WKU Worlds

[skullsplitter]

More of a proud dad post more than anything....

We fly out tomorrow to head to Albir, Spain for the WKU World Championships. My teen son is competing in kumite, musical weapons, and team sync for the the USA team. He's put in many hours of training and has sacrificed a lot of time with his buddies to prepare for this.

[sensei8]

That sounds like a lot of fun, and work, for both of you!! Good luck at the WKU World Championships...knock them dead!!

[Wado Heretic]

It is good to hear his hard work has paid off, and that he is having such an opportunity. Hope you have a safe journey.

[Bulltahr]

Good luck! Pics when you can please!

[JR 137]

Best of luck, and safe travels. It's a great honor to compete at that level. As Bulltahr said, pics please.

[skullsplitter]

Made it back, but no medals again. It was a great experience though. 40ish countries doing forms, weapons, kumite, point, continuous, full contact, K1, and kyokushin.

Perhaps one of the best displays of sportsmanship. We made a friend from Germany at this last year. This year the USA had several kids doing kumite. We aren't as well versed in it as we are in point, but the kids are interested in learning new things. Our friend volunteered to coach our US team in kumite. His German teammates were not happy with him as one of our girls beat one of German's girls (she hadnt lost a world level match in 5 years). To make it better the main German coach explained to his team that in order to grow kumite then this is what needs to happen. It was just refreshing to see this helping hand from another country.

IT was the first exposure to kyokushin for most of our juniors. Most of them fell in love with it. My son even traded his USA team jacket with one of the Danish kyo adults. These types of tournaments are an excellent way to broaden horizons.

[126barnes]

To make it better the main German coach explained to his team that in order to grow kumite then this is what needs to happen. It was just refreshing to see this helping hand from another country..

That would be a breath of fresh air around my parts.

Congrats on your experience.

[DWx]

Made it back, but no medals again. It was a great experience though. 40ish countries doing forms, weapons, kumite, point, continuous, full contact, K1, and kyokushin.

Perhaps one of the best displays of sportsmanship. We made a friend from Germany at this last year. This year the USA had several kids doing kumite. We aren't as well versed in it as we are in point, but the kids are interested in learning new things. Our friend volunteered to coach our US team in kumite. His German teammates were not happy with him as one of our girls beat one of German's girls (she hadnt lost a world level match in 5 years). To make it better the main German coach explained to his team that in order to grow kumite then this is what needs to happen. It was just refreshing to see this helping hand from another country.

IT was the first exposure to kyokushin for most of our juniors. Most of them fell in love with it. My son even traded his USA team jacket with one of the Danish kyo adults. These types of tournaments are an excellent way to broaden horizons.

Sounds like the tournament was a good success with our without medals!

What kind of training and how many hours does your son have to put in to be a part of such things? Our own national training can sometimes take a 5 hour drive to get to even in a small country like England, couldn't imagine trying to organise having a team together in a country as big as the US.

[skullsplitter]

Yes we are spread out. Members from both coasts, as far north as Michigan, and as far South as Florida/Texas. We don't have a full team training session, at least not for WKU. Can't speak to all of the other WK* associations. Luckily my son's instructor is the US coach so he was with her 5 or 6 days a week as well as the others from our school that made it.

There are regional training sessions setup through out the year. For example, there were multiple sessions at our school and another school for those nearby Indiana, Tennesee, and Kentucky.

He put 2-4 hours in a day during the week based on his school work load. Then normally 4 on Saturdays and took Sundays off.

[JR 137]

Made it back, but no medals again. It was a great experience though. 40ish countries doing forms, weapons, kumite, point, continuous, full contact, K1, and kyokushin.

Perhaps one of the best displays of sportsmanship. We made a friend from Germany at this last year. This year the USA had several kids doing kumite. We aren't as well versed in it as we are in point, but the kids are interested in learning new things. Our friend volunteered to coach our US team in kumite. His German teammates were not happy with him as one of our girls beat one of German's girls (she hadnt lost a world level match in 5 years). To make it better the main German coach explained to his team that in order to grow kumite then this is what needs to happen. It was just refreshing to see this helping hand from another country.

IT was the first exposure to kyokushin for most of our juniors. Most of them fell in love with it. My son even traded his USA team jacket with one of the Danish kyo adults. These types of tournaments are an excellent way to broaden horizons.

That's what competition should be all about. Leaving it all on the floor, meeting new people, making new meaningful relationships, learning new things, and most importantly, learning life lessons. A success all around IMO.