This month brought another tae kwon do tournament, this time in Indianapolis. Although this posting is on the same date as the previous post, I felt this one deserved its own entry.
As with previous tournaments, one of the best things is this punk group of kids. There is something about being with friends you know from one place in another place that makes it fun.
Dad and Eva stayed up in the seats having our own fun.
The big story this time was the performance. Levi had his easiest time to date with board breaking. Gold medal number one.
From there it's the form competition. Previous he had been in close ones, needing tie breakers. This time, no tie breaker needed. Gold medal number two.
Here he seems to defy the laws of gravity. Two bonus points.
Then the most exciting 1 minute in sports - sparring. Here he started off sparring Isaak, who is from the same school. Really his buddy nemesis, they are both good and very equal in skill. 3-3 after regulation, Isaak got the first tie-break point, and just like that Levi had one loss (two losses and you're out). The next match he dominates. The third match, he dominates. So he goes back up against Isaak. This time he comes out with a win. So guess what? In the gold medal match, it's Levi and... Isaak. Levi was the better fighter this day, and just like that is gold medal number three.
But in the gold medal match something amazing happened. Both of them were clearly focused. They were already drenched in sweat under their gear, and you could tell they were both exhausted and determined to perform. When Levi scored a point Isaak turned and was clearly frustrated with himself. Then, only a few seconds later Isaak landed a kick on Levi and the judges stopped the match briefly. Apparently they were judging the kick to be excessive (although their coach was sitting next to me and he said it was a clean kick). During the few seconds while they were stopped the two of them were talking. They both started laughing out loud and whatever they said to each other. I was struck by how much they were enjoying competing against each other. Of course they each wanted to win but they were clearly there for something bigger than a medal. The fact that they could go between competing and joking, literally within seconds, shows that there is something really, really good in the world. The competition is the point, not the medal. I'll try to remind myself of that every time Isaak comes out on top, and hopefully in life generally.
Kid in the picture below is not Isaak - he'd never leave himself open like that!
Top of the hill.
As with previous tournaments, one of the best things is this punk group of kids. There is something about being with friends you know from one place in another place that makes it fun.
Dad and Eva stayed up in the seats having our own fun.
The big story this time was the performance. Levi had his easiest time to date with board breaking. Gold medal number one.
From there it's the form competition. Previous he had been in close ones, needing tie breakers. This time, no tie breaker needed. Gold medal number two.
Here he seems to defy the laws of gravity. Two bonus points.
Then the most exciting 1 minute in sports - sparring. Here he started off sparring Isaak, who is from the same school. Really his buddy nemesis, they are both good and very equal in skill. 3-3 after regulation, Isaak got the first tie-break point, and just like that Levi had one loss (two losses and you're out). The next match he dominates. The third match, he dominates. So he goes back up against Isaak. This time he comes out with a win. So guess what? In the gold medal match, it's Levi and... Isaak. Levi was the better fighter this day, and just like that is gold medal number three.
But in the gold medal match something amazing happened. Both of them were clearly focused. They were already drenched in sweat under their gear, and you could tell they were both exhausted and determined to perform. When Levi scored a point Isaak turned and was clearly frustrated with himself. Then, only a few seconds later Isaak landed a kick on Levi and the judges stopped the match briefly. Apparently they were judging the kick to be excessive (although their coach was sitting next to me and he said it was a clean kick). During the few seconds while they were stopped the two of them were talking. They both started laughing out loud and whatever they said to each other. I was struck by how much they were enjoying competing against each other. Of course they each wanted to win but they were clearly there for something bigger than a medal. The fact that they could go between competing and joking, literally within seconds, shows that there is something really, really good in the world. The competition is the point, not the medal. I'll try to remind myself of that every time Isaak comes out on top, and hopefully in life generally.
Kid in the picture below is not Isaak - he'd never leave himself open like that!
Top of the hill.
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