National Karate Results

DS managed a bye in the first round, one kid didn't turn up and I think he was meant to be against him. He was all kitted out in red, but when his name was called he was meant to be blue, so it meant a quick change of belt. He also seemed to wait forever until it was his turn so I think he must have gotten into the second round by default. There were meant to be 14 kids, but only 13 turned up on the day, not sure why. We all thought he had this round, but lost out 1 flag to 2. The kid who beat him ended up in the final, so that meant he had a chance to come back for a 3rd medal, as they give a 3rd for each half of the draw. 

He then went up against a NSW boy and won 3-0, and I thought he had the 3rd medal, but apparently that was only the first round of the repecharge. He then had to go against a second NSW boy, who he beat in the Australian Open. He was doing well until he made a mistake (which he again covered beautifully - if you didn't know the kata, you wouldn't know he'd made a mistake at all). Unfortunately that seemed to have cost him the medal, although he did get 1 flag out of 3. He was obviously disappointed, but not devastated like I thought he might.

He enjoyed the experience and made some new friends and had a great time. We even managed to go ice skating, and head into the centre of Sydney (nightmare city!) to see the Opera house and the Harbour Bridge. All up it was a good experience, and he is in the same age group next year so won't be up against a lot of the kids as they will move on to the 10-11 year age group. He will be one of the older, more experienced boys, and might gain a medal, provided he makes the team again! Considering this was his first full year of competing (and being eligible) he has done a fantastic job. He can add Victorian Champion, State team member, and 4th place getter at the National Championships to his resume!