With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

            On May 5, 2012, I competed in the 2012 Pacific Northwest District Karate Championship in Edmonds, WA.  More than 20 Karate schools & over 200 competitors (one of those was me!) competed in Kata, Kobudo (weapons), and Kumite (sparring) for a chance to earn the prestigious honor of competing at the 2012 National Karate Championships.  This year’s National Competition will be held in Chicago, Illinois.  …that’s a long way from Washington State!

            We drove to Edmonds the night before, and I was exhausted by the time we arrived!  I’m not used to staying up until 11pm, but our hotel was nice & comfortable, and I was dreaming about competing in no-time!  The next morning, we had to arrive early to register & warm-up for the competition.  My first division was Kubudo, which is a Japanese term for Weapons Form.  My weapon of choice is the Oar, otherwise known as an Eku or Kai-Bo.  This was a big division and since I was registered in the advanced division with blackbelts, I knew I had to bring my a-game.  The competition was tough, but after performing my Oar Kata four times (flag/bracket system), I managed to place 3^rd in the division.  Woohoo!!  Some of my competitors were from Canada while others are on TeamUSA, a highly skilled team of WKF Competitors!  I thought I did well, considering we’ve only been training formerly a few hours per week since baseball season started.  My Mom & Dad are amazing at juggling our activities!

            I had barely finished my weapons division when it was time to start the Kata division.  One of my katas has a 360 ° jump, so I had to muster up the strength to perform it as best I could.  Again, my competitors included a Canadian National Champion & a TeamUSA National Champion!  I really felt honored to even be in the same division as these guys were!!  Due to the way the flag/bracket system works, you may have to compete against the best guy in the division for your first match.  It just so happens, I was paired with that kid!  He placed 1^st & because he won our match, I was not able to compete for 2^nd.  I won my second match though and ended up taking 3^rd  place in the division!  I also made some great new friends in the process!!

            Next came time for my Dad to compete!  Yes, you read that right…my Dad competes as well.  In fact, my entire family does Karate, but you can read more about that on the “About Me” section of my site!  My Dad did amazing and placed 2^nd in Weapons, 1^st in Kata, and 2^nd in Sparring.  He was also competing in the Advanced Division for his age bracket.  I think it’d be weird if all the ages were combined, even though I might be a little faster than he is :P  He qualified to compete in Nationals as well!  I’m so excited!!

            My last division towards the end of the day was sparring.  I had to borrow a helmet with a face shield.  These are required at certain sanctioned tournaments and I had never used one before.  It was a little akward and at times I couldn’t see well, but I managed.  A few years ago, I earned the nickname “Bobblehead” in baseball because all of the helmets were too big & just bobbled on my head.  The helmet I borrowed reminded me of that – as I sparred, it bobbled away J  The face shields are interesting and I think with some practice, I’ll get used to it.  Most of my competitors were about a foot taller than I was.  While they do have a long reach, I have speed and agility working in my favor.  I placed 4^th in this divison against the same competitors I had previously competed against in Kata.  They may have been my competitors, but we still exchanged compliments, strategies, & techniques.  I’m sure I’ll see them again soon!

            I have now officially qualified for the 2012 National Karate Championships in Chicago, IL!  Having placed in the top 3 in multiple divisions, I also qualified for the 2012 Jr Olympic Games in Houston, TX.  What an honor!!  The competitions are only about two weeks apart…and are only about a 1 ½ months from now.  Baseball season is almost over & it’s definitely crunch training time!!  Speaking of which, I should go.  It’s time to start fundraising, seeking sponsorships, and, of course, train hard!