confident that we are traveling in the right direction, and that we are willing to keep trying our best, and pass on this martial art,” Lin said.
The competition aims to revive traditional Chinese martial arts and display their true value to the world.
Chris Chappell, the host of China Uncensored, also participated as a contestant. Chappell is a fan of traditional Chinese culture and has been learning martial arts since a young age. He won the Honorable Mention award this year, and shared the biggest lesson he learned about traditional martial arts.
“I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned from particularly Chinese style traditional martial arts, is they have a saying, you know, the soft overcomes the heart. I think you’ve probably heard it. And I think a lot of times in life, we learned that like, anger or rage, those are, you know, a type of strength that we can use to like, get through hard times, but it’s very dangerous emotion because then that can turn on people closest to your family, friends,” Chappell said. “But in Chinese martial arts, you learn that strength can come through tranquility, and peace, and that’s a much bigger, broader form of strength.”
The competition has four award categories, gold, silver, bronze, and honorable mention. No gold awards were handed out this year.
Head judge of the competition Li Youfu explained: “We’ve had this kind of situation in every past competition. If the folks don’t meet the standard for gold, we leave the medals unawarded. This would also encourage the folks. If they come back in future competitions and show improvement, that spot is open for them.”
The judge says it’s unfortunate that no one qualified for gold this year, but that he hopes they will be able to hand out the gold award next year.
The traditional Chinese martial arts competition is part of a series of international culture and arts events organized by NTD.
Full List of Winners
Gold: Vacant
Silver: Armilali Pinzon, Cai Wen-xiang, Li Chunling, Shelbi Gill, Lin Chi-hsien, Eric Kwai, Lin Sheng-chi, Tang Wan-li, Mauricio Pinzon
Bronze : Cai Wenmin, Katrina Audet, Yao, Kuan-ting, Sergio Torres, Timothy Freeman, Luis Mendez, Liu Tayen, Liu Zichuan, Chen Chin-chih, Alysson Tony Bahia, Marcus Leonard, Karel Korenc, Sun Wan-yu, Obi Umeh, Ian Ly, Hu Min-chen, Megan Westerman, Mireille Johnson, Huang Shu-jen, Jorge Perez, Anthony Casella, Michael Hauf, Chen Shao-hsuan, Wang Guolong, Stanley Meng
Honorable Mentions: Chen Ping-ju, Brian Uriel Mocha, Shakthimeena Meenakshisundaram, Wang Yu-pei, Jennifer Bui, Jimy Garcia, Daniel Hernández, Chiang Hsin-yin, Zhao Yuecheng, Chuang Kuo-chih, Chris Chappell, Chung Bo-tse, Mario Salazar, Chen Chang-keng
Special Contribution: Alberto Fortoul, Chiang Hsin-yin, Chuang Kuo-chih, Li Hongguang