I made it back from tournamenting in Pittsburgh and AC (followed by celebrating D's gradding from law school—onward to the bar!). It was a long weekend, but we were fortunate to have a fabulous bus and driver to get us to the burgh and back. The trip to New Jersey was on us, but some parents graciously agreed to drive, so most of the tiredness was applied to trying to sleep in back.
The first tournament had some pretty stacked competition. It was one of the first A-rated tournaments we'd been to (Disney was the other) and we were unfavorably matched to several events (in particular team form and weapons). It was two days long.
The first night was team form and creative weapons. We had limited time to prepare for team form and generally didn't show too well, although the team I'm on took third. I don't really care much for team form—I find it generally boring, and I don't get along with other people when I'm competing. I need to be left alone in the zone, more or less. The youngest member of our team was pretty nervous, and he talks a LOT when he's nervous. I finally told him I wasn't trying to be rude, but that he needed to stop talking to me.
Surprisingly, we took third in team form. I was the weakest link on the team (perceptibly out of sync in a few places). The other teams that performed were actually quite impressive, especially when watching the videos. I'm not sure how we placed third, but a few of the judges liked us. Two gave us 9.93s with two 9.98s and a 9.97. The other teams actually did all right, although one was pretty unbalanced. The competition that won was good—I was impressed with all the routines that night, and I don't quite understand how it is that we pulled it out. Probably no one else does, either.
We were pigeon-holed into creative weapons because we were Korean. The traditional options only permitted Japanese-style weapons. Of the competitors, only D had any real remote chance at placing. T ended up taking first in his division, but there were only three competitors in it.
The second day was fighting and forms. TB had the fight of the day for his second fight. The rules were pretty foolish in my opinion (geared toward sensationalism: 1 point for hand techniques; 2 points for kick to head or spinning kick; 3 points for aerial kicks that you land), and we definitely weren't prepared for fighting. TB got pasted 11–1 in his first fight and took it pretty hard. MC talked it over with him afterward, but asked me to "get in his head" for the next fight (he was in a crowd of four so had a loser's bracket). We chatted for a few moments and he went out and won the next fight.
B took the team form win in stride and used it to put out an absolutely awesome version of Chindo in his division. He competed against a great many people (more than ten, anyway), and though he didn't place I was very, very impressed with the form.
D and I both bowed out of sparring in anticipation of fighting on Sunday. While we were telling this to the center for men's fighting, our ring was called for forms. MC had to pull numbers for us. He drew 18 for D but 1 for me—so I was guaranteed a first start.
This actually relieves a lot of pressure. When you start first, you're pretty well assured of not winning unless you're in a division of like three people. I think there were nine in mine. I can remember at least eight, so perhaps there were more. In any case, I pulled a third. When you're going first in a division of nine, not bad. The rings were small, and I had to make some corrections in the form for it. The judging was again completely bimodal: 9.99, 9.99, 9.99, 9.94, 9.95. The bottom and top were dropped.
The procedure for the first three contestants is always to bring them up first and score second. This permits a baseline to be set and the competitors to be judged fairly. The surprising thing is that three of the judges required the winner to have a perfect form. No one ever gets 10.0. Basically this means that three of the five said that I had taken first place without seeing the remaining six people. I guess it's a good impression. One of the judges was very complimentary afterward.
The day was long. The bus driver watched us on Friday and partly on Saturday. He was absolutely fabulous (Mr Tim to the kids) and really enjoyed being with us through the whole trip. He gave us pep talks and cheered us on. The best part was the end, when he told me how glad he was that we didn't treat him just like another bus driver. I hope we can use him again.
We arrived back at RenAcad around 10:30. TB's mom put me and the rest of the gang who went to AC up for the night, which was so nice. We were up at 5:10 to go back to RA, and all of us were pretty grumptastic when we got there. D hurt his neck badly while doing forms—he had neck spasms and his trapezius contracted. The left trap was about half an inch higher than the right. It pinched a nerve and he was in pretty constant pain the rest of the day, though you wouldn't have known it to see him compete.
We got to the tryouts for the nationals early, ate some food, and then got to work. My division was so small that I was guaranteed a spot o the national team. It was very very disappointing, though I'm hoping that the competition in Canada will be better than it was here.
The kids faced a stiffer test and managed to come through in the first waves selected, but in the end they took everyone "because we're so thin at weapons." It was transparently an issue of some parents who were upset that their kids didn't make the team. Basically what this meant was that anyone who actually moved in front of the judges was permitted on the team. Way to teach that lesson about disappointment folks.
My form was fine. I lost my fight but handled the guy pretty well. He's a lame fighter and got some ticky-tack points in the beginning. I should have had a 5-6 loss, but they didn't call my kidney punch. I trapped his leg, threw it, and attacked. One guy called point for him because of the kick (lame), another called for me (good), and the center called no point after a difficult look on his face. Should've gotten that one, and won the fight. I hate losing at fighting.
Anyway, the day felt like a total waste, and I wished that I hadn't gone. The people I competed with were nice enough. The judges were nice enough. But after a completely stacked group at Pittsburgh, this was a real let down. While it may allow me to hit that goal of an international win, I'd personally rather it came against awesome competition, not on a lark.
Next up: Iceland. Back in a few weeks, probably.
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