History of Shaolin Nam Pai Chuan Competition

Competition has its place in most martial arts. Depending on the style or art practised, competition can be primarily form based or be more geared to sparring/combat. The Kung Fu School, Shaolin Nam Pai Chuan,(the System) gives it’s competitors the opportunity to compete in any or all of the various aspects of the art, be it sparring, weapons work, or empty hand forms.

Throughout his time training with Master Quek, Master Lai took part in many competitions in Malaysia. The format for competition was very similar to what we have now. However, the major difference is in the sparring events. Sparring, in Malaysia, was done in a very traditional way. The fights were held on a raised platform, and the objective was to either knock your opponent out, or knock them off the platform. There were no real rules and no protective clothing worn, and it was not uncommon for participants to be very seriously injured.

In 1982, Shaolin Nam Pai Chuan held it’s first competition at the Harrow Leisure Centre in London. The competition format was forms and sparring. The sparring was done by weight categories with a male and female category. Master Lai formulated the sparring rules based upon his experience in Tae Kwon Do, with the objective being to knock your opponent out.

Since then, the System has enjoyed holding competitions every three to four years, and these have been held all over the U.K. Students of the System have also, over the years, represented the System in various external competitions, (against other styles of Kung Fu), with great results.

As the System has grown in numbers, the level of competition participants has also grown, making the National Competition one of the most exciting events in the Systems calendar. Competitors who have taken part have shown great spirit, enjoyment, and more importantly a genuine lack of ego.

This year’s event will be held in Cardiff, which will be the first time Shaolin Nam Pai Chuan has held an event in Wales. It also sees some new events in the Black Belt divisions, and a change in the Black Belt sparring to now incorporate traditional San Da fighting.