Everybody was Kung Fu fighting....

Yesterday was a regional Tae Kwon Do tournament that Paul and I both participated in. It kind of snuck up on us as we were discussing the tournament on monday, thinking it was further away than saturday. I took a private lesson with our instructor to get a new weapons routine....I didn't want to toss my weapon again like I did last time so I switched from the ssahng joel bong (nunchuks) to the jahng bong (big stick). I was definitely more interested in practicing my weapons form than my open hand form which showed in the results.


We dropped Nathan and Kessa off at Mom's house and headed on to the tournament with Ryan and Brandon. Paul and I both got to stay in our own age ring....sometimes if there aren't enough people in an age group they will combine, and usually it ends up being with the 20-29 year olds which is hard for us old 30-39 folk. I had 3 other ladies in my ring this time, one came from California, one from Phoenix, and the third was from my ATA school. Talking before hand we found out that the two ladies I hadn't met before had just come back from Fall Nationals in Orlando. They both did really well there and racked up the state champ points.....not sure I really have a chance anymore but I'm gonna keep trying :D .


First we did open hand form, I went third and I went all out....at least I was on the verge of throwing up while waiting for my score from the exertion (lol!). I apparently didn't do as well as I thought I did though....I got a 6 (out of 10) from the foot judge, 6 from the hand judge, though I did get an 8 from the center judge (overall form) which brought me in third place, disappointing but I know what to improve on now. Only three of us did a weapons form, and I was really nervous doing it for the first time, my hands were shaking and when you have to do something precise with your hands, having them shake is NOT a good thing. I did pretty good, I was disappointed in my propeller move because it wasn't as smooth as it should have been. I must have done something good though because my scores were 7, 8, and 9 placing me in first for weapons. Sparring is my worst area. I'm not very good at it....I'm a very large target and very slow so it's easier for my opponents to get in and out with a score. Since there were four of us I was guaranteed 3rd place since the two that don't move to the next round tie for third, and sure enough....I tied for third. So all in all it was a good day and we had fun.




Paul did AWESOME in his ring. I can't fathom having to spar in a ring with the guys he spars with. Men tend to hit harder and faster than women, I wouldn't stand a chance at all. Paul did really well and placed 2nd in sparring...was only 1 point away from winning first. In forms he tied for second and had to repeat his form, then the judges just pick the winner from those two instead of re-scoring and he won 2nd (other competitor received third). I'm very proud of him, he rocks! I only wish we didn't always end up competing at the same time because I would love to be able to sit and watch and take pictures. This time we were at least in side by side rings so I got to watch a bit of it.

Hope you all have a great week! I'm now off to search for something yummy and gooey to make for Thanksgiving dessert.