Our first ever TKD tournament took place. The whole thing was like a glimpse into the future. First, because I suspect the same group from our do-jang will compete at tournaments for many years to come, he has formed a band of characters like in Stand By Me. Getting there almost two hours early gives lot of time for the gang to rove around the gym. Talking about things that young boys talk about, I don't remember what and if I ask Levi what they talk about he has no idea. And if I get close, of course they stop talking or doing much of anything. I genuinely don't remember my equivalent gang of young boys would do all day at one of these things but even drawing a blank on specifics I do have the best memories of those times.
Getting down to work, Levi wins his first medal of the day for board-breaking. A silver, missing the elbow strike. Being his first time in this environment I just think he rushed his second break, otherwise he'da grabbed a gold.
But it would also be the first of what I suspect would be many times where he and his friend would trade places, one just edging out the other, and back and forth. I hope they can push each other to be the best versions of themselves. Moving on to the fun part, the sparring, Levi was dominant, winning his first two matches by something like 25-10 combined across them both.
But as can happen, fatigue sets in (anyone who has ever fought for 90 seconds will tell you it's the most draining thing you can do). That morning he said he couldn't sleep past 2am the night before, so I wonder about how that impacted him. But in the last two matches he was edged by 1 point each time, close scores of 6-5 and 3-2. The 3-2 score was against his buddy/nemesis and either of the matches he lost could've gone either way. The master wasn't surprised when I said it was Levi's friend that beat him, he said they are the two best sparrers (word?) in the do-jang.
On to the medal ceremony. Well, the pose really, they already had their medals and there were no anthems played as they stood atop the podium.
After the sparring medals the group of 5 gathered at the podiums, in a display of what I think is the best part of TKD. Of course, pride comes from Levi winning medals and I want him to have that experience of competition and the thrill of taking home hardware from something like this. I get a little excited when he muses about an Olympic medal one day. But the best part is tied to the friendship and sportsmanship components of this sport, and how much Levi embodies those things. He is happy for his friend when his friend edged him out in the sparring competition. He is a gracious loser, telling others that they did good job and feeling happy for others when they do well. Even better, he is a gracious winner. The most striking moment came in one sparring match where the his opponent was knocked down. It wasn't even half a second before Levi was standing over him with his hand outstretched to help him up. Of course, I also did see Levi punch the floor after being seated after losing one of his close matches. He knew how close it was, and I love the fact that he has a great mix of competitive drive and sportsmanship. Maybe it will take him to the Olympics, perhaps not. But whatever direction he goes in, it will take him far.
Getting down to work, Levi wins his first medal of the day for board-breaking. A silver, missing the elbow strike. Being his first time in this environment I just think he rushed his second break, otherwise he'da grabbed a gold.
But the board breaks are like his regular TKD, really only against yourself and the board. The real tournament came when the groups were formed and it wasn't good enough to be good, you had to be better than the others. Form competition was up first. Levi did a great job on his form, but do did his friend from the picture above. So they had a tie-breaker and had to run through the form a second time. This time Levi delivered a perfect performance, and walked away with his first gold medal in TKD.
But it would also be the first of what I suspect would be many times where he and his friend would trade places, one just edging out the other, and back and forth. I hope they can push each other to be the best versions of themselves. Moving on to the fun part, the sparring, Levi was dominant, winning his first two matches by something like 25-10 combined across them both.
But as can happen, fatigue sets in (anyone who has ever fought for 90 seconds will tell you it's the most draining thing you can do). That morning he said he couldn't sleep past 2am the night before, so I wonder about how that impacted him. But in the last two matches he was edged by 1 point each time, close scores of 6-5 and 3-2. The 3-2 score was against his buddy/nemesis and either of the matches he lost could've gone either way. The master wasn't surprised when I said it was Levi's friend that beat him, he said they are the two best sparrers (word?) in the do-jang.
On to the medal ceremony. Well, the pose really, they already had their medals and there were no anthems played as they stood atop the podium.
After the sparring medals the group of 5 gathered at the podiums, in a display of what I think is the best part of TKD. Of course, pride comes from Levi winning medals and I want him to have that experience of competition and the thrill of taking home hardware from something like this. I get a little excited when he muses about an Olympic medal one day. But the best part is tied to the friendship and sportsmanship components of this sport, and how much Levi embodies those things. He is happy for his friend when his friend edged him out in the sparring competition. He is a gracious loser, telling others that they did good job and feeling happy for others when they do well. Even better, he is a gracious winner. The most striking moment came in one sparring match where the his opponent was knocked down. It wasn't even half a second before Levi was standing over him with his hand outstretched to help him up. Of course, I also did see Levi punch the floor after being seated after losing one of his close matches. He knew how close it was, and I love the fact that he has a great mix of competitive drive and sportsmanship. Maybe it will take him to the Olympics, perhaps not. But whatever direction he goes in, it will take him far.
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