BERMUDA SANSHOU ASSOCIATION:
A BRIEF HISTORY
In October of 2005, the Bermuda Sanshou Association (BSA) was formed after the International Olympic Committee President Dr. Jacques Rogue made an official announcement that wushu would be a part of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Wushu is the modern form of kung fu, which displays the artistic side of the traditional martial art. In addition to displaying the essential martial elements of speed, power, accuracy, and spirit, the beauty of the art is displayed with elaborate acrobatic movements and artistry that almost appears to be a dance. The official fighting art of wushu is san shou (also commonly known as sanda), which translates as “Chinese free style.” This is a full contact fighting art in which punches, kicks, and throws are scored. Many martial artists from various styles have been attracted to san shou because of its versatility structured competition rules.
On October 22nd 2005, the President and Vice-President of BSA competed in a full contact exhibition match at the Police Black Tie Boxing held at the Fairmont Southampton Princess Hotel, in Southampton, Bermuda. The feedback was extremely receptive, and BSA began to pave their way to the Olympics. BSA held a meeting in December 2005 with other potential fighters and coaches, in order to strengthen Bermuda’s bid for the Olympic Games. The response was astounding.
On March 4-6th 2006, BSA’s Garon Wilkinson and Reuben Bean competed for the first time in san shou at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio. The travelling team also consisted of Oscar Lightbourne, Damion Wilson, Devrae Noel-Simmons, Garry Wilkinson and Raymond Lightbourne. Garon and Reuben finished with a 2nd and 4th place respectively in the san shou division. Garon captured one gold and three bronze medals in the Chinese Forms divisions while Reuben secured a gold medal in the Wing Chun division.
On April 23rd 2006, BSA held an Olympic Recruitment/Training Course at Police Gym in Pembroke, Bermuda in which 25 athletes attended. The day commenced with an extremely intense cardio and strength workout conducted by strength and fitness coach Devrae Noel-Simmons and Bermuda 10k record holder, Garry Wilkinson. The athletes were then treated to a boxing session with boxing coach Allan “Forty” Rego and boxing icon Troy Darrell, who was once ranked 5th in the world in the middle weight division. During the lunch break the group studied the video “Born to Fight” by Cung Le. Kung fu instructor Sifu David Simons conducted a kung fu session, which focused on kicking and tai chi pushing techniques. Finally, jujitsu instructor Kyoshi Arnold Allan guided the athletes through a series of throws and takedowns. The day concluded with one-round of sparring implementing the techniques that were introduced during the day.
As a result of the resounding success of the training course, BSA recruited a number of new fighters to compete in the 6th Pan American Wushu Championships in Toronto, Canada on July 22nd & 23rd 2006. The team consisted of Nathan Dill, Reuben Bean, Garon Wilkinson, Otero Smith, Talia Iris, and Celia Tuzo. The coaching staff and corner-men were Oscar Lightbourne, Damion Wilson, David Doars, and Leroy Maxwell. The team secured 1gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals at the event.
On September 3rd 2006, BSA participated in the SMAC Sports Fair held on Front Street, Hamilton, Bermuda along with 23 other national sports governing bodies. BSA had a great display at their booth and a ring was set up and shared with the Bermuda Amateur Boxing Association (BABA). A number of san shou exhibitions were given throughout the day.
On November 23rd 2006, BSA hosted Bermuda Fight Fest, an international san shou invitational fight night. Fighters from the US, Canada, and Trinidad & Tobago squared off with fighters from Bermuda. Bermuda Fighters were Nathan Dill, Reuben Bean, Sentwali Woolridge, Otero Smith, Garon Wilkinson, Leroy Maxwell, and Jermal Woolridge. Bermuda won 4 out of 6 matches and the historical event was recorded as a resounding success.
On March 2-4th 2007, BSA once again flew to Columbus, Ohio to compete in the Arnold Classic. This time the team had a lot more depth. San shou fighters were Nathan Dill, Sentwali Woolridge, Garon Wilkinson, Damion Wilson, Leroy Maxwell, and Jermal Woolridge. Form competitors were Reuben Bean (who captured gold, silver and bronze) and Kent Bean Jr. (who captured gold and silver). Coaches and corner-men consisted of Oscar Lightbourne, Allan “Forty” Rego, Devrae-Noel-Simmons, David Doars, and Troy Burrows. Nathan Dill captured a bronze medal. Sentwali Woolridge, Damion Wilson, and Garon Wilkinson captured silver medals. Leroy Maxwell and Jermal Woolridge both won their division matches to capture gold medals. They both went on to fight for the Outstanding Fighter Belt. Leroy Maxwell narrowly lost a decision to settle for silver while Jermal Woolridge slammed his opponent three times to the canvas forcing him to give up. As a result Woolridge captured a second gold medal.
On June 23rd 2007, BSA proudly sanctioned “Sanshou Showdown” at the Berkeley Institute Gymnasium. The event, hosted by Jiketsu Martial Productions featured Bermuda fighters Nathan Dill, Sentwali Woolridge, Leroy Maxwell, and Jermal Woolridge in a round-robin tournament against teams from Barbados and Ohio, USA. Team Bermuda secured three out of four weight division titles and proved to the country that the team had drastically improved since FightFest.
Garon Wilkinson and Reuben Bean missed the opportunity to compete at Sanshou Showdown but had a chance to make their presence felt at the 2007 Taiji Legacy in Dallas, Texas on July 21-22nd 2007. Heavyweight fighter Jermal Woolridge and junior competitor Kent Bean Jr. joined them. The small team of four captured 9 gold medals in san shou and forms competition.
On November 11-19th 2007, BSA flew to Beijing, China to compete in the 9th World Wushu Championships. This event served as the qualifier for Wushu Tournament Beijing 2008 being held during the 2008 Olympic Games. Team Bermuda did their country extremely proud while competing against san shou powerhouses Belarus, Norway, Switzerland and Thailand. Heavyweight fighter Jermal Woolridge placed in the top eight in the +90kg division. The highlight of the championships was the acceptance of Bermuda’s official membership into the International Wushu Federation (IWuF).
On July 16-20th 2008, BSA competed in the 7th Pan American Wushu Championships held in Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Bermuda fighters faced host Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Venezuela in their matches. Garon Wilkinson and Jermal Woolridge secured bronze medal finishes in their weight categories while Leroy Maxwell and Sentwali Woolridge finished with a respectable 5th place in their weight divisions. Oscar Lightbourne also served as judge for the international san shou competition.
On November 1st 2008, BSA hosed Bermuda FightFest2 featuring our team of eight fighters against Florida’s John Wai Kung Fu, Kung Fu USA, and American Top Team. This year’s event featured three kickboxing rules matches and five san shou rules matches. The calibre of the matches were of a very high standard and Bermuda fighters Lucian Marele, Sentwali Woolridge, and Jermal Woolridge secured victories for the Bermuda team.
For additional information and updates, visit Bermuda Sanshou Association at www.sanshou.bm
