Masters of Perseverence - The World Tang Soo Do Association

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Relationships: 80 PointsThis is part four of a four part series involving a martial arts perspective and reflection from an extended study in Shanghai ChinaThe most popular card game inChina is called “bashifen,” literallytranslated as “80 points.” The gameseems to be an odd take on euchre orbridge and it requires only a couple ofhands to grasp the rules and learnhow to play. The game is played withtwo decks and you begin by calling atrump suit. When starting a hand youhave the option of playing a singlecard, a pair of matching cards, or twopairs of consecutive matching cards.When playing a single card, the gameis fairly straightforward: the highestcard played wins.However, when playing a pair (ora pair of pairs) it gets interesting.When a pair is led, everyone mustsubsequently play two cards. If you donot have a pair, you then throw anytwo cards. In this scenario, only ahigher pair in the same suit or a pairin the trump suit can beat the leader.For example, when playedsingularly, a Six will defeat a Four but,when played as a pair, two Fours arestronger than a combined Eight and aTen or even a trump King and atrump Queen. A synchronized pair, nomatter their singular strength, isstronger than an unsynchronized pair,adding to the adage “two are betterthan one.”In China, we see many pairs ofpeople walking hand-in-hand or armsinterlocked. By our Westerninterpretation, this may seem reallyodd: two people who appear to besnuggling close to each other whilewalking down the street in extremelyhot and humid temperatures. It is notthat they are swooning from the heatof the day and are subsequently tooweak to walk on their own nor are theydating. It is something far moresignificant.So what are these people doingwhen they hold hands? They aremaking a pair. A pairing orrelationship does not solely refer tolove or intimacy but includes allacquaintances, associations, andfriendships. If we consider ourselves acard in the world’s deck, then somepeople would carry more seniority andcould be considered an Ace or aQueen. However, some of us areEights or Fours.In China, I was not only a studentbut also a foreigner with horriblelanguage skills, making me theequivalent of a Two in a non-trumpsuit. Starting relationships is likestarting a hand of 80 Points. To winover someone’s hand, you need toeither lay a matching card sooner orplay a higher card. Our simple gameof meeting others now becomes acomplex series of exchanges requiringIt is not ironic that themost popular game inChina allows for animmediate, formidablerelationship to be createdand that these relationshipscontrol the game.It is another example of theimportance of knowingabout relationships,understanding theirimportance, and learninghow to create andcultivate them.a combination of deception,intimidation, deployment, andmaneuvering.We gain power through ourrelationships and we double it byfinding a match. In the West weconsider this match our spouse orsignificant other; often it is thought ofas taboo to form that type of a tightrelationship with anyone else.However, this practice is not onlyaccepted in China but also necessary.A single card is not very powerful andcan quickly be defeated. However,when paired, it outwardlydemonstrates to all of the card-sharksthat they must beat the pair in orderto win. The pairing makes themmutually stronger.In the martial arts, this pairing isjust as significant. Without partners,there are no one-steps or freesparring; without seniors, there are noteachers; without juniors, there arestudents; and without students, thereare no Masters.In the West, we often stereotypeand sum everything up into concisewords, idioms, or phrases: “snooty” forthe French, “Man’s best friend” fordogs, “Bruce Lee” for everythingmartial arts related. A stereotype forthe East is that “honor” is a majorlifestyle factor. Though not entirelyfalse, this is a misinterpretation of theway that the east interpretsrelationships and rates theirimportance.So, we refine our stereotype andsummarize it into the phrase “it is notwhat you know, it is who you know.”Though not entirely false this is stillnot completely accurate. Aftermultiple revisions we eventuallyconclude, with a more accurateinterpretation, “How much discomfortare you willing to endure despite anycircumstance?”Some specific examples to helpillustrate this are “Are you willing tohold my hand despite the heat andhumidity?” “Are you willing to listen tome practice my oral report despite noteating lunch?” “Are you willing toendure harsh and embarrassingcomments from your classmates toresearch this article?”It is not ironic that the mostpopular game in China allows for animmediate, formidable relationship tobe created and that these relationshipscontrol the game.It is another example of theimportance of knowing aboutrelationships, understanding theirimportance, and learning how tocreate and cultivate them. Sometimesit takes humility and patience andother times it takes initiative andleadership but it always takes strategy.We have to be careful not to overplayor underplay our cards.Otherwise, we might findourselves winning hands with nopoints, or winning hands after thegame has already been decided.8 WTSDA News January 2007
Region #8 Eastern Tang Soo Do ChampionshipThe Region #8 Eastern TangSoo Do Championship was agreat success this year. It tookplace at the Delaware Technicaland Community College, StantonCampus in Newark, DE on August 26.Most of the tournament took placeinside, except for food and souvenirsales, and a small group that gatheredoutside to enjoy the sunny 82 degreetemperature, making the wellventilatedgym and the breeze outsidea very pleasant choice. The gym waslarge enough for the event and thebleachers offered a comfortable placefor observers. Lists, booths, bathrooms,and locker rooms were well markedalleviating any frustration that couldadd to an already nervous competitivestomach.During the opening ceremoniesthe Grandmaster stated that thepurpose of the three separate region 8zone championships was to offer moretraining opportunities in essentialareas. The central championship’stheme was teamwork, the western wascreativity, and the eastern was forbreaking; however, all three of thethemes were visible at the Region #8Eastern Tang Soo Do Championship.The first competition was for theadult black belts. It was notuncommon to see Cho Dan and SamDan competing in one ring. Whenasked of Jill Woolford, Sam Dan, ofShin Karate how she approachedsparring against a Cho Dan, herresponse was, “I meet the opponentwhere she is, seeking out weaknessesand using different approaches”.When asked of Joshua Remmell thedifferences that he felt throughout thecompetition, he said that in thebeginning he wanted to win, thepressure to do the best is ever present,but felt that even though he won threefirst places, he needed improvement.His fellow practitioner, Patrick, felt thatmany techniques are learned over time.Creativity and teamwork couldclearly be seen during the kyuck paportion of the tournament. Somechose to jump over chairs beforebreaking, others were blindfoldedbefore spinning and kicking, and eventhe young red belts proved their abilityto speed break. For an event that hasnot consistently taken place incompetition, the competitors portrayedexcellent confidence.The KMAI studios hosted theRegion #8 Eastern Championship. Allparticipating studios were delegatedDuring the opening ceremoniesthe Grandmaster stated that thepurpose of the three separateRegion 8 Zone Championshipswas to offer more trainingopportunities in essential areas.The Central Championship’s themewas teamwork, the Western wascreativity, and the Eastern was forbreaking; however, all three of thethemes were visible at the Region#8 Eastern Tang Soo DoChampionship.responsibilities. The smoothness of theevent pivoted on teamwork and eachindividual studio doing their best attheir assigned task.The different responsibilities,being of function and teamwork, nothierarchy, proved that many hands caneasily accomplish one large endeavor.Some tasks were constant while otherswere easy and quick, yet all wereessential unto one purpose – to serveeach other.Master Watters stated that the bestpart of the competition, for him, was tosee the technical level of the studentsincrease. The experience ofobservation gave the instructors abetter vision for their training goals.The competition forced thepractitioners to another level, withplenty of goals to reach for next time.continued on page 11January 2007 WTSDA News 9
Page 1 and 2: WORLD TANG SOO DO ASSOCIATIONNewsle
Page 4 and 5: Over 700 Competitors in Region 8 Ch
Page 6 and 7: Understanding PerseveranceIt is far
Page 10 and 11: GREEN BELT ESSAYIt makes me feel li
Page 12 and 13: JOIN OUR $1,000 DONOR’S CLUB!In J
Page 14 and 15: 2006 October Dan Testing Results367
Page 16: WTSDA Sanctioned EventsThe events l

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