A total of 11 team members competed at this tournament. In addition, four non-team students from Copperfield and two non-team students from Blackhorse competed. Overall, it was an impressive performance.
 |
| Some of the gang with their trophies! |
Mason and Ty were the first two up. They are students at the Blackhorse school. Mason tried hard but he was not able to win his match. Ty fought hard and won his match. Both boys are young and both are novice ranks. This was their first tournament and for first timers, they were very calm indeed! We hope to see them at future tournaments.
Caleb had the best tournament of his life! He listed to his coach and he executed the drills very well. We could not have been prouder of Caleb's performance even if he hadn't beaten both of his opponents. He was so pleased to have won 1st place that I think they could see his smile on the space station it was so big! He has been working very hard at practice and it is really starting to show. Congratulations Caleb!
Ben was also in Caleb's division. Ben fought aggressively during his first fight and won. Unfortunately, he had to fight Caleb in the final round. Ben lost taking home 2nd. One thing Ben needs to work on is listening to his coach and not looking at the clock/scoreboard. He would have done much better if he had done both.
Like Caleb, Kyle had the best tournament of his life! Kyle often gets really nervous while sitting in staging. After talking with his coach, Kyle was able to redirect his focus away from winning or losing and onto the task at hand. By thinking about what he was going to do, Kyle calmed down and walked confidently onto the mat. As he listened to his coach and executed the drills, points accumulated on the scoreboard. Kyle won both his fights and was able to control both matches. We have seen improvements in Kyle in practice. We are so pleased for him that it finally all came together on the mat at this tournament. Kyle tried not to smile as he walked off the mat but fortunately for us, he was rather unsuccessful. It was a delight to see him smile like that. Congratulations Kyle!
Jacob had two fights. He won his first rather easily gapping him out. Jacob threw at least four good head shots! Way to go Jacob!. For his second fight, he fought a boy who was his match. Jacob has a lot of talent so it is not often that he meets an opponent who can give him a run for his money. Lately, however, he has been running into real competitors more often. These competitors will push Jacob to improve. We are looking forward to watching him grow. Jacob has a great fighting mind and we have confidence that if Jacob wants to, he can become a great fighter with some hard work. Unfortunately, Jacob lost to his second competitor in the finals so he took home second. Well done Jacob!
Jon and Max were just two of three black belts in the 8-9 year old division so all three boys were placed in the same division despite weight differences. Jon fought a boy who hasn't been defeated in years. This boy is very good but not so good that Jon cannot beat him. Jon has a slight height and weight advantage. Unfortunately, Jon does not believe he can defeat this boy and so each time he fights him, Jon gets wild and falls to the floor frequently, hurting himself in the process. The end result is that Jon loses when that really doesn't have to be the case.
Max has a hard time. He is very small. The other black belts in his division often out weigh him by 20 - 30 pounds. Until Max grows, he is going to have a hard time. Hopefully he will hit a growth spurt soon!
Yannis, who returned to the team after a two-month hiatus, was able to eek out two victories at this tournament. He should have been able to defeat his opponents more handedly but he was "asleep at the wheel" so to speak for part of each match. Yannis needs to work on turning his hip over when he kicks so that his kicks go into his target rather than up, missing the target. When Yannis woke up, he wracked up points and was able to win 1st. Yannis plans to work on listening to his coach and executing kicks and drills correctly.
Payton has moved up to the 10-11 year old division this fall. 10-11 year old black belts are a tough bunch no matter if they are boys or girls. Payton had her first taste of their aggressiveness at this tournament. She was gapped out for 3rd place. In order to defeat the girls in her new division, Payton is going to have to increase her kicking speed and become more confident with the drills we work in class. The Cadet divisions are significantly more competitive than the little kid divisions.
Essien, although not on the team, has some real fighting talent. He is still a novice rank but he seems to understand how fights work. He looks for the openings and then takes advantage of them. Essien defeated both of his opponents for 1st. We hope that he will consider joining the team!
Chris has joined the tournament scene rather late. Chris is in the 10-11 year old division and is currently an advanced rank. He will test in May for his black belt. The boys in the 10-11 year old advanced and black belt divisions are often very good and very competitive. Chris isn't as well versed in the drills as the team members are so he had a hard time in the ring. He was gapped out in his first match earning a 3rd place trophy. Keep trying hard Chris.
Andrew only had one other boy in his division. As we watched the boy warm up, it was obvious he was very flexible. Andrew mentally prepared for head shots. But, because Andrew was rather aggressive, the other boy couldn't really get his feet under him to make anything happen. Andrew beat him easily for 1st.
Kyla and Jordan have fought each other over and over since they were eight or nine years old and have become good friends. That friendship is put on hold whenever they enter the ring. In the past, Jordan has won against Kyla many times. Lately, Kyla's confidence, aggression, and "fighting smarts" have improved greatly. That showed through at this tournament as Kyla managed to gap Jordan out. That is not something that happens often to Jordan as she is a smart and confident fighter in her own right. This day went to Kyla. Congratulations Kyla on your 1st place win!
Kelsey and Nicole were in the same division. Even though Kelsey is still an advanced color belt, she is fighting up at black belt for a greater challenge and to prepare for the black belt division at Nationals as she will be testing for black belt in May. Nicole fought first and her opponent was one with whom she has had trouble managing in the past. This girl only uses one of her front legs. Because she is so flexible, she can hit girls in the head from almost anywhere within the "pocket". During the summer and into this fall, we have been working on ways to defeat front-leg fighters. Nicole began the fight well using some of the techniques effectively. Nicole actually scored the first point or two! Unfortunately for Nicole, the girl popped Nicole in the face a few times during the second round and knocked Nicole out of her game. Nicole lost so, it is back to the drawing board to really get those counter techniques down so that the next time she faces the front-leg girl, she will take that front leg away and win!
Kelsey was next to fight the front-leg girl. Like Nicole, Kelsey did well in the beginning and was up on points or just a point or two down until the middle of the second round. The front-leg girl hit Kelsey squarely in the head several times and made Kelsey mad in addition to accumulating many points. Kelsey lost her focus and did not listen to her coach anymore. The end result was that because Kelsey gave into the dark side (anger is a dark and distracting emotion during competition) she made mistakes that cost her the match.
Because black belts 14-17 are double-elimination rounds, Kelsey and Nicole had to fought each other for 2nd. They fought without coaches. We wanted them to really try to use kicks other than a diagonal kick. Both girls gave a half-hearted attempt to do so. Because they do not make a point of using back kicks, cut kicks, side kicks, turning kicks, etc. during practice, they have a hard time throwing then during a match. Back to the gym girls and develop your head and spinning kicks!! At this tournament, Nicole took home 2nd and Kelsey 3rd.
Jarret was our last competitor to fight. Jarret is another non-team member with real talent. Unfortunately that talent is not refined. Jarret fought against a boy who frequently gaps out his opponents. Cameron is very, very good. Jarret kept pace with Cameron throughout the fight matching Cameron head shot for head shot. At the end of two rounds, the score was tied. It was an exciting match to watch! Now, Jarret has a habit of not listening to his coach. Because Jarret does not train for strategies to use during sudden death, his coach gave him simple instructions. Jarret chose not to follow the directions and Cameron (who is on his school's competition team and has been for years) easily scored the first point for the win. Jarrett won his second fight for 2nd place. Imagine how good Jarret could be if he trained seriously.
With most team members and non-team members winning matches, successfully using their training, and listening to their coach, we are becoming a team to be reckoned with! Go Team Legacy!!
Bold text denotes team member
