Since I just finished the Youth kumite, there was a few more youth things before Luke did Indiv. Kumite in the Adult Kumite section. I watched some of the matches. They had weapon Katas which were fun to watch.
It was 2:00 and I was getting a little hungry and thirsty. (I had a bagel for breakfast and the sparring made me thirsty) Jon, Allisa and Kai brought snacks but I didn’t eat any of them yet ’cause I didn’t want to be full up when sparring or Kata-ing. I split a juice thingy with Luke to get a bit of fluid in me.
An hour later, it was time for Indiv. Kata! Daniel, Luke and I did it along with four other people (not at the same time). I recognized one of the Karatekas from JKA Stanford. We all did Heian Yondan. Luke got 1st place, I got 2nd and somebody else got third.
After that, Indiv. Kumite started. Luke went up against this guy who was a little rough. In Kumite, you aren’t supposed to make full contact. Well, this guy plowed Luke through the chest. All in all, that round ended early.
An hour later, the team stuff started. We first did Team Kata. Kai, Ekapol and Bao did a Kata (Bassai Dai), Another group did a kata and than Daniel, Luke and I did our Kata (Heian Yondan). We got 1st, the other group got 2nd and the Kai group got 3rd.
Afterwards, we did Team Kumite. There was only two teams (including us) in Team Kata and we all knew each other. Our team was Daniel, Luke and I. The other team was Kai, Bao and Ekapol. Since we all agreed that it was a little unfair (since our team was two green belts and a purple belt and the other team was all Brown belts), we switched it up a bit. Kai came over to our team and Luke went to the other team. After that, we arranged who would fight who. Since I knew I probably wouldn’t have a chance with either Brown belt, I chose to spar with Luke.
Well, When I went up to fight with Luke, nothing happened. Seriously. We knew how each other fought so well that we couldn’t get a worthy strike in without it getting blocked. I accidentally hit luke in the face three times but none of ‘em counted (at least I didn’t get disqualified). Long story short, it was a draw. So the other two guys fought and “we” won! (I say “we” in quotes ’cause I didn’t really rack up any points. [at least I didn't lose the match to give the opposing team any points])
After that, we were all done. We saw some neat weapon Katas. People used staffs, Sai, Kama and some paddle thingy that looked like a oar. After looking at that, Luke and I finally ate some snacks. Soon, the rest of the gang came in and ate a bit. Afterwards, we drove to a pizza/bar. It was really dark in there but our eyes adjusted. We had a delicious italian garlic pizza. Mmm! Hit the spot!
After that, we left and got dropped off at our house.
The tournament was a fun experience. If I were to do it again. I’d just do Kata since we prepared for Team kata a long time and knew the Katas in the palm of our hand. I’d only do Kumite again if I really practiced it and got really proficient. Besides, I’m not sure I’d want to compete in a tournament again. It was a really fun day and a great experience but waiting 5 hours to compete for 3 minutes ain’t my cup o’ tea (plus, having that knot in my stomach feeling for that long doesn’t help).
I know what you mean. When waiting for the sparing, it seemed like forever, then you spare 3 rounds at 90 seconds each then it over. It’s kinda like Christmas, lots of build-up, then it comes and goes and you’re like ..”so what, that’s it ?”
I did enjoy sparing.
unclebob