103 – Tournament

On Saturday, it was my turn to take on the roles of fan club and coach, for Katie’s first Taekwondo tournament since she was in high school. We dropped off the dogs and headed for lovely Decatur, Indiana for the Mudokwan school’s event. I had no idea what to expect, except that it’d be a little bit like the wrestling tournaments I went to when I was in school, but I was pretty sure it was going to be awesome.

I was right.

First up were individual forms, something I always love watching her do. I know, to the educated observer or participant, they seem simple, but to me, the complexity, measured power, and beauty of a well-executed form are absolutely fascinating to watch. Katie performed hers very well, but was paired (they judged two at a time) with a guy who was a bit more flashy (and noisy… sheesh), so the judges didn’t watch her as closely. She finished second in her group.

Following this was maybe my favorite part, board breaking. Katie was super nervous for this one, but like always, she went out there and killed it. It’s like the boards were made of styrofoam! She got a gold medal in this event.

Some of the black belts did some absolutely cool stuff later on, including one guy who did a tornado kick that sent part of his board into the next county, and followed it with a double snap kick!

After breaking, several groups did blindfolded group forms, which ranged from “really neat” (the two groups from Springfield) to near-total-disaster (a group of black belts who clearly didn’t practice). Katie’s group placed second in this event, to the other Springfield group.

Finally, we moved on to sparring. Katie was matched up against a scrawny yellow belt, and was subject to some… questionable refereeing for the first half of her match. But she adjusted, changed her strategy, and landed some really solid strikes to eke out the win, 4-3! Another gold medal!

I honestly couldn’t be more proud of her. She’s worked very hard and come such a long way over the past six months or so, and it showed in her performance. I was so happy to be able to spend the day coaching, supporting, and cheering for her. I can’t wait for our next chance to do it all again!