My first Karate Tournament I ever did

by Guest Wed May 23, 2012 4:07 pm

KARATE- Battling My Personal Demons at the KARATE TOURNAMENT part 1 of many

The karate tournament was awesome in many ways. I had a few demons to work out within myself to get myself ready for the tournament.

My sensei at about (6 days before the competition) told me that I am to do a new kata called Ki Hon OKAN. Ki Hon kata OKAN is a lot harder than the original one was going to do called ki hon kata yodan. So he sprung up a new kata on me! So I had to learn a kata in 6 days before my competition that completely foreign to me! And to find out that the very guys in my class (my competition) already learned before me because they had more private classes than me. And they have been training for about 1-3 months before me. So I had to work extra hard to get ready for this competition.

DEMON #1 For one, I have a shoulder injury from hell that it acts up over an over and with out notice. This new kata caused me to hurt all over again and I ended up forgetting ki hon kata yodan that I just learned for the competition.

Demon #2 I went through the fact that I felt unworthy and incapable to do and learn the kata itself in the 6 days (which is a short time to learn a kata this complicated) because of the short time that was given by my Sensei to learn this.

Demon #3 So to prepare for the tournament, I changed my diet all together…no alcohol, no red meat, mainly raw fruits and veggies, tons of salads and of course a crap load of water! It was mind over matter on my diet. Well all I crave was a juicy succulent cheese burger dripping in cheese and bacon!! Oh but I had to resist and be a good girl! (Sniffle, sniffle).

Demon #4 Then I had to not only double my training time from 4 times a day to practice but to 8 and do my 5 private classes, manage 11 businesses and be a single mother!!! I gave up time with friends and rearranged my house so I can have the room to practice my kata! I was practicing while cooking! But I had to prioritize! A week from the tournament, I went from 8 times a day to 12 times a day to practice and I stayed extra every night I was at the dojo to get my footing correctly! This was a pain to remember!

Demon #5 It was very frustrating because I became MY WORRST enemy! Then suddenly, I was doubting myself and wondering why am I really doing karate? I suddenly realize the night before the tournament that I was carrying the legacy of my late husband around with me and worrying if I was doing a good job at carrying his torch. What I failed to realized was that “what about MY legacy?” and “what am I doing for ME?” Then I realized that for now on I will lay all my hurts, pains, and failures down on that mat when I competed! I was going to finally move forward with my life from that day forward!! This is mind over matter! My sufferings stop here and now!

Demon #6 So this Tournament was a HUGE deal for me! It finalized all my struggles, hurts, pains, and brings new light to my triumphs! This also starts my new journey in being triumphant, successful, more confident, and mentally, physically and spiritually stronger!

The day of the tournament….

I competed against my classmates in my division for Okinawan karate for my age group. I got first place in traditional forms (scores were 9.97, 9.97, 9.98) and second place in creative forms (scores were 9.96, 9.96, 9.97) not bad for learning a kata 6 days before a tournament and with an injured shoulder! I am laughing on the inside at myself! Imagine what I could have done if I had more time!