It’s exciting to see that the National Titles and Top Ten Rating system is generating so much interest and enthusiasm on the circuit. This can be seen in the number of competitors who have traveled crosscountry to build their point standing and vie for national titles.

In three events—Orlando, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.—we had 1,565 competitors take part in the circuit. These numbers will dramatically increase in the 2010 competition season, becaue of the momentum that has been generated and the additional tournaments that will be a part of the ICMAC Worldwide Circuit.

Qualifying for National Champion Titles required that competitors participate in at least two of the three scheduled tournaments. This left out many top-seeded competitors who simply failed to fill this requirement, but who will still be featured in the Top Ten Rating.    

The Inside Kung-Fu and ICMAC Top Ten Rating will be published in the next issue of this magazine and at www.kungfuchampionship.com

National champion titles are only given to competitors in advanced divisions. Participation in at least two, five-star tournaments for 2009 was required. The National Champions for the 2009 ICMAC Worldwide Circuit are:

Traditional Hand Forms
Junior Boys: Garett Lubecki (Nick Scrima, Chinese Martial Arts Center, Dunedin, Fla.)
Junior Girls: Julie Drapkin (John Vanegas, Shaolin Academy, Pembroke Pines, Fla.)
Teen Boys: Justin Lee (Kam Lee, Kam Lee Martial Arts, Jacksonville, Fla.)
Teen Girls: Lauren Gohh (David Slaughter, Sifu Slaughter’s Chinese Martial Arts, Cranberry Township, Pa.)
Men, Northern Long Fist: David Thanphilom  (Shawn Miller, Golden Steel Athletic Association, Seattle, Wash.) & Matthew Martinez (Jamie Hooper, Flying Eagle Martial Arts, Moulton, Ala.)
Men, Northern Open: David Thanphilom (Shawn Miller, Golden Steel Athletic Association, Seattle, Wash.)
Men, Southern Long Hand: David Thanphilom (Shawn Miller, Golden Steel Athletic Association, Seattle, Wash.)
Men, Southern Short Hand: David Thanphilom (Shawn Miller, Golden Steel Athletic Association, Seattle, Wash.)
Men, Baji: Raz Levinson (Ma Long, Wu Tang Martial Arts, Flushing, N.Y.)
Men, Praying Mantis: Austin Chunn (Jamie Hooper, Flying Eagle Martial Arts, Moulton, Ala.)
Men, Eagle Claw: Matthew Martinez (Jamie Hooper, Flying Eagle Martial Arts, Moulton, Ala.)
Men, Mizong Luohan: Austin Chunn (Jamie Hooper, Flying Eagle Martial Arts, Moulton, Ala.)
Men over age 35: Julio Melo (Eduardo Marin, Divine Fist Kung Fu, Miami, Fla.
Women, Southern Long Hand: Tarah Bunton (John Wai, John Wai Kung Fu Academy, Plantation, Fla.)

Traditional Weapon Forms
Junior Boys Long Weapon: Garett Lubecki (Nick Scrima, Chinese Martial Arts Center, Dunedin, Fla.)
Junior Boys Short Weapon: Garett Lubecki (Nick Scrima, Chinese Martial Arts Center, Dunedin, Fla.)
Junior Girls Long Weapon: Julie Drapkin (John Vanegas, Shaolin Academy, Pembroke Pines, Fla.)
Junior Girls Short Weapon: Julie Drapkin (John Vanegas, Shaolin Academy, Pembroke Pines, Fla.)
Teen Boys Long Weapon: Justin Lee (Kam Lee, Kam Lee Martial Arts, Jacksonville, Fla.)
Teen Boys Short Weapon: Justin Lee (Kam Lee, Kam Lee Martial Arts, Jacksonville, Fla.)
Teen Boys Open Weapon: Justin Lee (Kam Lee, Kam Lee Martial Arts, Jacksonville, Fla.)
Teen Girls Long Weapon: Lauren Gohh (David Slaughter, Sifu Slaughter’s Chinese Martial Arts, Cranberry Township, Pa.)
Teen Girls Short Weapon: Lauren Gohh (David Slaughter, Sifu Slaughter’s Chinese Martial Arts, Cranberry Township, Pa.)
Teen Girls Open Weapon: Lauren Gohh (David Slaughter, Sifu Slaughter’s Chinese Martial Arts, Cranberry Township, Pa.)
Men, Long Weapon: Austin Chunn (Jamie Hooper, Flying Eagle Martial Arts, Moulton, Ala.)
Men, Short Weapon: Austin Chunn (Jamie Hooper, Flying Eagle Martial Arts, Moulton, Ala.)
Men, Open Weapon: Austin Chunn (Jamie Hooper, Flying Eagle Martial Arts, Moulton, Ala.)

Modern Wushu
Men, Short Weapon: Tyler Harris (Wang Tao, Kung Fu USA, Richardson, Texas)

Taiji Hand Forms
Men, Yang Style: Jonathan Wang (Jiang Hao Quan, Venice, Calif.)
Men, Chen Style: Jonathan Wang (Jiang Hao Quan, Venice, Calif.)
Men, Wu Style: Jonathan Wang (Jiang Hao Quan, Venice, Calif.)
Men, Other Style: Jonathan Wang (Jiang Hao Quan, Venice, Calif.)
Women, Yang Style: Julie Nieznay (Betsy Chapman, Open Door Tai Chi Academy, Douglassville, Pa.)

Taiji Weapon Forms
Men, Sword: Jonathan Wang (Jiang Hao Quan, Venice, Calif.)
Men, Other Weapon: Jonathan Wang (Jiang Hao Quan, Venice, Calif.)
Women, Sword: Julie Nieznay (Betsy Chapman, Open Door Tai Chi Academy, Douglassville, Pa.)

Xing Yi
Men: Jonathan Wang (Jiang Hao Quan, Venice, Calif.)

Bagua
Men: Jonathan Wang (Jiang Hao Quan, Venice, Calif.)

Liuhe Bafa
Men: Jonathan Wang (Jiang Hao Quan, Venice, Calif.)

Other Internal Weapons:
Men: Jonathan Wang (Jiang Hao Quan, Venice, Calif.)

Push Hands – Fixed Step
Men < 160 pounds: Ron Berle (Nick Scrima, Chinese Martial Arts Center, Dunedin, Fla.)
Men 160-180: Jonathan Wang (Jiang Hao Quan, Venice, Calif.)
Men 181-200: Anthony Spagnolo (Nick Scrima, Chinese Martial Arts Center, Dunedin, Fla.)
Men > 200: Jeff Justice (Herb Goldberg, Tai Chi Chuan, Atlanta, Ga.)
Women: C. J. Rhoads (Betsy Chapman, Open Door Tai Chi Academy, Douglassville, Pa.)

Push Hands – Restricted Step
Men 160-180: Jonathan Wang (Jiang Hao Quan, Venice, Calif.)
Men > 200: Jeff Justice (Herb Goldberg, Tai Chi Chuan, Atlanta, Ga.)

Continuous Sparring
Men < 160: Randy Grigsby (Jamie Hooper, Flying Eagle Martial Arts, Moulton, Ala.)
Men 181-200: Raz Levinson (Ma Long, Wu Tang Martial Arts, Flushing, N.Y.)
In addition, Grand Champion Awards for the Washington, D.C., tournament were given to:

Traditional Juniors – Boys
Garett Lubecki
Instructor: Nick Scrima
Chinese Martial Arts Center
Dunedin, Fla.

Traditional Juniors – Girls
Stephanie Miller
Instructor: Charles Middleton
Middleton’s Kung Fu
Richmond, Va.

Traditional Northern – Men
Austin Chunn
Instructor: Jamie Hooper
Flying Eagle Martial Arts
Moulton, Ala.

Traditional Southern – Men
David Thanphilom
Instructor: Shawn Miller
Golden Steel Athletic Association
Seattle, Wash.

Taiji – Men
Jonathan Wang
Instructor: Jiang Hao Quan
Venice, Calif.

Taiji – Women
Julie Nieznay
Instructor: Betsy Chapman
Open Door Tai Chi Academy
Douglassville, Pa.

Other Internal Styles – Men
Jonathan Wang
Instructor: Jiang Hao Quan
Venice, Calif.

Wushu Juniors – Boys
Liang Liang Cao
Instructor: Jicheng Sheng
Hefei, Anhui, China

Wushu Teens – Boys
Bin Bin Zhang
Instructor: Jicheng Sheng
Hefei, Anhui, China

Wushu Teens – Girls
Cheng Xian Dou
Instructor: Jicheng Sheng
Hefei, Anhui, China

Wushu – Men
Jinchao Hu
Instructor: Jicheng Sheng
Hefei, Anhui, China

Wushu – Women
Wei Liu
Instructor: Jicheng Sheng
Hefei, Anhui, China