2013 Naperville Challenge Recap

2013 Naperville Challenge Recap

I walked up to the restaurant where my husband works with the “certificate of achievement” clutched tightly in my hands. I don’t write much about him. That’s mainly because marriage stuff is…well, personal. (And, yes, it is more personal than catheter bags, sports bras and other stuff I write about.)

I’m not a demonstrative person by nature. And, if my husband ever posted on Facebook that he’s so lucky to have “married his best friend,” I’d have to kick his ass on principle. But, the truth is, when there’s stuff I have to figure out, John is the person I talk it out with. And, I had something to figure out.

“Guess what?” I asked sliding onto a bar stool. I held out the certificate so he could see it.

“Hey, you achieved …something,” he said, moving down the bar to help a customer. It was a lot busier than I thought it would be at 7:30 on a Sunday evening. “What did you achieve?”

“I qualified for this national tournament in Michigan,” I said. “Winners from that tournament will get to go to some world tournament in the fall.”

“Really? That’s great!”

OK, it was obvious he couldn’t see the problem with this. “You know I can’t go, right? I’m going to need surgery… at some point.”

John looked at me. “Did anyone actually say for sure you’re going to have surgery? Have they scheduled you for it?”

“Well, no.” Technically, one of the scenarios provided by my doctor was to “do nothing.” But doctors never like that option. Doctors like to fix things, which is why mine has decided to send me to get a second opinion from one of the big, regional hospitals. He couldn’t fix me. (And I’m sure that’s just bugging the crap out of him.)

“There’s a chance this new guy will want to drag things out some more and do more tests.” I sank in my seat. If John was trying to make me feel better, he was failing miserably. “My point is, why count yourself out now?”

Yah, why give up without even trying? It could be fun going to Michigan.

—–

The 2013 Naperville Challenge was held April 7. In addition to being a AAA rated AKA tournament, this year, it was also a qualifying tournament for the 2013 World Karate Council USA Nationals to be held in June. I’m still researching this tournament but, from the people I’ve talked to, it seems legit albeit still pretty new (by sport martial arts standards). Any black belt who walked out of The Challenge with a trophy, also left with an invitation to the national tournament. And that’s pretty cool.

I was mildly disappointed that some familiar faces weren’t at this tournament. For the past two years, I’ve been watching Jeremy, Walter, Jonathon and others in the 40-49 division — measuring myself against their performance, trying to decide where I would fit in their group when I aged into it. Jeremy was there, but he was judging rather than competing. Walter wasn’t there at all. Jonathon was the only person I knew, and it was nice to have someone I knew to talk with.

There were a few new faces. I met Corey Holzman-Crass, a blackbelt from Wisconsin, who attended the WKC national tournament, last year. I was watching his division (18-29) because, well, I’m a fan of kata. Sue me. And Corey’s bo kata was outstanding.

“You killed it,” I told him.

“You think? I felt like I was really losing steam at the end there.”

“You couldn’t tell.” It was definitely a first-place kata and the judges agreed.

When my group was finally called for weapons, I’m happy to say I didn’t forget anything. Last time I did Chatan Yara in competition, I lost my place and ad-libbed for nearly 30 seconds. This time there was a moment – a fraction of a second – in which I didn’t have full control of my weapon. I didn’t drop it. (Thank God.) But I was making eye contact with one of the judges when it happened, so I was pretty sure he saw it.

When I collected my scores, I got two 9.98 and three 9.97. I didn’t actually see anyone else’s scores but, throwing out the high and lows, that’s usually a score that gets me third place. So, when they were announcing winners and someone else was was called for third, I was disappointed, sure I didn’t place at all.

Then, they called my name. I stood there for a moment trying to make sense of what I was hearing: that meant…second?

WHA-A-A-a-a-a-a-at?!

All five judges burst out laughing and I realized I said that out loud. “Someone didn’t do the math,” one of them said shaking my hand. I found out that the two judges who gave me the high scores had actually given me their highest scores of the division. (In other words, they thought I should have had first.) They thought it was a very good kata. (I just need more power.)  I moonwalked out of the ring.

I was a lot more confident with forms and tried my hardest to steal first place away from David Odel, who beat me in weapons. I got about the same scores as I did in weapons. I’m not sure of the exact scores, but I do remember thinking they were consistent. David, however, nabbed 9.99 across the board. So, I was second again. Not bad.

The highlight of my day, however, was seeing Payton Foley take first place in the 18-29 black belt division for traditional forms. Not only was she the only woman in her division, she completely shut out her competition when three judges awarded her 9.99 and the two others gave her 10. It was an amazing performance and one, I think,  everyone will be talking about for a long time.

Rocky’s Tournament April 21 in Sugar Grove

Rocky’s Dojo and Gym Open Martial Arts Tournament, April 21, 2013, Sugar Grove Community House, Sugar Grove, IL

$35 Registration (walk-in only) for one or more events

$5 adult spectators/$3 for kids under 12

Registration is at 10 a.m. and bow in is at noon. Small tournament with a good group of judges. The Troutmans have been hosting 4 tournaments a year for the past 30-35 years. So, it runs very smoothly. Large facility, ample parking.

Download the flyer at Rocky’s Web site: http://www.rockysdojo.com.

2013 St Louis Silver Sun Showdown to be Held May 18

2013 St Louis Silver Sun Showdown to be Held May 18

The 2013 St. Louis Silver Sun Showdown open martial arts tournament will be held Saturday, May 18. It has returned to Hazelwood East High School, 1130 Dunn Road, St. Louis, MO. (Notice the location change. Last year it was at West High.)

Check out their Web site for full details and to download the registration form.  Make sure to register in advance. Not only will you save money, but you’ll be seeded last in the forms divisions, which is a big advantage in the larger divisions. There are various competitor fees depending on the competitor’s division and UKA affiliation. There are also family discounts, but you’ll have to call for specifics.

For more information, call 636-279-3730 or email or email, allstarkarate@charter.net.

The Silver Sun Showdown has to be one of my favorite tournaments. Teri and I have gone to this one together and we’ve each attended separately, too.  The tournament is very well organized and moves fast. It’s a larger tournament with a big turnout of female competitors. And all the competitors I’ve met are just amazing: talented and friendly.

Reader Question: Go Back Now? Or Wait?

I started karate at a young age and ended up earning my third degree brown belt.I trained in Kensho-Ryu Kenpo Karate (Ju Jitsu) for about eight years. I stopped right before testing for black belt because we had moved too far away from the school and it was too much to travel there daily.

For years I’ve been wanting to go back, but was not able to locate my Sensei. Just recently, I located a Kensho-Ryu school near me, and learned from the owner that my previous instructor had passed away from cancer in 2011.

I was extremely sad and I sat here crying for hours staring at his obituary picture saying over and over again that I was sorry. I’m mad at myself because I know I let him down. He wanted me to get my black belt, he knew I was ready, but I felt that I wasn’t. I never got to say thank you.

The guy at this other school trained with Sensei, and actually has videos of him which I can’t wait to watch. I want to go back and earn my black belt, not only for myself, but as a way to say thank you to my Sensei… even though he will never actually see me earn it.

The thing is, I’m very overweight. At age 16 when I earned my 3rd degree brown belt I was about 190lbs. Today, I’m 24 years old, 5 feet 275lbs and I’m embarrassed. Having an addiction to food combined with thyroid problems is a nightmare.

This man wants me to wear my brown belt because I’ve earned it. Honestly, I’m scared of what the other students will think when a fat girl walks in in a brown belt and needs to start re-learning material from white belt. It’s not my rank and the level I need to learn from that’s truly bothering me, it’s my weight.

I want this more than anything… but I’m scared. I hate being judged… especially because people don’t know me and the real reasons behind my weight issues. Do you have any advice? I’m going to be starting classes the first week in April and I’m thinking about backing out. Thanks for your time. I look forward to hearing from you!!

First, I’m so sorry for your loss. I don’t know if boys/men have the same type of relationship with their sensei but, with girls, it’s very much like a father-daughter relationship. To lose him, and not get to say goodbye, must be very painful. Again, I’m sorry.

You’ve been waiting so long to go back to karate. Please, don’t let a little thing like weight stand in your way. I’m not going to lie. You’ll meet some haters along the way. But the martial arts community is mostly close-knit and very supportive. All that matters to us is that you have a passion for your style.

Here’s a favorite video of mine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUTJQIBI1oA. About halfway through, Joy Nash starts talking about how you shouldn’t wait to lose wait to do stuff you like. I’ve honestly watched this video like a hundred times. It helped when the voices of the haters (or the mean ones in my head) got too loud for me to hear what was in my heart.

Guys, please take a moment to give Heather a few words of encouragement in our comment section. Any advice to help her get over her fears?

Fight Night in Sugar Grove

Fight Night in Sugar Grove

Rocky’s Dojo and Gym hosted another USKO fight night at the Sugar Grove Community House on March 9. The event featured kickboxing, boxing and a grappling-MMA-style match.

There was something both exciting and comforting about the old-school amateur matches: a ring thrown up in the middle of a gym and a room packed with fight-fans. This was, without a doubt, the hottest Saturday night event in the Western suburbs. The house was packed with spectators cheering loudly for their favorite fighters.

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