You know, sometimes a teacher is more proud when his students do well than he would be if he had done it himself.

Three of my hard-core students went to a big tournament in Chicago three days ago, on March 29--the 40th Annual AKA Grand Nationals/WSKF World Finals.They represented me very well. The tournament included internal arts competition, with Chinese judges who knew what they were looking for.

I'm very proud of Chris Miller (first level brown sash on left in photo), Kim Kruse (blue sash second from left) and Kim Miller (first level brown sash next to me in photo).

Chris Miller won gold in tai chi forms, gold in internal forms, and silver (second place) in weapons forms. Internal forms included Hsing-I and Bagua. Weapons forms included all internal styles.

Kim Miller won silver in weapons, bronze in tai chi forms and bronze in internal. She also won a gold medal in northern forms with one of our tournament forms called "Mountain Storm."

Kim Kruse swept her division, winning three gold medals -- gold in tai chi forms, gold in internal forms (hsing-i or bagua) and gold in weapons forms.

I had planned on competing, but the recovery from pneumonia has sidelined me so far this year. But when you hear that the judges tell your students that their skills are higher than they should be, considering the time they've studied, it's a great feeling, and a great reflection on the dedication of these three. When Nancy and I moved to Florida in June, 2007, these guys showed their dedication. They organized practice sessions. Kim Kruse donated a building for practice. They kept it going until Nancy and I returned last October.

Congratulations, guys. All three of them are also preparing for their promotion tests this Saturday. Better be ready. :)