The tournament, held on April 28th 2012, was another great success, showing how Chinese martial arts continues to grow in our area. The Zhong Yi Kung Fu Association once again came together to host this wonderful tournament and worked very hard to please the visitors that came from near and far. Our school had a total of over 40 volunteers that worked hard as judges, referees, coordinators, security personnel, score keepers, time keepers, announcers and general staff. That's not counting the 20 competitors that we fielded that day either.
Hosting a tournament is no easy task, for anyone, it takes hard work, dedication, perseverance, tolerance, understanding and, most importantly, a TEAM. The ZYKFA Team worked hard, as they always do, to put together a tournament, not for our school, not for ourselves, and certainly not to boast about who we are, it was put together for a simple reason, the ZYKFA people (this includes students, family and friends) have a passion for Chinese martial arts and making friends in every contact. This is something that was obvious throughout the day (before and after too) as I could see our people, greeting and welcoming total strangers, making connections and friendships throughout the event.
Our judges and referees were courteous, honest and humble, giving their opinions when asked and being considerate of all competitors regardless of them winning or not. The coordinators made sure the registration and events ran smoothly (props to the Shaolin Center crew for coordinating the taolu events), food was ready and available, tickets and passes were accounted for, the Facebook page was updated throughout the day, volunteers were available and ready to help with anything, competitors and VIP's were transported to and from the event effortlessly and the area was secure from opening to close.
The most important point made by the ZYKFA volunteer crew is that it was always smiling (even under some pressure and stress) and that at no point you would hear any of us say "that's not my job" or something similarly irritanting throughout the event.
There are four anchors that our school works hard on instilling in our members and the tournament showed that the ZYKFA Team has them in spades.
禮 - Lǐ - A sense of courtesy. All visitors and competitors, that checked in with me, mentioned, at one point or the other, how courteous and kind everyone was, from staff to officials they felt most welcome by the atmosphere we created.
義 - Yì - A sense of justice. We had a few instances of misunderstandings that needed clarification but after discussing the issues and explaining clearly what, how and why all parties were satisfied and none felt slighted.
廉 - Lián - a Sense of honesty. Competitors and coaches alike remarked on how the competition was fair and the judging was consistent. When someone did not know the answer to a question, instead of making it up (to make themselves look "good") they sought the answers from the right people.
恥 - Chǐ - A sense of ethics. Decisions throughout the event were dealt with seriously and with deep consideration for what was right and wrong, from simple issues in registration to complex issues in judging. There was no favoritism or innapropriate behavior by any of our members, the ZYKFA Team demonstrated how high their ethical sense was that day.
Many people like to talk about these and other virtues when they refer to their teachings in their schools, how they teach and instill these values in their students and/or members yet you see these students (and sometimes teachers) do just the opposite when it really counts. I couldn't be prouder of our members that day, for when it counted they were there, displaying the best characteristics that represent what Zhong Yi is all about.
Thank you sincerely from the bottom of my heart.
Nelson Ferreira
