The Start of the Nationals Karate Tournament

I met Garrett in the lower Lobby where the tournament was being held tonight.  I had already signed in and weighed in at noon.  The weigh in was really scary -- the guy told me that if I gained anymore weight I would be 'out' and not able to compete.  I was scared to eat after that.  Mom told me to relax and that it wasn't going to be a problem but I am still worried.

I saw Sensei Elaine and Sensei Cody here -- they were super busy.  Sensei Elaine was judging most of the time while Sensei Cody looked like he was running from ring to ring.  Sensei Cody said he would help me tomorrow with my point sparring matches.

Garrett and I warmed up about 30 mins before our scheduled 6 pm fight time.   We both got to our rings only to find out they were running late.  I had to wait over an hour and I was getting a huge case of the nerves.  But after mom massaged my back and told me to do what Sensei has trained me to do and to not let things 'get to me' mentally -- I was much better.

I had 3 people in my division.  The first fight was very hard --- he was a black belt and super fast.  I have never seen so many nosebleeds at any tournament in all my life.  Every single fight had someone bleeding.  I got hit in the face but I didn't bleed --- it just have me a runny nose plus it hurt a lot.  

I ended up placing third out of three.  Myself and another Arashi Do competitor from Sylvan were the only Blue belts in the 12 and under division that I saw.   It is really hard to figure out how you actually did in continuous sparring because you don't see any scores.  You just know you are hitting a ton, they are hitting a ton and it seems like a very long time in the ring!  I was really grateful that Josh's dad,  Sensei Howes coached me ring side --- he really helped me a lot.   He also warmed me up before the match --- super thanks to him!   I got a Bronze medal with this match and was really happy to have my first match done.   I think I am over my case of the nerves.  Tomorrow is the start of my point sparring and I feel much more ready for that --- because I have done more of point sparring in karate.  Plus  you get to know where you 'stand' in the scores.

Garrett did really well too.  He also came in third and got a Bronze medal.  Mom was able to video tape him too.  His first guy he was up against had been on Team Canada for 10 years.....  I think.....anyway this guy had a ton of experience and seemed to be super good at this.  No one could believe that Garrett was an orange belt --- they thought he was great!  I am really proud of how Garrett did -- he had a super hard division plus he was fighting with a dislocated knee. 

I talked to dad after the match.  He , Shelby and Brett went to the zoo today.  They had fun but were wondering how I was doing all day long.  I think most of the time I was waiting for the match to begin or getting nervous!

 Garrett and I warming up in the lower lobby.

 working through our warm up.

 Garrett's dad holding the warm up pads.

 Garrett and I in between our warm up exercises.

 Reading the notes from Sensei Ryan for our warm up routine.

 There were 6 rings and it was pretty much like any other tournament --- lots of people everywhere.  This is just the beginning of the "hurry up and wait"! 

 There were a ton of medics on hand for all the bleeding people!

 This medic was in our ring --  helping someone in a lower weight division than mine.

 
 Ok -- so I am having a bit of nerves.

 Josh, a friend from Sylvan, and I discussing the matches.  He won first in his division.  I am really happy for him!  His dad helped me out ringside later when my weight division was up.

Getting geared up for my match.

 we are getting instructions from the referees and the judges.

This was the medal awards for my weight division.  Mom video taped the match and was not taking pictures but took some of the medal presentation.


I also got to talk to Sensei Ryan tonight.  We talked on the phone about my match.  He told me to keep my guard up when I told him it seemed like there were a ton of nosebleeds in every ring tonight.  Guess they were actually going for a blood sport.  He asked a ton of questions and gave me some great advice.  He said everyone at the dojo was wondering how I was doing and he said it was too early to know that yet.  I am going to call him after my match tomorrow.  Thanks to Sensei for his great training of me -- I wouldn't be here if he didn't train me.  I still have a lot to learn!   Mom keeps telling me to relax and just get experience and have fun, do what I have been trained to do.   Sometimes that is hard when you have to wait so long to start your first match.