Bao Trieu's Sanda Gala: a personal impression

"Hi Jan this is Earl!". "Hé Earl, how are ya'?" Earl continues with a typical Earl response: "Yes good. Busy, busy, busy, busy …….". "Say, next week on Sunday, we have a Sanda-gala in Groningen. And guess who will be there: ERNESTO HOOST!. So I thought perhaps we could present him with something as a token of appreciation from Martial Arts Groningen". "Gee Earl, that's a great idea!". "Yes, I thought so and you know, I thought perhaps you could give a short speech and give the present to Ernesto."

On Sunday, the 26th of January, the time had come. In collaboration with the Dutch Wushu Federation (NWF) and the World Kickboxing Association (WKA), the nationally and internationally well-known Wushu school "Bao Trieu" organised the Sanda (Chinese Kickboxing) Gala, led by Earl Blijd from Groningen. The Gala was a follow up of a training course for referees. This course was held under leadership of the French top referee William Nouchet.
It was Earl Blijd's idea to link the two events. In so doing, the freshly trained referees were able to apply their skills directly in practice. Secondly, the Gala served to acquaint the public with Sanda. The competition was for four Dutch titles. However, this was not yet everything. As a special guest, there was no one less that Ernesto "mr Pefect" Hoost. In a nutshell, all ingredients for a fantastic afternoon! And that's what it was going to be.

From the above verbatim of a telephone conversation between Earl and me, it is obvious that Earl had asked me to present a gift to Ernesto Hoost on behalf of the martial arts teachers in Groningen and also give a speech. It is like this, if I can do something for Earl, I certainly will. This time as well. But what can you say to someone like Ernsto Hoost without falling into some kind of cliché ramble. In short, it was necessary to put all thoughts in order and then elaborate on those. Finally, I had an idea, but no story.

The moment I entered the finely decorated gymnasium of the Academy for Physical Education on January 26th, the idea was still there and the story still missing. Until I was introduced to Ernesto Hoost. At that moment, I had my story. In spite of all his victories, this man is very modest. Perhaps even a little shy. I was sure now: my story wouldn't be about all the titles and victories in the field of sports. No, it was going to be about the fact that practising a martial art can have a positive effect on one's development as a human being!
Fortunately, I still had some time to put the story into shape. The day was introduced melodically by Ms Tang Bei and after the opening words of Carl Blijd, the public was treated to several demos. The presentation of the gift, whereby I was supported by a lovely assistant, and the speech were over very quickly. After handing out a kind of 'achievement award' on behalf of the WKA by Mark Horton, Ernesto Hoost himself spoke a few words. He expressed his gratitude for the appreciation shown. But he also put his achievements into perspective:
"People forget quickly that I, too, had to work hard and had to sacrifice to be able to perform so well." Was it Johan Cruyff who said: "Ieder voordeel heb z'n nadeel?". (Every advantage has its disadvantage. Note by translator: in the Dutch original, there is a grammatical error which makes this line particularly quotable)

After the speeches it was time to compete for the Dutch Sanda title in four weight classes. I have to say that the fights were tough. Perhaps the sincere interest by Hoost was influential. I found it remarkable to see that a man, who must have seen all there is to see, was still able to become immersed in this afternoon. At some point I was asked to see if he was willing to give an interview to OOG-TV. That was fine to him, but only at the end of the day because he had, after all, come to see people fight!
My personal impression is that Bao Trieu has once again proven it's role as pioneer in promoting martial arts in general and Chinese art in particular. The hall was filled with many 'freshmen' and authorities. These people were given a well-filled and tightly organised programme. The presence of the local tv-station made it possible that even more people were able to gain an insight into the phenomenon of Sanda.

A last remark: The fact that Earl keeps involving other martial arts teachers in his projects contributes to a great extent to the continuation of the MAG-concept. I do, however, hope that other marial arts trainers in Groningen will also begin to pick up the 'MAG-thread' again and start organising events that will benefit all of the martial arts world in Groningen.

Translation: Bettina van Hoven