July 18, 2004: As always we have fun and do well at this tournament! I am amazed that we have not had more members of our dojo attend this tournament this year. However, Tea, Nancy, Ian, Robbie, Josh, Peter and Allen where all there! First the great surprise both of our newest students have done well! Tea came out 4th in kata and 2nd in kumite a great accomplishment for her first tournament! Allen placed fourth in weapons with his kenjutsu kata and fourth in forms with a basic kenpo kata despite the first tournament jitters he conquered and achieved! While I am glad Allen also received a lesson in kata and kumite I look forward to having Allen compete in future tournaments he practices hard and will achieve greatness.
My second suprise came from Josh, he competed in a strong 16 or so competitor arena. And he walked off with 3rd place in kata, which he followed up with a good strong fight in kumite for 1st place he however walked away with a well earned 2nd place. I see a strong martial artist in Josh and I look forward to watching him rise through the ranks. My third surpise came in the form of Robbie and Ian. They started with a good 10 competitor arena and both performed great kata however the competition was strong. Robbie walked away with 2nd place the judges all took off points because he looked at his toes (there ongoing joke was the Deadly Dojo students have toe fetishes and they kept saying watch his students when a pretty girl walk by, they all look at her feet) Thanks alot for that Robbie, you get 150 pushups!!! Ian tied for 4th place in his kata and the tie was broke with the flip of a finger. The female judge said Ian thinks she's ugly, he hasnt looked at my feet! 50 pushups Ian!!!!
The fun didnt stop here however cause then it was time to fight!!!! Ian and Robbie both won their first fights! Great job! But then you know whats next anihilation time! They had to fight each other, I cheered them both on and was glad to do it! 5 to 4 was the score, Ian reigned supreme in this arena which I thought was a good balance since Robbie took kata. Ian fought a good fight for 1st place but he still hasn't learned to not get hit in the ribs or to throw that back hand or reverse punch! However both Ian and Robbie have improved dramatically in both their kata and kumite. The MA training is working keep up the good work!
Nancy walked away with three trophies! She performed an excellent kata and deserved her 1st place trophy. She took 2nd in kumite and weapons which we will call her jitters awards! This is the first time I noticed nervousness in Nancy im betting she didnt eat a good breakfast. Nancy wants more competiton and I believe her next tournament she'll be entering in the black belt division. You Go Girl!!!! (no push from Kyoshi, this is all on you).
Peter does great when he listens to sensei. He fought a great fight and im proud of him. He needs to fight more often and as much as possible to develop his skills particularily the harder fighters in the dojo so that he can rule in his own arena. Big winner for this tournament this year is JOSH!!!! For excelling in a high class arena!