Norfolk Invitational Championship: Norfolk Karate Academy's Tang Soo Do Tournament 2009
0 CommentsBy Lostcheerio on Saturday, January 02, 2010 at 11:21 AM.
On November 14, 2009, in the beautiful new gymnasium at St. Patrick's in Norfolk, the Norfolk Karate Academy held its first annual tournament. I was proud to assist in the organizing of this awesome event. The kids had a great time. The smiles of the winners, the cheers of the audience, and the majestic regularity of the schedule justified all of the bustle, the hustle, the scribbled lists and the head-scratching moments when we all tried to think of exactly what was needed to pull it off. We did good! And I got an official NKA polo shirt to wear! It was fabulous!
The main event sponsor was of course Norfolk Karate Academy, but we were generously supported by Turtle Press Books, your online niche bookstore for all things martial arts. We also received prize donations from Fellini's Gourmet Pizza Cafe, and our volunteers ate muffins and drank coffee courtesy of Borjo's Coffeehouse, our neighbors on 45th street.
Here are some pictures of the event:
The winning line-up in the teen advanced sparring. A memorable battle!
Little kid sparring champs. No less fierce, but a little more willing to smile for a picture.
Karate moms at NKA are awesome!
Max takes on Master Odom during the grappling part of the event.
Tiny friends Sadie and Miranda came in first and second in their beginner form competition.
We love our new students at NKA! Yellow belts rocking the forms.
Benny had a day of ups and downs. There was one time when his emotions got the best of him and he kind of freaked out on another kid. Then there were times when he was delightful and patient, thrifty, clean and brave. The road to black belt continues, bumps and all.
Thank you to Fellini's Gourmet Pizza Cafe, Borjo Coffeehouse, and Turtle Press, and a big thank-you to everyone at NKA who helped before, during, and after the event. My children had a fantastic time at this NKA event, as usual. That is really all I care about, but that is everything!
For many more pictures, visit this Flickr set. If you'd like to download or print any pictures of your child, please feel free to do so!
The main event sponsor was of course Norfolk Karate Academy, but we were generously supported by Turtle Press Books, your online niche bookstore for all things martial arts. We also received prize donations from Fellini's Gourmet Pizza Cafe, and our volunteers ate muffins and drank coffee courtesy of Borjo's Coffeehouse, our neighbors on 45th street.
Here are some pictures of the event:
The winning line-up in the teen advanced sparring. A memorable battle!
Little kid sparring champs. No less fierce, but a little more willing to smile for a picture.
Karate moms at NKA are awesome!
Max takes on Master Odom during the grappling part of the event.
Tiny friends Sadie and Miranda came in first and second in their beginner form competition.
We love our new students at NKA! Yellow belts rocking the forms.
Benny had a day of ups and downs. There was one time when his emotions got the best of him and he kind of freaked out on another kid. Then there were times when he was delightful and patient, thrifty, clean and brave. The road to black belt continues, bumps and all.
Thank you to Fellini's Gourmet Pizza Cafe, Borjo Coffeehouse, and Turtle Press, and a big thank-you to everyone at NKA who helped before, during, and after the event. My children had a fantastic time at this NKA event, as usual. That is really all I care about, but that is everything!
For many more pictures, visit this Flickr set. If you'd like to download or print any pictures of your child, please feel free to do so!
Labels: karate, norfolk karate academy, tang soo do, tournament
North Carolina State Tang Soo Do Championships
0 CommentsBy Lostcheerio on Sunday, May 31, 2009 at 8:59 PM.
On May 9, the children competed in a Tang Soo Do tournament in Fayetteville. It was Sadie's first tournament and Benny's second. Sadie was the littlest little warrior there, with a pink mani-pedi, pink sparkle gel in her hair, and a sparkly butterfly hair tie holding her braids together. She was astonishingly cute, I confess.
The tournament was not well organized. It started (late) at 10:30 and then the children in Benny's ring (the biggest age group) were told to sit around the edge of the ring while all belt levels performed first for and then sparring. Benny is a child who sits still as easily as an elephant flies. He was sitting on the floor with nothing to do but keep quiet and watch for about three hours, I kid you not. There was absolutely no reason for this madness -- there could have been a schedule with certain belt levels at certain times, so that the rest of the kids could have gotten up to eat lunch, go to the bathroom, play DS, see the sunshine, etc. But whatever! Benny was remarkably well behaved, given the circumstances, and even though he got shouted at by a black belt at one point, I was proud of his patience and self-control in that ridiculous situation. I would have died if I'd had to sit there for that long. The adults planning the tournament should have considered if *they* would like to participate in such a thing. The other NKA moms and I were speculating if any moms had been involved in the planning. Our guess: No.
Here's Sadie's form:
And Benny's form:
In the background of that one you can see the other kids sitting around the sidelines, wishing they could go out in the lobby and get pizza, or still feel sensation in their feet.
Neither of our kids placed well in the form. The good news is that in the sparring Benny pulled out a surprise success -- second place. He was very happy!
I could spew some more bitterness and discontentment, but instead I'll just post some more pictures.
Sadie and her friend Keric getting some advice from Master Odom:
One of Benny's teachers, who has been very patient with him and really helped him clean up his form and in general get his karate more fierce and awesome. She got second place in the black belt division for grown-ups:
Benny made a friend while sitting on the sidelines. He was at the last Fayetteville tournament too, so they recognized each other.
The kids had fun, and the experience was great for them, if irritating for us. The next week, Sadie got her first yellow tip on her white belt! Karate is awesome.
For more pictures, some of them very grainy but definitely cute, check out my Flickr set.
The tournament was not well organized. It started (late) at 10:30 and then the children in Benny's ring (the biggest age group) were told to sit around the edge of the ring while all belt levels performed first for and then sparring. Benny is a child who sits still as easily as an elephant flies. He was sitting on the floor with nothing to do but keep quiet and watch for about three hours, I kid you not. There was absolutely no reason for this madness -- there could have been a schedule with certain belt levels at certain times, so that the rest of the kids could have gotten up to eat lunch, go to the bathroom, play DS, see the sunshine, etc. But whatever! Benny was remarkably well behaved, given the circumstances, and even though he got shouted at by a black belt at one point, I was proud of his patience and self-control in that ridiculous situation. I would have died if I'd had to sit there for that long. The adults planning the tournament should have considered if *they* would like to participate in such a thing. The other NKA moms and I were speculating if any moms had been involved in the planning. Our guess: No.
Here's Sadie's form:
And Benny's form:
In the background of that one you can see the other kids sitting around the sidelines, wishing they could go out in the lobby and get pizza, or still feel sensation in their feet.
Neither of our kids placed well in the form. The good news is that in the sparring Benny pulled out a surprise success -- second place. He was very happy!
I could spew some more bitterness and discontentment, but instead I'll just post some more pictures.
Sadie and her friend Keric getting some advice from Master Odom:
One of Benny's teachers, who has been very patient with him and really helped him clean up his form and in general get his karate more fierce and awesome. She got second place in the black belt division for grown-ups:
Benny made a friend while sitting on the sidelines. He was at the last Fayetteville tournament too, so they recognized each other.
The kids had fun, and the experience was great for them, if irritating for us. The next week, Sadie got her first yellow tip on her white belt! Karate is awesome.
For more pictures, some of them very grainy but definitely cute, check out my Flickr set.
Labels: karate, norfolk karate academy, tang soo do
