Martial arts students bring home medals

Students from a Costa Mesa martial arts school recently returned with several medals from an international competition at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

South Coast Martial Arts netted 14 gold, five silver and six bronze medals at the contest hosted by members of the Shaolin Temple from China’s Henan Provence.

About 20 students from South Coast competed in Kenpo Karate, Wushu and Shaolin Kung Fu. The event was held in front of Shaolin’s Abbot Shi Yong Xin and his delegation of “Warrior Monks” during a cultural festival. Members of the temple are touring the nation and have made stops at the United Nations, Harvard University and USC, according to a news release.

Gold medal winners will receive two weeks of training in Kung Fu and Chan practices at the facility in China.

“In preparation for their upcoming temple visit, medalists from South Coast Martial Arts will begin a training regiment to accustom them to temple life, which requires vegetarian diets, early-morning Kung Fu practice and intensive sessions of seated meditation,” according to the news release.

— Daily Pilot staff reports

Twitter: @TheDailyPilot