Beautiful Trinidad
Trinidad, the southernmost island in the Caribbean, is the larger, more populous of the two islands of Trinidad and Tobago. In 1889 the two islands became a single British Crown Colony, and on 31st August 1962 gained independence from the UK. Despite this, the ties between Trinidad and the UK are still strong and this is evident within the unbreakable bond between Trinidad and UK Wu Shu Kwan.
Team GB (back row standing) led by Trish (seated 2nd left) with chief instructors of Barbados & Trinidad (left & right of Trish) and three seniors from Trinidad.
On Thursday 15th August, Senior Master Instructress Trish Chang led a team consisting of senior instructors comprising Peter Lewis, Andrea Farmer, Michael Johnson, Lucy Outred and Warren Johnson from London; they totalled 27 Degrees of Black Belt expertise, intending to ensure good results from the Caribbean candidates sitting for their coming 1st Degree Black Belt and Higher Degree grading.
Lucy (left) & Andrea on the day of the grading.
Dr Ronald Noel, James Legall Jr., Bernard Quesnel and Robin Singh of Trinidad, and Richard Blackman (Wu Shu Kwan Chief Instructor of Barbados) greeted the team with open arms, steel drums and home-made rum punch (rather fierce!) – all of which was greatly appreciated after a long flight. Apparently, the steel drums were connected to CARIFESTA (Caribbean Festival of the Arts), which showcases and strengthens the culture of the Caribbean. The warmth of the people and the tropical weather certainly set the unique tone for the rest of the trip.
Sifu Anthony Lazare wearing an official tie: he is the pioneer of Wu Shu Kwan in Trinidad.
In the early 1970s, with the blessing of Grand Master C.K. Chang, Sifu Anthony F. Lazare (personally trained by Grand Master) launched Wu Shu Kwan in Trinidad. In the mid-1990s, leadership was officially passed on to Ronald and James (and also to Bernard later), who continued Sifu Lazare’s excellent work and unfailing commitment to “take real great care of Grand Master Chang whenever he visits Trinidad” (Sifu’s own passionate words), which they do gallantly and untiringly; and they extend this goodwill to all Grand Master’s team members whenever they travel to Trinidad. Sifu (meaning Master in Cantonese) was an endearing word widely used in the West all those years ago.
What More Do You Want?
Ronald, James, Bernard and their team had organised the same gorgeous and spacious home we had previously stayed in. The house had all the convenience and luxury we needed: air conditioning, fully-equipped kitchen, laundry facilities, four bathrooms, TV and wi-fi. Moreover, there was plenty of outside space to train on (perhaps unthought of back in Blighty) while big, juicy, sweet watermelons (courtesy of Robin) awaiting us after training. The house had picturesque views of the Northern Range (hills) and was near to shops, an outdoor gym, a public swimming pool and irresistible doubles stalls.
Doubles: a delicious flat fried bread with curried chick peas.
Doubles is a delicious and popular street food consisting of a flat fried bread filled with curried chick peas and topped with spicy chutneys of your choice, such as mango, shadon beni (which tastes rather like coriander and is pronounced locally as shadow benny), cucumber, coconut, tamarind or extra pepper (chilli) sauce. Yummy.
Michael is grateful for a deep-tissue massage by Narine, a senior instructor as well as a professional physiotherapist
The team were looked after the entire time and transport was provided regardless of our activity, time or destination. Narine Boodoo, a senior Black Belt and a physiotherapist, was never far to help relieve any tight muscles.
Part way through the trip, the team were permitted, so to speak, an evening off by the enthusiastic and hard training members – much to the delight of London team members. Robin and Rupesh (Mahabir) treated the team to a sumptuous dinner, with plenty of local drinks and dancing to Caribbean rhythm. The locals were very impressed with the dance moves from our young Warren, who gathered quite a crowd around him.
Joseph Mohanlal, aka Joey, made certain we were hydrated in the authentic Trinidadian way – bringing fresh coconuts from his garden to drink from. He impressed us with his machete skill of splitting open the coconuts with ease (which boded well for his sword technique at the grading) and enabled us to eat the juicy and soft flesh inside of the coconut.
Ready to travel to the class for training at the crack of dawn, when the tropical sun had yet to disperse the early mist.
Barbados contingent led by Richard.
Trish, although accustomed to the Trinidadian ways, was keen to reacquaint herself with the local gym and pool. This quickly caught on with the rest of the team, who followed suit: enjoying daily workouts to enjoy themselves and also reap the benefit of improved fitness.
“Chef Johnson”, as Warren is known, helped make sure the team were fuelled. We would often find him cooking up a storm.
Secret of Success is Preparation
Local class training by local instructors starts at 5:30 am. If there wasn’t a class at 5.30 am, training would often start early in the morning at the house where we were. Many of the Trinidadian members still went to work during the day and continued their training in the evening, especially those taking the forthcoming grading.
Class conducted by Trish was fully attended & filled to overflowing – some students ended up training outside the hall!
Wu Shu Kwan Highly Respected and Continuing to Inspire
Loyally and massively supported, Wu Shu Kwan is greatly admired in the West Indies, and the passion for this wonderful martial art continued to grow: more and more people wanted to learn. A class in the evening, which was under the expert guidance of Trish was incredibly well-attended – with students ending up outside the hall to train under her diligence. Not only were the candidates from Trinidad but also from Barbados and the US. All the students and instructors were hungry to learn more, perfect their skills and make Wu Shu Kwan even greater.
Trish’s Sonic Jacket
Getting a Wu Shu Kwan jacket couldn’t be that difficult for members, until one student asked for the type of jacket he had in mind by saying “you know, the one with the sound”! The team were bemused. This happened when he was absolutely inspired by Trish’s punching that produced very audible snappy sound, and innocently enquired where he could get a jacket like hers – mistakenly thinking that the snapping sound came from the jacket rather than Trish’s punching power! Mind you, Trish is a Guinness World Record holder.
Trish (left) inspecting the finer details with Ronald (centre) & Richard before starting the grading.
Trish (back view) with Ronald (left) about to get the grading started.
Trish with the help of Richard (right) finalising the details of the group of candidates going for their 2nd Degree Black Belt.
At the back, Ronald (left) & Bernard (right with beard) can be seen giving other candidates some last-minute advice.
On Saturday 24th August 2019, the Wu Shu Kwan Black Belt and Higher Degree grading was held. A record-breaking 22 candidates sat: six for 1st Degree Black Belt, eight for 1st-to-2nd Degree Black Belt, three for 2nd-to-3rd Degree Black Belt, and five for 3rd-to-4th Degree Black Belt.
What was particularly encouraging to see was the number of women candidates sitting for their 1st Degree Black Belts (representing Trinidad and Barbados) actually outnumbered the men. At the grading, we also had the support from the first woman to gain her Black Belt in Trinidad - Sarita Ramsubhag, who is a highly qualified dentist.
It was a full day with a significant amount of free-sparring, but Trish and Ronald ran a tight ship! The grading started at 9:00 am and did not finish until 7:00 pm, with only 30 minutes for lunch for lunch break. What a day!
(To view the grading results, please click here)
Train Hard, Play Hard
After the grading we were all liming (a Trinidadian saying for partying). Candidates and their family and friends brought coolers of drink – including favourites such as rum and Carib beer, as well as local delicacies. There were also two deliveries of pizza.
Adventures
The team were able to take in some of the sights and delights Trinidad had to offer. They visited Las Cuevas – a beautiful Caribbean beach north of the island with white sand, blue sea and palm trees. Even though it was meant to be a restful day, some of the team still insisted on practising their forms on the beach (you can take the student out of a Wu Shu Kwan class, but you can’t take Wu Shu Kwan out the student). On the way back they stopped off at Maracas Bay and had Richard’s (not our Richard) renowned bake and shark – a traditional and tasty dish of fried shark eaten with special bread and a wide variety of mouth-watering condiments and sauces to choose from.
On the final day, the team spent together at Toco Beach, which lies along the North East coast, where the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet. It is a popular spot for locals, where you can picnic and visit the iconic Galera Point Toco Lighthouse.
Another famous place to visit is St Benedict’s Monastery. It is a place where people of all faiths and no faith are welcome. Trish, Peter, Andrea and Michael took the arduous task of walking up the steep, curvy road to the Abbey, and were rewarded with stunning views of Trinidad.
Sarita Ramsubhag, a highly qualified dentist, is the first woman to be awarded a Wu Shu Kwan Black Belt in Trinidad.
She was seen here breaking a piece of wood with side kick in 2007.
The passion for Wu Shu Kwan was further bonded between the members in the Caribbean and those in the UK. Everyone involved was inspired by the level of respect, determination, loyalty, thirst for knowledge and encouragement to be the best you can be. Once again, the true spirit of Wu Shu Kwan is propagated.
Wu Shu Kwan Comradeship Surmounted Stormy Troubles
Peter and Lucy were due to fly back on the Tuesday after the grading, with the rest of the team leaving the Island on Thursday. Hurricane Dorian was a tropical storm around that time. The Trinidadians seemed pretty relaxed about it all and the storm passed quickly. Unfortunately, their flight was cancelled and there was no support from the airline for two days to fly them back to Blighty. In the end, the only way Lucy could return to London was to catch a flight from Tobago. She was accompanied every step of the way by Ronald, who ensured her safety and that she didn’t leave with a “bitter” taste of Trinidad. Lucy landed safely in Gatwick at 9.30 am on Saturday and travelled straight to Twickenham to teach her Wu Shu Kwan class!
Peter’s new return flight schedule required long transit stop in Barbados before he could catch another flight home. Fortunately, Peter was met at Grantley Adams International airport (in Barbados) by Terry Gamble, the husband of Melissa Gamble, who was one of the candidates sitting for Black Belt grading in Trinidad. This was very well organised by Richard Blackman and Ronald Noel, and much appreciated as Peter had to wait eight hours before his flight back to Gatwick. Terry drove Peter (both had not met before) around different towns and coastlines, stopping to take in the wonderful views and even managed to stop off at a bar for some lunch and a drink of Stag (a Bajan lager). Peter’s troubles cause by flight delay and cancellation seemed to be rewarded by the unexpected travel adventure in Barbados. Very nice indeed.
Our memory of a wonderful trip would be incomplete without a photo showing a coconut, Team England's favourite fruit.
There you have it: Trish enjoying her coconut.
With Special Thanks
It was a privilege and an honour to train alongside and support our Caribbean Wu Shu Kwan family. We would like to extend our special thanks again to Ronald, James, Bernard, Robin and everyone else in Trinidad, who made our stay so relaxed and comfortable. And a particular big thank you to Ronald, Richard and James for their tireless efforts to ensure Peter and Lucy were looked after and arrived home safely after the tribulations of their cancelled flight.•
