On April 12, Case Western Reserve University’s Club Kung Fu participated in the 33rd Annual Great Lakes Kung Fu Championships at Maple Heights High School. The international tournament features over 150 divisions, allowing athletes to compete in various events such as Kung Fu Forms and Weapons, Tai Chi, Xing Yi, Bagua, Light Contact Sparring and Chinese Wrestling. 

This year, the club sent 10 athletes to the championship and returned with 17 medals. The Spartans competed in Kung Fu Forms at the beginner and intermediate levels as well as Shuai Jiao, also known as “Chinese wrestling.” In the beginner forms category, first-year Julia Schiek took second place in both women’s open and weapons events. On the men’s side, first-years Xavier Burval and Tyler Gilson tied for second in the open event, with first-year Alex Nerney taking third. In the weapons event, Burval and Nerney finished second and third, respectively. 

At the women’s intermediate level, fourth-year Grace Koh earned the bronze medal in both the short and long weapon forms, while third-year president of CWRU Kung Fu Anna-Sung Park received a gold medal in the open forms event and silver in the long weapons form event. 

Park shared her reaction to learning she had medaled. 

“Frankly, it was mostly disbelief when I heard my name get called for medals. After that, it was more disbelief. My face hurt at the end of the day from how much I was smiling,” she said. 

In the men’s category, second-year Ben Amsterdam took home silver in the open event and bronze in the long weapons event. Second-year Vice President of CWRU Kung Fu James Flores also medaled after placing second in the short weasons event. 

In the Shuai Jiao competition, first-year Justin Shih placed second in the men’s 133-143 lbs bracket, while Schiek and Park took second and third place, respectively, in the 115-135 lbs bracket. 

“Fighting against a teammate of mine was kinda scary, but it was really fun, knowing that no matter what the outcome was, there would be a CWRU student winning the match. I got absolutely demolished, but it was a lot of fun!” Park said. 

Flores recalls his favorite memory from the tournament: “I want to say ‘getting thrown like a sack of potatoes,’ but it seems a little counterintuitive. Honestly though, in Shuai Jiao every opportunity you get on the mat is memorable, win or lose.” 

Flores reiterates the statement as he explains how the medals are not everything and it is the memories that make the experience. 

“It was more fun participating than actually winning,” he said. “The medals are nice but I really didn’t feel much other than exhaustion and relief when the time came. The excitement came much later, celebrating with the team and taking pictures is when I felt the most proud of myself and my team. After the competition we were even lucky enough to be invited to dinner by some of the other Kung Fu teams, where we got to celebrate with, and get to know people outside our own club.”