MARCH 31, 2010

STILL WAITING FOR THE BAS BODY ACTION SYSTEM ...................THE SHIPPING COMPANY REDIRECTED FROM FERGUS TO MONCTON, WHY I HAVE NO IDEA

Either way I did end up competing in the 37th Annual Tae Kwon Moo Do Championship, after Master Oh made my neck feel better. What a great day of competition! it was a long day but a great tournament. The turnout was much larger than last year with lots of competitors showing up. This year flowed much like the prev. years tournament.The Black Belt Self Defense Competition was held first before the Demonstration and Opening Ceremonies. I placed 1st in the Black Belt Division, with my Student/Assistant Tyler placing 3rd.
 Next was Demonstration, which both Tyler and I were a part of. Tyler was the first to go, he did a speed punch/elbow combination break that went really well. I was 8th in the order and I did a Turn Side Kick through 5 pieces of wood, and an an outward axe kick through 1 piece. The other demonstration's were amazing! 2 People did Sword Patterns during the demo which were incredible. One of the Master's did a self defense demo, that out of this world,  some of the moves, I could never do! The Cambridge and Windsor School's demo teams were amazing, and everything went off really well. then our exchange student form Korea (a hap ki do studnet now trianing in tae kwon do) did a flying side kick over mine and another studnet's shoulders( I am 6'1"), And to close the Demo. 3 of the Black Belts did a 3 way sword combat demo, that was really crisp, fast, and amazing. Just listening to the cracks of the bamboo swords as the whole building is quietly watching, was an amazing feeling!

after the Opening ceremonies the junior divisions began. I was selected to be a judge and corner referee for one of the junior rings, and we had a great day! After Juniors the adult colour belts began and my student Jimmy placed 3rd in both sparring and patterns. Then the Black Belts began there competition. I took 3rd in 1st Dan & under Black Belt Patterns, and 3rd in Black Belt Heavyweight Sparring, which was a great learning experience because I was competing against 2nd and 3rd degree Black Belts that are about 5-10 years younger than me. So I am glad I did as well as I did and that I learned a lot form the experience, especially about blocking after I got kicked in the head by a kick I did not see in time. I also did enter the Side Kick Contest, but was eliminated for not breaking my first attempt (6 pieces, did it last year, missed this year).

The best part of the tournament was a presentation by Grandmaster to one of his longest students. The man is a Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces and has been teaching Tae Kwon Do in the army. He was presented with his 5th Dan Black Belt and Masters Jacket! After wards he made a great speech about all the things Tae Kwon Do has done for him, and how much it has influenced his life. He student # was 14, he was the 14th student ever in our school. He joined in 1973 at the age of 13, and earned his Black Belt at the age of 15.

Listening to him was very inspiring and made me really think about what I want from my martial arts training.

So in the end, what a great Day on Saturday, everyone had fun and learned a lot and are very excited to attend the next tournament during the summer in Windsor.