Christmas Classic Tournament Report

[Zaine]

Hey everyone! As I mentioned a few times, I attended a Karate tournament yesterday and I have returned to give a report.

Overall, it was a very successful tournament.

I got there early. I didn't mean to get there so early but doing so gave me a chance to help set up and pick a good spot for my stuff. Roughly an hour later, the black belt meeting started. Once that was over, the tournament began.

I spent the bulk of my time judging kata and sparring. I love doing the judging, I find it to be a lot of fun. Getting to talk to the other judges about their perceptions, what they look for, and how they ascertain the performances is always interesting. I make sure to pay attention during these moments to become better at judging myself. This was my second tournament with this group, and also my second time judging. I made some great connections last time and furthered those connections this time. If nothing else, I networked my butt off just by being myself and helping out. In my eyes, this is a great win.

After another hour, it was my child's turn to compete. She started with kata and got 4th. She was disappointed that she didn't get a trophy, but she handled it very well. The judges, after it was over, took the time to give her some really good feedback that I was actually about to give her myself. They were both supportive, and reaffirming. The experience here was really positive, and not getting a trophy really lit a fire under her. I was thankful that there were no participation prizes, which I personally abhor. It helped her learn a good lesson on losing with grace, which she passed with flying colors, and furthered her motivation to come back better. I was, and remain, eternally proud of her.

Afterwards, it was her turn to spar. She lost her first bout, but the improvement from this one to the last was monumental. She scored 2 points to the opponents 6. Every time she had a hit scored on her, she giggled gleefully. She was really having fun out there. Her next opponent, having fallen into the loser’s bracket with my kid, was frustrated. During the fight, before anything any points were scored, she accidentally kicked the center judge with a spinning back kick (which happened very far away from my kid, so she threw it very early). The judge gently coached her, and she responded unkindly. This resulted in a win for my kid, and a 3rd place finish! I was so proud of her for remaining respectful and approaching the whole experience with the idea that she was here to learn and have fun. Aside from her own accomplishments, it made me feel good; both as a father and her teacher. I tell all of my students that they shouldn't be here for accolades, but for fun and learning. My daughter showed that attitude in spades, and the other instructors there took notice and complimented her on it. Later, she was worried that no one would take her 3rd place trophy seriously, but my wife and I made sure to explain exactly why she deserved it.

Afterwards, a whole day of judging for me. Luckily, the kiddo got to go home with my mother so that she wasn't bored for the rest. That let me really focus on being present, and I was extremely thankful.

Finally, it was my turn to go up. We started with kata. I performed Seiunchin, which I've linked below. I've been running this kata daily, 10 - 15 times, and the results speak for themselves. I competed against 2 others, and they did a great job. When I got the top scores, I was very pleased and very surprised. However, my arduous work paid off! I placed first. Afterwards, I competed for grand champion along with 3 others. I ended up scoring 28.9 and the winner scored 29.0. I can't be anything but happy with my performance, and the winner certainly fought hard for the win. I've extremely pleased with the outcome. If I'm losing by 1/10 a point, then I'm doing pretty good.

Next was sparring. There were 3 of us, and I had the bye. The bout was close, but I managed to push out a win for 1st with a score of 7 - 6 in the very last second of the match. My competitor was tough, and I don't feel that either of us made any error. It was 2 black belt competitors who put up a great fight. No more, no less. Afterwards, I fought the winner of the "executive" matches for grand champion, and he mopped the floor with me 2 - 7. It was a great fight, and I learned a lot. Points fighting is still foreign to me, and a lot of my instincts rely on being fine with a strike against me and then coming in. Obviously, that doesn't play well in points fighting, and so he got a few kicks on me due to that. However, even above that, he was an excellent fighter and knew how to use his body type to his advantage. He deserved the win, and now I know how I need to train to get better. I couldn't ask for a better result. That said, this is the second tournament in a row with this league that I placed 1st in my division, so I'm just happy that I could successfully defend my title. That said, I’m not sure that I will do it again in the next tournament. I prefer a different style of fighting and while there is nothing wrong with points fighting, it just isn’t for me.

Overall, my results definitely speak for themselves in relation to my skill. I am overjoyed with how I did, and that I placed 1st in both events that I competed in. More than that, I am very happy about the relationships that I forged yesterday, and those that I deepened. This circuit is very clearly based on mutual respect and admiration, and I feel that I have found a good group of people to tie my own school to going forward. If there is a world in which I was not happy about that, then it wouldn't be me.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmUcMRSjenv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[sensei8]

Congratulations on your 1st place, Zaine. Sounds like everything fell into place for you. Judging is always a fun thing, so I'm glad that you were able to do that as well as competing.

As far as your daughter, I believe that she did very well across the board. She set out to compete, and she did exactly that. Her spirit was solid towards her results.

Both your daughter and you have every right to be proud of your achievements as well as your results. All in all, it was a great day for your both.

[bushido_man96]

Thanks for the update!

Congrats to you and your daughter on your performances. Great job on keeping your daughter encouraged; it sounds like she has a great attitude towards the whole thing. Well done, dad!

It's great to see those judges give her some good feedback, especially in that it paralleled that which you would have given her. It is often very difficult for us to teach/coach our own children, and it does them good to hear suggestions coming from others.

I liked your form. Looked really nice!