Hey gang,

I took the plunge and joined this organization and plan to attend
the certification course for judging and officiating at sanctioned
Chinese martial arts competitions. The courses are being offered on
the 15th of May '04, in Hersehy Pa. The regional qualifyer tournament
will be the following day. I would encourage any teacher or even
advanced adult student to do so also. It will help our art grow here
in the Tristate as a whole. Adding even more respectable credentials
to our resume certainly can't hurt either. The growth and recent
successes of our younger members in the local "Openstyle" competition
pushed me towards this direction of thinking. The local open
tournament scene is tolerable in the interim but in the long run
limiting. The knowledge of the local karate based tournament
officials to judge our Chinese styled young competitors leaves alot
to be desired. In the past we always had to grin and bare it due to
the lack of qualified Chinese styled judges. This organiztion is
nationally recognized and looks promising for providing an even
playing field for us to compete in as well as a chance to increase
our overall knowledge and skill with the various workshops and
seminars with like minded artists that are offered with these
sanctioned competitions. I've added the link for you to click on
titled US Wushu Union. You can browse it at your leisure and see what
you think. They list upcoming events and workshops. Had I looked into
this earliar there would have been more time to prepare for the
Competition coming up in April on the weekend of the 9th in FairFax
Va. that looks very interesting.

Cheers

Mel