On April 30th, Kade attended his first national tournament, held locally at the Durham Marriott City Center. He was excited, but I don't think either I or Kade prepared very well for it. (We had just returned from Spring Break and were out of town for many of the workshops at our school).
The mainly yellow belts (6-7 year olds) were divided into a few rings. Kade's ring had 12 children - all competing in forms and sparring.
As we watched other children get called up to compete, I could see he was getting more and more nervous.
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| Kade is sitting down in this picture, still waiting his turn |
Finally, it was Kade's turn.
Here's a video of Kade doing his form. He was very nervous - not his confident self. He's performed so much better in class than this. I was still so proud of him for finishing and not giving up!
After forms, he sparred. He has never done this in class before. He caught on quick, but didn't know what the judges were looking for or how he had to implement the moves. I also had a very bad camera angle.
They would spar back and forth and then the three judges would choose the winner. The girl won first, but Kade won the second round. They sparred for a third time to determine the winner, but ultimately the girl won and was able to move on to the next round (to spar with someone else).
He was bummed no medal this tournament (only for 1st and 2nd place finishers), but he did get a shiny pin to add to his taekwondo gear bag! We will be more prepared next time!!
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