This last weekend, ICMAC held their annual international circuit tournament, in San Francisco, California.
One good thing that the ICMAC tournaments have to offer, is "continuous sparring". This segues nicely into sanda and/ or sanshou, which, IMHO, offer the closest sporting match suitable to a Hung Ga, Choy Li Fut, Jow Ga, or Hap Ga/ Lama system fighter's foundation. You know, the stuff WE do.
In the past, kungfu matches were plagued by disorganization, specifically, an inability to agree on a standard set of rules. This meant, that you and your guys would be left guessing until the very last minute, exactly what it was that you were training for (grab/ no grab, throw/ no throw, head punch/ no head punch), sometimes up to the very day of the tournament.
That's why "continuous sparring", sanshou and sanda are a real blessing. Standardized rules allow us to be focused in our training, which in turn improves the tournament experience overall.
Michael Goodwin
www.sfhunggar.com