Winter Battle Wrapup
This past weekend, my son (front row, kneeling, right side - green belt) competed in the Winter Battle VIII in Ringgold, GA. Over 200 competitors from no less than five states competed in Olympic Taekwondo sparring. There were no forms competitions at this tournament. My son's school - Spirit Martial Arts - fielded six competitors ranging from white belt to black belt.
I was thankful - my father and sister were able to attend and my sis snapped some great pics and vids of the action. Both were really impressed by the level of competition. Also, my wife's sister was present for much of my son's part of the competition. The boy enjoyed having a cheering section.
Competition:
The competition itself was intense: Two rounds - 1-minute each. Thirty second break. Three judges on corners scoring points (two of three must call a point for it to count) with electronic score keeping. 1 point for kicks to the hogu, 2 points for kick to the helmet (light contact to head only). Punches to hogu are permitted, but score no points.12-point margins will end the match. Double-elimination formats.
My son's day:
My son lost his first match 9-4. He danced around the first 45 seconds, and his opponent made her way around his defenses to score a few points to take an early lead. He chased her around the remainder of the match, and she kept picking spots to score. He finally cornered her and a flurry at the end prevented him from losing 9-1.
Second match was against a boy taller and larger than himself. This time, my son listened to his coach and stayed out of range, then maneuvered in close when the boy closed, used his strength to land powerful punches to knock his opponent backwards, then kicked the hogu upon separation. He built a 4-2 lead by halftime. In the second half, the other boy got very tired from chasing my son and from my son's superior strength, and his defenses dropped. My son moved in and scored in flurries - ending the match with an 11-2 victory.
Third match was almost boring. My son used the same strategy as above to pick apart a different girl. He also added (at his coaches urging) a ploy whereby he would wait for his opponent to lead in with a kick - my son would use footwork to sidestep the kick and would counterkick as the missed attack sailed harmlessly by. Final score was 7-3.
Fourth match was a rematch with the first girl. My son stuck to his strategies - kick on separation, and kick after a sidestep - and won 8-3. This put him in the championship round.
Fifth and final match was against a boy who had not been defeated all day. He was a bit older and larger, but Cael had faced that many times before. This time, though, his opponent was using the same strategy as he was, and was a bit quicker with the kicks on separation. Leo was his name, and he built a 6-2 lead on Cael at the half. Some coaching, and the second half saw a different boy. Where Leo was wearing down a bit, Cael seemed to get stronger. A few flurries and the score was tied 6-6.
Another flurry: 7-7. By this time, the entire crowd in this section was hooting and hollering and generally enjoying the come-from-behind action. Two proud warriors, only 7 years of age, had shown the people in this gym what was by far the best match of the day so far.
Another flurry with less than 15 seconds left, and Cael backed off. He had landed three kicks, and felt he had a lead, but the scoreboard showed Leo with an 8-7 margin. Cael saw this and moved in. Another flurry with no points scored. Cael moved in again, but time expired.
He was very happy and stood very proud when receiving his Silver Medal.
We talked afterwards about how he left everything on the mat. He was exhausted, sweaty, and had a grin that could not have been surgically removed.
Austin:
Austin is a newer boy to classes. He has a white belt with a yellow stripe - indicating about 4-6 months of experience. This was his first tournament. He competed in the 9-10 year old division, and was the junior most rank. Poor guy caught a kick to the mouth 20 seconds into his first match. Still, he pushed forward, and fought bravely. Austin didn't win this time... but with the kind of perseverance he showed, next tournament will be a different story!
Kaylee:
Kaylee is 8 and a yellow belt with orange stripe indicating about a year of experience. She fought hard and was very brave herself. She took home a Bronze Medal. She gets shy when you mention she is Cael's girlfriend!
Sadly, I did not get to see Kaylee's matches, as they happened at the same time as Cael's!
Tyler:
Tyler is 11 and like his sister, Kaylee, is a yellow belt with orange stripe. He is a very solid build (NOT fat), and is extremely powerful. Tyler had the match to end all matches with another powerfully built boy in the opening round. Tyler was down by 4 points at the half, but roared back to tie the match at 7. The two rounds ended with a 12-12 tie.
In sudden-death overtime, Tyler went for a helmet kick against a tired opponent and scored - half a second after being kicked in the hogu. In baseball, they would have called it a "bang-bang" play, as the action happened so close together. Glad I wasn't a judge trying to decide who scored first!
Tyler fought well in his subsequent matches, and even beat the boy who had edged him out in the first match. Tyler fought in the championship match and lost to the AAU regional champion by a slim margin in another exciting match. Though frustrated by losing, he showed great spirit and was a clear cut Silver Medal winner.
Laura:
Laura fought in the teen black belt division. Funny thing - she had been away from Taekwondo for two years, and had only been back a few months. She took Silver!
Sadly, I only saw parts of Laura's matches as they also coincided with Cael's. However, I am told that a secret to her success was the glitter eye shadow.
Mr. Newman:
Mr. Newman, one of the assistant instructors at Spirit Martial Arts, competed in an advanced black belt division. He fought well, but he had to leave shortly after the competition, so I am unsure how it turned out exactly.
Summary:
All in all, a great day of Taekwondo action. A lot of fun, a lot of character building, and a fair share of winning and losing. Can't think of a much better way to spend the weekend.
I was thankful - my father and sister were able to attend and my sis snapped some great pics and vids of the action. Both were really impressed by the level of competition. Also, my wife's sister was present for much of my son's part of the competition. The boy enjoyed having a cheering section.
Competition:
The competition itself was intense: Two rounds - 1-minute each. Thirty second break. Three judges on corners scoring points (two of three must call a point for it to count) with electronic score keeping. 1 point for kicks to the hogu, 2 points for kick to the helmet (light contact to head only). Punches to hogu are permitted, but score no points.12-point margins will end the match. Double-elimination formats.
My son's day:
My son lost his first match 9-4. He danced around the first 45 seconds, and his opponent made her way around his defenses to score a few points to take an early lead. He chased her around the remainder of the match, and she kept picking spots to score. He finally cornered her and a flurry at the end prevented him from losing 9-1.
Second match was against a boy taller and larger than himself. This time, my son listened to his coach and stayed out of range, then maneuvered in close when the boy closed, used his strength to land powerful punches to knock his opponent backwards, then kicked the hogu upon separation. He built a 4-2 lead by halftime. In the second half, the other boy got very tired from chasing my son and from my son's superior strength, and his defenses dropped. My son moved in and scored in flurries - ending the match with an 11-2 victory.
Third match was almost boring. My son used the same strategy as above to pick apart a different girl. He also added (at his coaches urging) a ploy whereby he would wait for his opponent to lead in with a kick - my son would use footwork to sidestep the kick and would counterkick as the missed attack sailed harmlessly by. Final score was 7-3.
Fourth match was a rematch with the first girl. My son stuck to his strategies - kick on separation, and kick after a sidestep - and won 8-3. This put him in the championship round.
Fifth and final match was against a boy who had not been defeated all day. He was a bit older and larger, but Cael had faced that many times before. This time, though, his opponent was using the same strategy as he was, and was a bit quicker with the kicks on separation. Leo was his name, and he built a 6-2 lead on Cael at the half. Some coaching, and the second half saw a different boy. Where Leo was wearing down a bit, Cael seemed to get stronger. A few flurries and the score was tied 6-6.
Another flurry: 7-7. By this time, the entire crowd in this section was hooting and hollering and generally enjoying the come-from-behind action. Two proud warriors, only 7 years of age, had shown the people in this gym what was by far the best match of the day so far.
Another flurry with less than 15 seconds left, and Cael backed off. He had landed three kicks, and felt he had a lead, but the scoreboard showed Leo with an 8-7 margin. Cael saw this and moved in. Another flurry with no points scored. Cael moved in again, but time expired.
He was very happy and stood very proud when receiving his Silver Medal.
We talked afterwards about how he left everything on the mat. He was exhausted, sweaty, and had a grin that could not have been surgically removed.
Austin:
Austin is a newer boy to classes. He has a white belt with a yellow stripe - indicating about 4-6 months of experience. This was his first tournament. He competed in the 9-10 year old division, and was the junior most rank. Poor guy caught a kick to the mouth 20 seconds into his first match. Still, he pushed forward, and fought bravely. Austin didn't win this time... but with the kind of perseverance he showed, next tournament will be a different story!
Kaylee:
Kaylee is 8 and a yellow belt with orange stripe indicating about a year of experience. She fought hard and was very brave herself. She took home a Bronze Medal. She gets shy when you mention she is Cael's girlfriend!
Sadly, I did not get to see Kaylee's matches, as they happened at the same time as Cael's!
Tyler:
Tyler is 11 and like his sister, Kaylee, is a yellow belt with orange stripe. He is a very solid build (NOT fat), and is extremely powerful. Tyler had the match to end all matches with another powerfully built boy in the opening round. Tyler was down by 4 points at the half, but roared back to tie the match at 7. The two rounds ended with a 12-12 tie.
In sudden-death overtime, Tyler went for a helmet kick against a tired opponent and scored - half a second after being kicked in the hogu. In baseball, they would have called it a "bang-bang" play, as the action happened so close together. Glad I wasn't a judge trying to decide who scored first!
Tyler fought well in his subsequent matches, and even beat the boy who had edged him out in the first match. Tyler fought in the championship match and lost to the AAU regional champion by a slim margin in another exciting match. Though frustrated by losing, he showed great spirit and was a clear cut Silver Medal winner.
Laura:
Laura fought in the teen black belt division. Funny thing - she had been away from Taekwondo for two years, and had only been back a few months. She took Silver!
Sadly, I only saw parts of Laura's matches as they also coincided with Cael's. However, I am told that a secret to her success was the glitter eye shadow.
Mr. Newman:
Mr. Newman, one of the assistant instructors at Spirit Martial Arts, competed in an advanced black belt division. He fought well, but he had to leave shortly after the competition, so I am unsure how it turned out exactly.
Summary:
All in all, a great day of Taekwondo action. A lot of fun, a lot of character building, and a fair share of winning and losing. Can't think of a much better way to spend the weekend.
You described the matches perfectly.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I would like to add is that these kids and their parents are like
family. I'm proud my grandkids wear the
Spirit Martial Arts logo proudly on their
uniforms!!!
Right on, Gmommy!
ReplyDelete