There have been so many karate tournaments lately. I am glad that my weekend hockey is over because these events are intense and we need a day or two to recover from the highs and lows of the day.
This weekend was a 5 ring tournament qualifier in Chelsea. We arrived at 10:45 and we were there until 6:00 pm. Food and drinks packed but neither Sid or I are big eaters during a tournament. Nerves nibble at our stomachs and the energy around the gym seems to keep everyone a little on edge. At this tournament, they divided the kids by age. All 7 year olds were to compete together and there were 11 in total. 7 white and yellow belts and 4 colour belts. Being an orange belt, Sid was put with another orange belt, (her friend Johnny), a purple belt and a blue belt. They were all boys.
First up was Kata competition. She was going to do Kata 3 but Johnny was doing 3. Instead she performed Kata 1 and nailed it. It isn't a difficult form but she does it very sharpy sharp as Sigung says.
She has perfect stances, and incredible intensity.
The great thing about Kata 1 is Sid doesn't even have to think about her movements, they just come naturally.
She really performed it well and received 6.5, 6.5, 6.3 for a score.
Johnny was next and he did Kata 3 super, super well. He scored 6.4, 6.7, 6.1. I couldn't remember what Sid's score was but I thought they had tied! Then it would have to go to a tie breaker.
But no, she beat Johnny by .1 and took first place. Those 7 year old kajukenbo orange belt kids are so well matched there was only .1 difference in their scores.
Sid and Johnny, super proud of themselves and each other! 1st and 2nd in the division!
Next up was Kumite (point fighting). There were no girls to compete with so we agreed to let her fight the 7 yr old boys. Honestly, she usually fights 9 year old girls so this division looked like it might be easier for her.
I was super excited to see this fight. Sid fought this boy Alex last year in the Grand Champion invitational and she beat him. His father was really nasty to his son and kept saying "I can't believe you got beaten by a girl." His father is a Sensei at the club this boy trains at and Alex is 3 belt colours above Sid.
Guess what? He got beaten by a girl again! And then Johnny beat him too!
Sid went to the final fight against this 8 year old purple belt. He shouldn't have been in this division, he should have been fighting Skyler on the next mat but Sid gave him a good run.
The best part of the first place fight was when Sid did her superman punch. This is another one of her specialties! The judge was in front of me but you can see her leaping through the air. She landed the punch perfectly in the middle of his chest and scored the point. It wasn't enough to win the match but it was a crowd pleaser for sure.
Sid took second in fighting and Johnny took third. The first place boy came over to her after the competition and shook her hand. It was awesome to see such great sportsmanship! Once again Sid was approached by several Sensei's to congratulate her on her form and fighting. She is leaving an impression!
The final event of the day at the very end of the day was synchro Kata. Sid was paired up with Johnny and Skyler and they were awesome together! Above, they get their final instructions from Sigung.
Synchro Kata 1
And they take first place in the little kids division!
Sid and her boys :) They really made a great team!
So another tourney is over and more experience under her belt. The judging at this tournament was fantastic and probably the best I have seen all season. There was parody on all the mats, the judges scores were within points of each other. It made it so much fun.
As for our little one. Wow, are we ever proud of her and happy for her successes. She trains so hard and is so passionate about her martial arts, it is nice to see her compete and enjoy it.
Next Saturday is the Canadian open. She will compete against elite 7 year olds from all over Canada and the States. It is a big competition at a big venue. We can't wait!
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