This is a guest post from mr. eric stamm who represented his country extraordinarily well at the world championships. he went home with an impressive silver medal!

“Going to malaysia to compete in the world tournament was incredible. It was my first time – though i’ve been competing on and off for many years, i’d never gone out of the country to compete in a tournament of that magnitude. By far, the experiences i had bonding with teammates are most memorable. It was really an amazing thing, to get to know my teachers and teammates better, but of course, it’s about getting to know yourself better, too. I know that i’ve grown a lot since beginning our training this year, and it’s been eye-opening to see that growth in the people i have been privileged enough to train with. The world tournament, in my opinion, was a great chance to ask the question, “when the chips are down, and the pressure is turned up all the way, who are you? who are you, really?” after that, it’s just about doing all you can to make sure you get an answer you like.”

A very happy birthday today to black belt, Dr. Art panella! he is celebrating a milestone birthday today and we want to wish him a wonderful day. We are so thankful Dr. P is part of our bok fu do family. He has been with east west for over 20 years now and our school wouldn’t be the same without his wonderful spirit! happy birthday doc!