2015 Tempt One Kung Fu Tournament

While our focus in teaching is to promote the art of Eagle Claw Kung Fu as a student's personal journey: a means for self expression, fitness, self-defense (whatever the motivation might be), we also support students who are interested in competing in tournaments.

Ultimately, tournament competition is not about winning medals. Competing is about performing in a new environment, under stress, against other members of the greater martial arts community. Through competing, you develop the skill to focus under pressure - you test yourself and grow from the experience.

There is a common saying that to compete is not to compete against others but against oneself.

What this means is that through the course of competition training you push yourself to higher limits, focusing on details of movement, developing better skills of sparring and more. This type of focused training pushes you to try harder, to work harder and to do better. These aspects of tournament training make you an all around better martial artist and this carries over to other aspects of your daily life. While competing is by no means mandatory as a martial student, it definitely has its rewards.

One tournament that we compete in annually is the Temp One Competition put on by our friend Master Ron Quan of the East Wind Kung Fu School in Downtown LA. This tournament raises funds and support for ALS awareness and it's steadily drawing some of the best competitors in the region. Here are a few of our performances from the event.