The competition was tough

Tonight, both Drew and I went to the Interschool Tournament. For Drew, it's just for the practice and to get a participation medal. For me, it was for points towards rank in the state.

Drew did great. I think this was the best interschool tournament he's ever done. First of all, just behavior-wise, it was the best he'd ever done. He only rolled over on the floor while waiting twice, and when I said something, he sat up quickly. I think that's a record! At his age, he still get assistance doing forms during something like this, so Nikki was there, but for once he didn't mirror her, he actually did it very well. It was cool to see him in his new lettered uniform, and he really did a great job. And I'm not just saying that because I'm his mother. ;-) What really got me is when he had to do his one-steps. He had to do "Hickory Dickory Block", as we call it, and while he thought he needed assistance, he actually rattled the whole thing off without help, and did the whole thing by himself, even though Nikki did it with him. I couldn't believe my ears and eyes, because I NEVER thought anything would click anytime soon with him remembering anything he'd learned in class, so I almost welled up with tears that it was clicking in his head. I was very proud of him.

And yes, here are the photos!


Drew doing his form with Nikki. (Ben P. is in the back.)


Nikki giving Drew his medal for "Most Confidence". :-)


Drew showing off his new medal that's now added to his collection.

As for me, well, I didn't do as well as I would have liked. As usual, I choked a bit. It was Sandy, Jeri, Paul and I in the ring, which means is was a Purple Belt, 2 2nd dgree black belt (one of which was a guy), and a brown belt recommended in the same ring. Fun. In forms, I went first, and while performing my form I realized a few dumb mistakes along the way. I didn't even place. :-( In weapons, I thought I did okay. Paul dropped one of his double SJB, so that put him in 4th, and I ended up in 3rd. Sandy had done the form that I usually do with the BME, and she did a good job, getting 1st. Makes me think that I should stick to that myself instead of doing the bo staff! Oh well. Sparring was a little bit of a surprise. I first went up against Sandy, who hadn't sparred really since she took her leave of absence with the ATA in 3 years, but she held her own for a first time in competition. I actually kicked her in the head! Oops, sorry Sandy! I told her that I was passing down the tradition from Jeri, from the time Jeri, the higher rank (and state champion) kicked me in the head. I didn't even feel my foot make contact with the pads on! If I had none on, I would have felt it. Fortunately, she was okay. (Whew!). Then I got a quick breather (not realizing I'd have to go immediately again!) and had to spar Jeri. Well, I kinda knew I'd lose to her, especially since I could hardly breathe (congested, inflammed lungs of an astmatic getting over a bad cold). I got one point off her this time, considering my pulminary condition, but she won. I used a slightly different technique tonight, which was let the other person make the 1st move and jump back instead. It worked well with Sandy, but not as well with Jeri. But then again, Jeri is much more experienced, so she knows how to get you. And as mentioned, she is a 2nd degree black belt who is state champ for her age range. But interestingly enough, I placed 2nd overall, so that was cool.

So overall, not my best effort, as I really thought I would have nailed this better. But Ma'am also said that since Jeri and I were the only ones going for points and we were in different categories, she's make the necessary adjustments when submitting the information. So that's good.

Now, I need to recover, and go to class tomorrow. No sparring class for me. My lungs need the rest! But I'll go to forms, as I need to catch up and get ahead in that, do weapons with the kamas, and get some board breaking in. I'm not as worried about the board breaking, as I can do all the breaks that will be required of me to bump up. But I need to keep them up so that when it is time for testing, they will be no brainers.

Until tomorrow...