Wasatch Junior TKD Championship

This past Saturday, on January 28^th, there was a junior Olympic style TKD tournament sponsored by Competitive Taekwondo of Lindon, Ut. I believe it was TaraLyn Sorenson who was the organizational power behind the event. They had a tournament last year that was so well run it impressed everyone I knew. Their success must have gotten around because it seemed they had double the amount of competitors this year. I believe the number was over 200.

There were three matted rings with qualified, paid referees. They used electronic scoring. The pairings were solidified before the tournament day arrived so there was no last minute juggling that can make a tournament a nightmare for everyone. The competitors were given cards to wear around their neck that told them which ring they were to compete in forms and spar in and which match number they were. All they had to do was keep an eye on their ring where the match number was clearly displayed. It worked very well.

The sparring was exciting to watch. It was that fast, all-out, hard kicking kind of sparring that, although rather sloppy at times, was much more fun to view than the more cautious and slow paced Olympic level sparring.

Even the under 12 categories had some fun matches to watch. There were tears and some matches had to be called because one of the opponents lost the will to fight. One young fellow vomited on the mat. I’m not sure if it was illness, nerves, exhaustion, or just eating too much before the match. The featured match from BMA, though, is Manuel. First I need to speak about a kid in his division from another school. This kid (I will call him Jose) wiped the floor with two others he fought. He accidentally kicked them in the face four or five times even though no head kicks in this division and pretty much had them in tears. He was good. But Manuel (Batmanuel as I like to call him) went in on his first fight and clobbered his opponent with fast round houses and back kicks. I yelled out once, “Do a double, Manuel,” and he immediately landed a double roundhouse. Mr. Knowlton, his coach had to call him off and tell him to save his energy for the next fight. In his next fight he had to fight Jose. I was a little worried because I didn’t know if the sudden shock of fighting someone his own caliber would fluster Manuel. It didn’t. It was a hard fight, but Manuel never flinched. He didn’t seem to know that the other kid was as good as him. By the end of the fight the other kid was backing away defensively from Manuel. Manuel’s sparring was a thing of beauty for a 10 year old.

The 14 to 17 year old black belts put on quite a show. There was blood and knockouts. One girl went through three fights and took them all and looked great. Megan from Black Diamond nearly stopped her, but her opponent got in the last point just as the clock turned zero. The score ended at 13 – 12. There was a young man there with Olympic aspirations from Vo’s who finished one fight in 15 seconds. The referee began the fight and the young man landed all three kicks of a lightning fast triple, another roundhouse, and then a back kick that doubled his opponent over. That all seemed to happen in about seven seconds. That was it, the opponent wisely bowed out of the fight. I say wisely because his next opponent didn’t bow out until he got knocked out. In spite of the fact that he was taking a terrible beating he went after the young man from Vo’s with a little skill and a lot of courage and determination. He took fast triples to the gut. Wicked crescents to the head, and powerful back kicks to the gut. He got his mouthpiece stripped from his face with an axe kick. His helmet was nearly kicked off his head, but he wouldn’t give up. Then, even though the young man from Vo’s was up by 25 points, he lured his opponent into the corner and knocked him out with a spin heel to the face.

The young man from Vo’s really put on a show and I was impressed until I started thinking about it. As I watched the tape enthusiasm for the match diminished. The winning young man’s demeanor while on the mat was one of great arrogance and his apparent desire to destroy his opponents using far more force than was necessary was distasteful. He attacked his opponent as his opponent was trying to strap up his helmet (it had come loose). Sure, he hadn’t called time-out and it was legal for him to do so, but he was already up 15 points and there was clearly no danger of that lead diminishing. That attack wasn’t an example of wanting badly to win, but of wanting badly to humiliate your opponent. Then the final knock-out kick was just too much. Sure, his competitor was coming tentatively toward him to throw a kick, but to defend with a knockout kick when you are up by nearly 30 points is petty. Yes, it was legal, but if you didn’t know the score you would have thought the winning competitor was fighting a close fight for the gold medal in the Olympics instead of an honorable opponent in a local tournament who was trying to maintain his self-respect by fighting to the end of the match. I don’t know who the losing opponent was, but I was impressed with his courage and commitment to finish with as much effort and skill as he could find.

Every competitor needs to fight to win and the better competitor should win. This young man from Vo’s was definitely the better competitor, but it was disappointing that he showed no grace of character during his exhibition. Grace of character is not required in winning competitors, but when I see it I know I’ve seen something worth remembering. This exhibition wasn’t.

It Didn't Get the Better Of Me!

I keep a journal for each of my children so that I won't forget what they were like as children. Below is an entry in one of my daughter's journals.

January 15, 2006

Dear Clorinda,

You tested for your black stripe yesterday. You did so well and I am so proud. You know all of your forms very well and all of your techniques. It all seems to come pretty easy for you. You had to work pretty hard through the test. You got a little red-faced, but didn’t show the fatigue I would have shown. It seems like you can go forever.

Things got a little tougher for you when it came to breaking your board. You were breaking a full size board. You first technique was a hammer fist. You hit it very hard three times, but it wouldn’t break. Then you tried an ax kick a couple of times, but again it wouldn’t break. I could tell that your hand and your foot were throbbing. Mr. Jerman had you take a break then. You went over and quietly cried in Mrs. Jerman’s arms for a couple of minutes while others did their breaks. Finally Mr. Jerman had you come out to try again. You tried once again with an ax kick and it didn’t break. Mr. Jerman asked you if you wanted to keep trying or if you wanted to quit. You said with a teary voice that you didn’t want to quit. Your right foot was hurting so you switch to your left foot. You tried again and you snapped the board. You were so happy and I was so proud of you.

Later I was talking to you and I said that the board had gotten the better of you. You quickly said, “No, I got the better of the board!” I had meant that it had gotten the better of you at first, but that you hadn’t given up. You were right, though--that board didn’t get the better of you! You are so small and boards have always been tough for you. I think this is the first full-size board you have ever broken. I love you. Dad

Mixing the Old with the Young

My dojang is in a small town. By small I mean the town has no more than 3000 people in it. This small town is much like other small towns. Families are fairly important here and the families are dedicated to the usual social sports: football, baseball, basketball, and soccer. These sports follow the traditional model—kids on the courts or the fields and parents sitting on the sidelines watching. In the martial arts it isn’t much different. You see the kids on the mat and parents sitting on the side looking rather bored. I’m not sure why we hold to this model so zealously. It’s like we don’t give our kids enough credit to be able to recognize that we make them work hard physically when they are young so that they can earn the right to sit around and get fat when they are older like us.

One thing that is different in the martial arts is that it makes a place for adults if they choose to participate. Sure, in larger towns there are some adult basketball and soccer leagues, but these are only for ex-high school and college jocks who come to the league with loads of experience. I can’t imagine a beginner of just average athletic ability joining one of these leagues and finding a spot on the team let alone a warm reception. This can, and does, happen in the martial arts. I know from my own personal experience.

I began taekwando at 40 years of age and was definitely of non-jock stock. But I found the warmest welcome in that little dojang. The instructor and fellow students made me feel like I was honoring them by being there. They always welcomed me when I arrived and shook my hand with a bow before I left. Of course they did this to everyone else too, but that didn’t take the special feeling away from me. Make no mistake, even if he did make me feel honored the instructor didn’t take it easy on me. I was pushed to the point of collapse with the rest. Many times I got knocked off my feet during sparring while collecting numerous deep bruises. I was constantly corrected while learning my forms and I did my “corrective” push ups, mountain climbers, and tap jumps with everyone else. But still, I felt special.

What makes my martial arts training so much more engaging is the fact that I am in the same class with people less than half my age. I know that not all dojangs would mix the adults with teenagers—I don’t know that I would even recommend it—but due to our small population density there in Central Utah (far more horses than people) we can’t realistically field separate teenage and adult classes. There just aren’t enough bodies. Mixing adults with teenagers has its drawbacks, sure. It’s hard for many average adults to keep up with the teenagers. In reality this has no effect on the quality of training for the adult, but it can be a little intimidating and depressing. Watching the younger, skinnier students throwing jump spin hooks or axe kicks that break the sound barrier when mine don’t reach freeway speed can make me wish for my younger days. But when I remember that I’m not expected to be as good as them, but just as good as I can be I’m okay with this.

What I get out of working out with the younger students is an invigoration that just makes my day. Their youth and energy feeds my (older) youth and energy. When I see them do things I can’t do it inspires me to try harder and in trying I do things I couldn’t do before. But even more importantly I find it’s what I have to offer the teenagers that inspires even more. We are a small dojang and we know each other well. There are a lot of family connections. I find myself caring about the progress of each teen in and out of the dojang. I’ve felt them respond to my encouragement during tough workouts and I’ve enjoyed fun discussions with them after the workouts. Not always, but often, I feel their respect for my experience as an adult. It is the mat and the fact that we are on it at the same time brings their and my world together even if just for an hour.

Of course there are a few other adults in my dojang and working out with them brings me great pleasure, too. They understand my aches and pains. They understand my frustration with my lack of stretch. Most importantly they understand how difficult it is to take up the martial arts as an adult and to humble yourself to be told what to do by your instructor and do it with kids who are almost always better and faster. They also understand the joy of working out with your own children and having that bonding experience. For whatever else martial arts may have to offer that other activities don’t, this opportunity to mix the old with the young is one that I have come to truly appreciate.