My body is aching. My heel/ankle is swollen and on ice, and I am sitting here with an overwhelming feeling of contentment and gratitude. I just got home from the second TKD tournament of the season.
I went into this tournament feeling a lot more relaxed than usual. I was trying my weapons pattern for the first time, I was trying my regular pattern for the first time, and I did not plan on sparring. Other than just getting through both patterns, I only had one goal: get my break (with two boards) on the first try. I figured it would go how it would go, and I didn't stress about it. I should do that more often.
Before I get into the nitty-gritty of how I did. I have to, once again, talk about how much I love Taekwondo. The people are fantastic. There is definitely some competition, but everyone is really friendly and supportive. I'm beginning to recognize more and more faces, especially in the ladies division. We have such a good time. There is some competitiveness, but we cheer each other on and celebrate everyone's victories. It's a really awesome group of ladies. The judges are also amazing. I had two of my favorites today, one for weapons and one for ladies division. They truly enjoy it and make it a lot of fun.
I love that people are always trying to outdo themselves. That's the main competition. It's amazing to see what can happen with the adrenaline of competition. The woman who got gold in breaking for our group broke three boards. She told me she had never done more than two, but she just let it flow. Incredible.
I love watching the struggle, too. If it's not difficult, then you're not challenging yourself. All of the ladies stepped it up, and there was some struggles. There were also some awesome successes and some positive "I'll try again next time" attitudes. I love it. I completely understand the struggle. I have never felt like I did really well at a tournament. My nerves get to me every time. I struggle every time. Some days are better than others. Last tournament, I bombed. This one was okay but very, very, VERY far from perfect.
Okay, here's the recap.
I started with my bo staff pattern. I have never competed in weapons, and I just got my new bo staff yesterday. No time to practice, and it is incredibly light compared to what I was practicing with. I was nervous, my hands were sweating, and I was shaky. It didn't go great. I got distracted early on by an audience member saying, "well, I could do that" really loudly. Go for it, lady. All the more power to ya if you can handle the nerves better than I can.
Overall, it was okay. I know what to improve, and I got through it without dropping the bo. Goal achieved. Next time will go better.
I then waited around for a long time and watched my kiddos compete. There were some struggles, but they both stayed positive and took away lessons from their competitions. That's all I ever want for them. They both earned medals and did pretty well. They got to play with friends and make new friends. They had a great time.
I was practicing when they called my group, so I almost missed staging. I sprinted over and didn't have a ton of time to get nervous. Being late might have been a good thing. I decided at the last minute to do sparring, so no time to worry about that either.
Patterns were first, and I was nervous about it. I just learned the end of my pattern on Monday, so I was pretty sure that my brain would freeze up as soon as I started. It didn't go that bad. I got through it and didn't miss a move - although did hesitate for just a second while I tried to remember what came next. I tied for third place, so not too bad. I'll keep working on it and have a little more confidence with it next time.
Breaking. My favorite. There is nothing more satisfying than putting your foot through a board. The ladies have really been ramping up their breaks this year, and I knew I was in for some stiff competition. I also went into it feeling a little concerned. I had just been practicing my break with my instructor and could not break even one board. But, I am stubborn. I decided I would go for two. I did it before. I can do it again, right? My heel already hurts, but it'll be fine, right?
The best thing to do in breaking is not think. Thinking makes me hesitate. I turned off my brain and broke it. First try. Two boards. Goal achieved.
I am pretty hard on myself, but I'm proud of that one. Of course, I have no idea what to do next, but...I'll figure that out Monday.
I ended up getting second because another woman rocked the previously mentioned break with three boards. I will gladly take second to that. It was amazing.
Then it was sparring time. I will openly admit that I am not a fan of sparring. I don't mind it, but I am not good at it. I can't think quickly enough in a situation like that. I don't even know what I do when I go out there.
I hadn't planned on sparring today. I didn't want to stress about it as well as stressing about the weapons pattern. I decided last minute to do it, and as usual, I'm glad I did. The women in our group are so much fun. We don't go out to destroy each other. We cheer each other on. It's actually pretty fun. Since I hadn't been stressing about it, I really enjoyed it. I went up twice and had good, fairly even matches. The scores went back and forth almost every point. It was a lot of fun. I ended up getting third place, which I was surprised by and very happy about. Overall, a good day.
This post is turning into a novel, but I have to talk about one more thing. During the opening meeting, we watched a woman be promoted to 9th Dan Black Belt - the highest you can go. I got teary eyed watching her receive her plaque. It was incredible to think about the time and dedication she had put into it, and it was really inspiring.
It made me think about how long I want to keep practicing. I usually take TKD day-by-day, week-by-week, tournament-by tournament. I've always assumed I will continue until I get my black belt, but I'd never thought about what happens after that. I think I'm in. I think I am going to continue until I can't. I love it. The people, the process, the challenges, all of it. By far one of my best decisions.
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