Tournament Today
I can't believe how tired I am...mostly mentally exhausted, not physically. We've been preparing for an "open" tournament for the past few weeks. I didn't realize how focused I had been on preparing, until tonight, when I finally don't have to think about it anymore!
So, yes, we went to a tournament. There were all styles of martial arts, and all levels of competitors, from those that just wanted to have fun, to those that lived to win. I was amazed. The demos were great, too. It was a long day of cheering on my son and my friends, and competing myself, too. The competition was difficult in my son's age category. There were about 15 to 20 competitors in his ring. I thought he would place, but he didn't. He was disappointed, but hopefully he learned to just do his best and appreciate the fact that he was able to participate. I am very proud of him.
I enjoyed the competition, too. Unfortunately there weren't many women at my rank...let me clarify...there were NO other woman at my rank and age category! This made the scoring difficult! The judges wanted to just let me perform and give me the first place trophies, but I just couldn't accept that. I ended up competing in the higher belt ranking within my age group. That added about 4 or 5 men to the list of competitors and one other woman! I felt that I gave it my best shot. I thought I was pretty good, too! I performed combinations 1, 10, 16, 3 with takedown, and blue stripe kempo 1 (my favorite...I call it the crane kempo!). Matt was my ookie. He was GREAT to work with. I can't thank him enough for volunteering to punch-in for me.
In the sparring competition, I ended up getting a first place trophy for sparring just because I attempted to spar a 28 year-old woman (who turned out to be a "tournament fighter"!) It was barely a contest. She wiped me out with three kicks that came from nowhere. One of them it me square in the face...thank you, foot gear! I came out of that one without a scratch! The judges thought it fair to give both her and me a first place trophy. I thought it fair, I guess, too. I don't know. I wish there were more competitors.
All in all, it was a nice day. My husband was a trooper...watching us, watching my friends, watching the gear, watching the clock! I wasn't sure he would make it through the whole day...when we found a Panera's for lunch, though, I knew he would survive!
Would I do another competition? ABSOLUTELY. I love the competition. I love the comraderie between people. And, even though there is pressure to perform, it's ALL GOOD! Absolutely.
So, yes, we went to a tournament. There were all styles of martial arts, and all levels of competitors, from those that just wanted to have fun, to those that lived to win. I was amazed. The demos were great, too. It was a long day of cheering on my son and my friends, and competing myself, too. The competition was difficult in my son's age category. There were about 15 to 20 competitors in his ring. I thought he would place, but he didn't. He was disappointed, but hopefully he learned to just do his best and appreciate the fact that he was able to participate. I am very proud of him.
I enjoyed the competition, too. Unfortunately there weren't many women at my rank...let me clarify...there were NO other woman at my rank and age category! This made the scoring difficult! The judges wanted to just let me perform and give me the first place trophies, but I just couldn't accept that. I ended up competing in the higher belt ranking within my age group. That added about 4 or 5 men to the list of competitors and one other woman! I felt that I gave it my best shot. I thought I was pretty good, too! I performed combinations 1, 10, 16, 3 with takedown, and blue stripe kempo 1 (my favorite...I call it the crane kempo!). Matt was my ookie. He was GREAT to work with. I can't thank him enough for volunteering to punch-in for me.
In the sparring competition, I ended up getting a first place trophy for sparring just because I attempted to spar a 28 year-old woman (who turned out to be a "tournament fighter"!) It was barely a contest. She wiped me out with three kicks that came from nowhere. One of them it me square in the face...thank you, foot gear! I came out of that one without a scratch! The judges thought it fair to give both her and me a first place trophy. I thought it fair, I guess, too. I don't know. I wish there were more competitors.
All in all, it was a nice day. My husband was a trooper...watching us, watching my friends, watching the gear, watching the clock! I wasn't sure he would make it through the whole day...when we found a Panera's for lunch, though, I knew he would survive!
Would I do another competition? ABSOLUTELY. I love the competition. I love the comraderie between people. And, even though there is pressure to perform, it's ALL GOOD! Absolutely.
posted by sempaiD @ 9:34 PM
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