It's been a while.... and a karate catch up

Yes, I know - I've been quiet on the blogging front for the last few months. I do have a few finishes to show but they will eventually get their own post. I have been spending far too much time on facebook lately and have started up my own page to try and sell some of my homemade stuff. I've also joined a few crafty buy/sell groups and am buying way more than I'm selling which was not the intent when I joined :-/. I've also been dabbling in making greeting cards which is fun and quicker than cross stitch.

However....on to the karate news. On the Queen's birthday weekend DS & I carpooled with another lady and her 2 kids and headed to Mount Gambier in South Australia for the S.A Training Camp & Open Tournament. We were to share a 2 bedroom cabin and let's just say I've seen bigger bathrooms! We got inside, looked at each other and thought "where's the rest of it?" LOL. The bathroom/toilet was through the bedroom that I shared with the 3 kids. Thankfully we managed alright and didn't want to kill each other after 5 minutes.

Saturday was the training camp for the kids so we dropped them off, stayed for a while, then headed out for lunch. When we signed up for the camp it was to be 1 1/2 hours in the morning, and the same in the afternoon. However, by the time things were finalised it became 9.45am-4.30pm with a lunch break. The kids thought we were trying to kill them! Afterwards we headed out for dinner to a place that had been recommended to us. We ordered simple pasta/pizza/calzone meals and waited. And waited some more. Finally we asked about our food after 45 minutes - it was coming. My son's pasta was the first to arrive and because it was late and everyone was hungry he started eating. He'd finished by the time the calzones and pizza arrived and we were half finished by the time the final pasta arrived. My calzone was tasty, although burnt on about 1/4 of the top. By this stage the kids were exhausted so we headed home.

Sunday was the tournament and both myself and the other lady volunteered to help as the call went out for parents who knew what they were doing. Haha! There were only 2 mats, plus a 3rd one for a few hours in the morning. She requested mat 1 and I requested mat 2 as that's where our kids were competing. Let's just say we had our hands full from start to finish! I hate being responsible for the scoreboard, but got to do it for all the events on my mat, including some of the more full on events such as the mens and male veterans kumite. You can not tune out for a second as you'll lose the plot - or is that just me?

Ok, so to DS's results. In his kata division he had the 3 time national champ, and in kumite the 4 time national champ to contend with. Awesome! However he had good draws and both boys were in the other half of the draw. There were 8 in kata and DS won his first round 3-0, but lost the next round 2-1 in a decision not everyone agreed with, including a coach and referee. Had he won he would have made the final against the national champ. However, he was able to win one more round 3-0 to gain third place. :-). In kumite there were about 14 kids. DS did really well, winning his first round 2-0, and his second 3-0. Next up was a boy I never wanted him to fight. He's a fellow Victorian and very strong and powerful and far better than DS. It wasn't pretty to watch, with this boy knocking DS off his feet and slamming him down onto the mat several times. DS put up a good fight, but pulled out with a few seconds on the clock after consulting with the medics. He lost this fight 4-0, which was a good score considering. It was pointed out to us that it took half the match for the other boy to score. Had he won this match he would have faced the national champ in the final. However he was able to fight one more round to try for 3rd place. He was still  feeling the effects of the last fight and not in great shape but decided to fight anyway. He did well, although you could tell he was hanging back a little. He lost this one 3-0. I was very proud of him for his efforts on the day and giving it his best shot.

Afterwards we had a quick dinner and headed back to our cabin as we were all exhausted after a loooong day. The next morning we had planned to do some sight-seeing and head home at a leisurely pace. However our plans soon changed when my friends daughter woke up and vomited. Then vomited again. DS woke up complaining of a sore tummy too. We soon learnt that at least 14 South Australians, 95% of kids from our club (and a few adults), and several other Victorians had come down with some sort of gastro bug. All had to travel at least 4 hours to get to either Melbourne or Adelaide. We put the kids in the car and headed off, thinking we may need all the time we could get. We did have to make a few stops along the way for the kids, for obvious reasons. We got ourselves some bags which we attached to the head rests just in case and my friends 6 year old DD used hers with perfect aim, while travelling at 100km! Thankfully it turned out to mostly be a 24 hour bug, and none of the rest of the family got sick. At least the bug hit everyone AFTER the camp and tournament or it would have been a disaster of a weekend!

Crazy Karate Weekend

Whew! DS & I traveled interstate over the weekend for both the Australian Open Karate Championships & the Schools & Universities Championships and what a whirlwind trip it was! We had to leave home at 3.20am Thursday and somehow I managed to sleep through the alarm for the first time ever. I woke up at 3.15am - you do the maths! Needless to say the trip started with that crazy, jittery, panicked feeling and it only slightly improved from there due to early starts, late nights, waking almost hourly, a constant headache and stress.

Friday saw DS compete in 3 events - both kata and kumite in the school's event, and kata in the Aus Open. He performed really well in his first round kata but lost 2-3 in a decision that was surprising to many, not just me. Let's leave it at that. ;-) . Had the decision gone his way there was a good chance he could have gotten a bronze medal in that event. Next up was kumite and he only needed to win one fight to make the final. He was up 1-0 with about 20 seconds left on the clock but managed to get 4 penalties and be disqualified. He has only even been disqualified twice in his life, the other time being at the same event last year. This tournament just doesn't seem to be a good one for him. However, this still allowed him to win a bronze medal in this event.

Next up was kata again and he did really well, losing in the 3rd round to the finalist. This meant he had a chance to try for 3rd place but lost one round short of it, but he was very happy to have gotten that far. The next day was kumite and again he had to win his first fight to make the final, but unfortunately he was against the multiple state/national champ but went down fighting and lost 0-4 with the other boy scoring just twice on him. This is a vast improvement on past fights against him as he is from the same state and regularly fights DS in local tournaments. DS seems to have improved and was definitely in the fight, being more aggressive. He then had to fight for 3rd place and at time scores were tied 1-1. The 5 judges then vote on who they feel was the better fighter and scores were 2-3 against him, so one vote between him and another bronze medal.

All up it was a positive experience and it shows he is in the mix as all the best kids in the country were competing and he held his own. Next up - Kobe Osaka in May.

Awesome karate news!

I have some exciting news on the karate front. Last weekend my 11 year old son graded for his first dan rank, one level above black belt. In our association, the gradings are quite long and hard, which they should be to attain such a high level. They start by doing a 5 hour session on Friday night, which is a lockdown type session - you drop your kids off and you can't stay to watch, they will be released when they are finished. Of course your mind starts to imagine all kinds of things the longer you wait and it's a sense of relief - on child and parents part - when you pick them up unscathed. However, DS was a little scathed. He almost passed out during one part and was checked over by a physio (he hurt his neck during a headlock type manoeuvre) and was able to continue on after resting a while.

Then they go back the next morning for 1 1/2 to 2 hours before a lunch break, and back into it for a couple more hours, followed by a presentation. As DS already has a black belt, he was given a "hakama" - a floor length pair of black wide leg pants that look like a skirt, and requires a degree in engineering to put on. He also received a new certificate which is hanging proudly next to his black belt certificate above his bed. Next step? 2nd dan in 2 years time if he is ready, willing and able.

More karate news

As you may have figured out by now, there's no exciting news from Nationals to report. DS was feeling confident, felt great and performed well, but not well enough to beat his Queensland opponent in the very first round. He was quite disappointed - after all he had been working since February towards this goal - but soon put it behind him and had a fun weekend socialising with his friends from other clubs. Victoria did go on to win with 40 gold medals - many of those from our own club!

Who are we? Team Victoria! 

Sadly he didn't make the kumite team this year either (he was first reserve) so that was it for his competition. We did make time the day before the 3 day tournament to go to the top of Mount Wellington to see the views over the harbour and Hobart. Boy, was it cold! My fingers instantly went white and numb and I had to keep retreating into the indoor viewing shelter to warm up again. There was even snow/ice on the ground, even though it was about 4pm. 

View from Mount Wellington

Snow/ice on the ground - at 4pm!

We ate out a few times and made time for the Salamanca Market on Saturday, even though the weather was pretty bad. Cold, wet and windy, except for the times we came back to the venue and the sun shone through the windows meaning I needed sunglasses! LOL. A whirlwind weekend, but a great opportunity to represent our state again and wear the tracksuit with pride. He is going to start doing an elite sparring class instead of the basic one, as well as a strength and conditioning class which will improve all aspects of his karate for the future. 

The above pics are of our accommodation - Quest Trinity House

Then, just because we don't get enough karate, DS attended another "local" tournament the weekend after. He did well to gain 2nd place in kata (missed winning by one vote). He was also able to compete in kumite in this event as he has recovered fully from an injured wrist. He again did well but points were drawn on 1-1 at the end of time. 5 judges then voted on who they thought was the better fighter and again he lost by one vote - 2-3. Sadly this was the first round so he was out in that. Here's the BIG medal he won for kata:

2nd place in kata at Alan Murdoch Cup

A quartet of hand towels

Just because, here's a pic of all 4 hand towels together. I plan on giving these, along with a thank you card and box of chocolates, to the 4 ladies who help at state training. They stay at training all day Saturday for 6 months of the year, fill in books, answer questions and do a million other things for the team so I'd like to show them a little appreciation. I would also like to get the coaches something, but there's so many of them it would be impossible. We do all put in money and get them joint gifts from the whole team so they don't go without. Now, to just stay calm and sane until next week when nationals are on.

An injury, state team selections and a finish!

How's that for a mix of stuff? First off DS #2 injured his right wrist at school. Yes, he is right handed. Yes, it was yet another lunchtime football related injury. After a visit to the emergency department and an x-ray it was determined it MAY be fractured. It was bandaged with a piece of plaster inside and a sling put on it and we were to go back to our doctor 5 days later. We did so, where he said to keep it as is until Friday, which is tomorrow. He can move it a lot more now but it is still tender and rotating it hurts still.

In the midst of all this - 3 days after the injury to be exact - were state team selections for karate. Thankfully it was for kata and not the fighting aspect as he would not have had a chance of competing. DS was keen to perform one armed, so that's what he did and not only did he make the team, he is ranked at #3 which is the best he could get! The state championships were held 3 months ago and the 2 finalists from that were automatically ranked at #1 & #2. DS came 3rd at that tournament, after a very strong boy beat him for the first time to make the final over him. So we are off to Hobart in August for nationals. Brrrrrr.....

I've also got another hand towel finish to show:

• Name of the design is Nordic "Blue" Towel
• Chart is a free design from "Cross Stitch and Needlework" magazine
• Fabric is a black pre-finished hand towel
• Thread is DMC variegated cotton #57
• Stitch Count is 31 by however long the towel is
• Started on May 11th 2013
• Completed on May 29th 2013 with lots of stitching free days in between

Another Karate Tournament

Just last weekend was another karate tournament - a big one in terms of the fact that winners of the elite divisions won $50 in addition to their medal and that state team positions were on the line for kumite. DS had another big division in kata - 22 girls and boys. The last tournament he competed in was the Australian Open where he didn't do too well, in fact it was the first tournament ever, besides nationals, where he didn't gain a place in kata. Therefore I had him do some practising during the week as well as on the day, and gave him a few motivational speeches to get his head in the right place. He got things together enough to win overall, knocking out the current state champion for the 2nd time since the state championships. :-). I'd like to claim it was all my "talking him up" but I think it was the $50 prize on the line that did it!

Next up was kumite, but before the actual tournament the state team coaches wanted 4 boys to fight off for 3 positions in the state team. Just days earlier they had announced there would be weight divisions in his age group, which meant that instead of 6 positions being available there would be 12 as there were 2 weight divisions. Sadly DS fell into the one with the most kids in it, meaning some would have to fight for a position. DS had 2 fights to get through - the first one the scores were drawn at time, meaning the referees had to vote on who they thought was the better fighter and DS lost the vote. Next up he had to fight his good friend and club mate for the final position. Scores were even at 1-1 until DS's friend scored again in the last 30 seconds to win 2-1, meaning he made the team and DS did not. We were expecting it would be tough to make the team, I just didn't expect it to be so close. The way the weights have fallen I think he is the only one to miss a place on the team as there were 7 in that weight catagory and only about 5 in the light weight one, meaning they all got in. Too bad he's not about 6 kilos lighter! DS is disappointed but he's a trooper. I did try and find the right mix between encouraging him and preparing him for the worst, so it didn't come as a complete shock to him.

Anyway, right after this they had to fight in the tournament and DS had a really strong fighter first round, in fact his opponent went on to take 2nd place. He again put up a good fight and kept at it until the buzzer but wasn't able to score against him.

Next up is another tournament at the start of June - fingers crossed he can perform at his best again and put the errors of the earlier tournaments behind him. Here's his gold medal for kata:

A hectic weekend in Sydney

*** WARNING - LONGEST POST EVER!! ***

A few weeks back DS #2 & I headed to Sydney for a crazy jam packed weekend of karate. We headed off to the airport after school on Thursday and had a disappointing taxi trip to our hotel after we landed. Long story short, the suburb listed on the email confirmation from the hotel didn't show up on the GPS so the driver got lost and told me he'd fix the price at $80. After a call to the hotel, we found it by looking under a different suburb. We finally pull up at the hotel and the driver asks for $100 - a disagreement ensues and reluctantly I agree to pay that much. I was going to pay by credit card but was told it would cost %11 extra!! Needless to say I paid cash and made a complaint to the taxi company. Late night #1 for DS who had 3 big events the next day.

Friday morning sees us up and at the complimentary breakfast before 7am, then off to the venue and the start of a big tournament. The Schools and Universities Championships was up first - DS had entered kata and kumite as usual. Kata had something like 28 kids and kumite 16 - big divisions as usual. DS made it through the first round of kata only to lose his concentration and lose 2nd round to a boy he'd beaten 3-0 only weeks earlier. Kumite was another tough draw, with one of the best kids in the country as his first opponent. He got a hard kick to the guts which nearly knocked him off his feet, quickly followed by a punch to the head. Contact is not allowed to the head, and excessive force in your body contact is also not allowed but I have seen this kid do it countless times. Needless to say DS lost this match and needed to see the medics afterwards. This same boy did the same kick to several other kids and even took one out of the match as he was rolling around on the ground in pain. As this boy went on to make the final, it gave DS a chance to try for 3rd place. He was due to come up against the boy who was rolling around in pain, but he forfeited. DS then had to fight another boy who is always amongst the medalists at all the major tournaments. This match was for the 3rd place medal and he held his own and put up a good fight, but lost.

Fast forward a few short hours and the Australian Open was due to start, with DS doing kata, followed by kumite the next day. This time there were 36 kata kids I think! DS unfortunately came up against the eventual 3rd place getter and lost, which was disappointing for him as he usually does very well with his kata. We finally made it back to the hotel after 9pm, with a quick fast food stop on the way. Late night #2!

The following day was his final event, kumite. However, prior to his event he had a weird stabbing pain in his throat that saw him freaking out and unable to do much to ease it. He also had a bit of a temperature as he seemed to be coming down with something. Thankfully he was up to fighting and he had a much better draw this time around, against a big, but slow, opponent. He was confident of winning, having seen him warm up. DS was up 2-0 with 5 seconds to go, but suddenly he got a penalty worth 3 points - 4 points and you're disqualified. Then with 1 second on the clock something happened which saw him disqualified and extremely confused and disappointed. We are still a little confused as to what happened but his coach (who only saw the video afterwards) thought he was very unlucky. Later we ran into the head state team coach who agreed, and he showed the video to the head referee on that mat, who initially was silent, but when  prodded by the state team coach said "no comment" but then collected his thoughts and went on to defend his actions. Oh, did I mention that there was footage of him throwing his hands in the air at the end of the fight as if to say "oh well". :-(.

As that was the end of DS's events, we got to "relax" a little. Thankfully we chose to do a Maccas run for the kids, as we didn't get back to the hotel until late again. We ordered food late, and had been warned about long wait times, but we still didn't eat until 10.30-11pm! Therefore it was another massively late night with DS not shutting up until 12.45am! We did get to sleep in a bit the next day though, before heading off to the final day  of competition. However we had another taxi drama - a group of 6 of us booked either 2 taxis or 1 maxi cab, whichever would get to us quicker. We waited for an hour before calling to check and were told the taxi had come but we weren't there - total BS. We decided to book with another company who literally arrived in minutes! We then spent the rest of the day watching the real action - the seniors and the team events which were thrilling and entertaining. Then it was off to the airport and home by 10pm Sunday, "refreshed" and "ready" for another crazy week!

Oh, and if you can't WIN a medal, BUY a medal! LOL These were 24k gold plated commemorative coins.

I'm still here!

Just. After touching down from our trip to Thailand I spent the next few -I'd like to say days, but in all honesty it was more like weeks -  playing catch up in regards to everything I had to do, and before I knew it I was off to Sydney for a loooooong karate weekend - 6 flights in 3 weeks is massive for me. Usually it would take a year or two to rack up that many flights.
Anyway, I just wanted Carissa and Sharine to know I haven't forgotten about your prizes for March. I will get on top of them and email you when they go out. Keep posting comments for your chance to win in April.

Victorian State Karate Championships roll around again

Just for something other than stitching stuff..... Excuse me while I be a bragging mum for a moment. Go take a toilet break, or grab a coffee, and we'll be back to the scheduled stitching news in no time.

Yesterday was the "Vic's" - a compulsory event for state team selection. My son does both kata (choreographed fighting blocks, strikes and kicks against an invisible opponent) and kumite (points sparring), the two disciplines on offer. This is his 4th year since he became old enough to compete. Kata is his stronger section and he won the first 2 years, but was sick last year and wasn't able to compete. He was hoping to make it as state champion for the 3rd time but wasn't quite able to do it. He did have a tough draw - the biggest division of the day with 25 entrants - and lost the 4th round which was to make it into the final. There are 3 judges and each round bar this, he won 3-0. It was the first time that boy has beaten him, although he has been on his tail all last year. He ended up with a bronze medal to go with his 2 gold from previous years.

Kumite was the 2nd biggest division of the day with 16 competitors. Again not the best draw, with the national champion 2nd round if he made it that far. He did, with a nice 3-1 win. As anticipated, he fought the national champion 2nd round and put up a great aggressive fight, but was outclassed 5-0. As this boy went on to make the final, it gave DS a chance to try and come back for a bronze. He had 2 fights to get through, with another impressive win in the first one. Not sure of the score as I was also attempting to be a table official at the same time as filming it, cheering for him, and getting his gear changed each round. Then came his final fight for the medal, against a boy who was also on the state team last year. They are fairly evenly matched, although this time DS wasn't able to get the win, losing by 1 or 2 points so no medal to show for it. In the past I think he has managed a bronze or two at this event.

So, now we go to state team training every Saturday and work hard to gain one of the 6 places on offer in each event. Wish us luck! If he is successful, which I feel he will be for kata - not so sure about kumite - we are off to Tasmania in August for nationals!

There's a black belt in my house!

My 10 YO son has been doing karate for 5 1/2 years and has achieved quite a lot in that time, but this weekend was a very special moment. He gained his black belt and can now be called a sempai - or teacher/senior student. He had to do a 5 hour session on Friday night that involved basic skills and endurance. Then he came back on Saturday morning for 2 hours of various katas, including a weapons one. Then a lunch break and back for about 3 hours of demonstrations and sparring which was very challenging. Several of the young ones struggled with this aspect but toughed it out to gain their new belt. They also had a nice ceremony at the end where their main instructor walks each student down a candle lit aisle and presents them to the head sensei and everyone who assisted. He has worn his new belt with pride ever since he got it! Congratulations to my little sempai!

More karate & calisthenics

We had our third calisthenics competition of the year recently & it was quite disappointing. However, we have one more local competition before we head to the sunny Gold Coast in November for the Pan Pacific Masters Games. That will be a different competition as there are heats to get through first, as well as a duo competition which has never before been available to masters. In fact, our governing body is running a practise competition tonight which my partner and I have entered. It should be fun.

Also, DS #2 has competed at what will probably be his final karate tournament of the year. I wasn't sure who would enter as it was a week before the Oceania Championships. I figured those who had been selected for that would either enter for one final practise, or rest up and avoid injury. Turns out it was a bit of both, and the #1 kata kid didn't enter. There were 9 other boys entered though so 4 rounds to get through. DS had been talking to a friend from another club and they kind of decided that if they both got through to the final, they would try a new kata they'd both been working on. They practise the same style, so it would have made the judges job a little easier. Funnily enough they did both make the final, but only DS decided to give the kata a go. He was a little worried as there is a spinning jump right near the end of it and he wasn't sure he'd land it. However he did, and managed to take home 1st place!

Then in kumite he drew the really good 11 year old that in some stroke of bad luck, he had managed to come up against first round in 2 prior tournaments this year. Thankfully they were taking entries on the day and another boy entered, meaning they had to redo the draw. This worked in DS's favour as he got a different competitor first up. He fought really well to take that round 3-1. Next up was a much bigger kid but he kept with him and the points were even until the dying seconds when his opponent scored. Had he won that round he would have made the final, but ended up fighting the same kid he beat in the kata final for 3rd place. Again he fought really well but lost 1-2. He was rapt as he fought confidently in all his matches and none were one sided. Not to mention he was the only 10 year old in the final 4.

I'm Baaaccckkk!

I seem to have dropped off the face of the earth lately. I've had so much to do that blogging and cross stitching haven't featured in my life for ages. Let's see, a quick run down of what's been going on in my life:

DS had another small karate tournament where he met the number 1 kid in the final and lost to take home 2nd place in kata. Kumite he lost out first round to a stronger boy again. Then came nationals which were quite disappointing for him. He had placed 4th in the last 2 nationals in kata, but got a strong draw and lost first round this time. In kumite he also got a stronger opponent first round but managed to keep the score at 0-2 which was by no means a massive loss.

We have had our first calisthenics competition for the year and our results were also not what I was hoping for. Our next one is next weekend so hopefully we can improve.

I picked up a needle again for the first time since May, yes May, and finished a Christmas ornament I had been working on for my kids. I don't know any of the details of where it came from, but here he is anyway:

A Sick & Disappointing Weekend

Well, this time of year I should be reporting on how the Victorian State Karate Championships went, but unfortunately for DS, they didn't go at all. It is a compulsory event for state team selection, so he really wanted to go as he was concerned about not making the team if he didn't attend. He has also won the kata division every year he has been eligible to enter (2 years), so was keen to try for 3 titles in a row.

Sadly, he has been sick for about 10 days with what seemed like a cold. He had a nasty cough which we got antibiotics for, but then on the eve of the tournament he vomited. He really wants to make the team, so we decided to go and see how he felt when it was time for his event. However, a few officials didn't want us there and so we left after filling out a medical exemption form, taking a trip via the doctor on the way home to get a medical certificate.

He is still concerned about his chances. The selectors take 6 for the state team in each event. 1st & 2nd place automatically make the team (he was hoping to be one of these) and I heard a rumour that the 2 3rd place getters earn a spot too. That leaves 2 places. In each of his 2 events there are potentially 13 & 16 kids trying out, many of them new and several a year older as he is the bottom age. I'm not sure what happens now - if these same rules apply or not. Time will tell I guess.

Oh, and now his brother is sick too! So far, so good - hubby & I have managed to avoid it so far. Fingers crossed!

2011 - A Reflection

Welcome to 2012! I have to say that 2011 was pretty kind to my family, I hope it was to yours too.

• Health wise we all fared pretty well, with only a handful of minor illnesses, no major injuries and I believe NO trips to the accident & emergency department - now that has to be a record!! 
• Work wise DH has had 2 jobs & I started a job very close to home, with a good amount of hours, family friendly & no arrogant boss and a million security cameras watching my every move.
• Money wise we have done OK. We took our first ever cruise, which also meant our first ever overseas trip. We also spent some time on the Gold & Sunshine coasts in Queensland for a winter escape courtesy of the National Karate Championships. 
• Schooling has been great for the kids, with both ending the year with A's, B's & C's. C's are where you should be, B's up to 6 months ahead, and A's are 12 months or more ahead, so I'm very proud of them. DS #1 won the academic award for his class this year also. 
• As far as hobbies & sports go, we did well there too. I finished 39 cross stitch projects and a few other crafty things. The calisthenics team I coach and perform with came runners-up at our last competition of the year, which was exciting. DS #1 has kept up his computer game addiction, and improved - and stuck with - his tennis. DS #2 is the reigning state kata champion, and almost took 3rd place at the nationals. He continues to enjoy his karate and does really well at all the tournaments he competes at, placing in kata at every one except the nationals.

So that wraps up 2011 - I'm looking forward to an equally rewarding 2012!

Warrnambool road trip - for karate of course!

DS #2 & I clocked up another super early start, the earliest yet, for another karate tournament. This one was in Warrnambool and run very differently than the usual ones we've gone to. In kata, there's usually a knockout system in place. A random draw is made, and you need to win against your competitor to stay in the competition. This time however there was a points system. Each person performed their kata once and was given a score out of 10, with the highest 3 taking out the prizes.

Anyway, I entered DS into kata, kumite, the older age group of kata, and weapons for the first time. Hey, it was cheap to enter and made the trip worthwhile! Anyway, he took out 2nd place in his age group of kata, only .2 behind the winner. Kumite was next up and DS did well but narrowly lost his 2 matches to just miss 3rd place. Weapons came next, and DS was a little unsure of this as he has never competed in this section before, and it was under 16 so being 9 he was concerned he might come up against some big experienced kids. However, he performed well to take out 1st place! We were both pretty rapt (and surprised!) as he chose to do a bo kata. He has only had one lesson in this weapon, but decorated his own bo and made up his own kata, all within the last week. Not bad for a thrown together routine, with not much confidence going in. Next up was the older age group of kata, with 11 kids in total. Many of them were quite strong and confident, but DS stepped up his kata to take out 1st place. He was last on the mat too, so was able to see the level of the competitors he was up against. Normally that could have been unsettling, but he really pulled out all the stops! This tournament was also unusual in that 1st place took home a trophy AND a medal. All up, he won 2 trophies and 3 medals from 4 events.

A quick trip to the beach for some karate pictures and home we came!

Sick of karate yet?

Yep, we attended yet another karate tournament on Sunday, miles away from home again. DS performed kata first as usual and did really well to take home a nice big 1st place trophy. He also entered kumite again against a group of kids he hasn't come up against much before. He started out more aggressive and confident than usual and took his first 3 rounds to make it into the final. The final saw a draw, and another minute on the clock. His opponent then hit him too hard a couple of times (light contact to the body is OK, no contact below the belt or above the chest is allowed) and knocked his confidence a little. He kept up the fight though to take home the 2nd place trophy. Here's hoping he can keep his new found confidence and attacking skills for the next tournament, the last of the year.
Here's his winnings:

A Frantic Weekend & More Winnings

Saturday started out with a birthday party that DS #2 was invited to at the local pool which he thoroughly enjoyed. Straight from there it was off to an extra calisthenics practise for our team as we have another competition this coming Friday night. From there I went home long enough to pack my calisthenics things (for our photo day on Sunday) and get DS's karate things together (for a tournament - also on Sunday). Then we headed out for dinner.

Sunday was even busier, with DS & I leaving for the tournament at 6.45am. He competed well again, going through 3 rounds to gain 2nd place in kata. I had to leave at 12 to go back near home for calisthenics photos, so DH & DS #1 came to the tournament to look after DS #2. I missed his kumite, but he did well, facing up to the Victorian (and almost National) champion - again - in the first round. He lost, but still managed to get a bronze medal for his efforts. I just made it back in the nick of time to see him lose his round of team kumite 1-0. His team lost this time (this is the club the team faced at the Aus Open and beat) but they won a silver medal as there were only 2 teams entered.  From there we went to Pancake Parlour (YUM!!) for dinner then home again. I managed to clock up 321km that day. Yes - I am insane

Australian Karate Federation National Championships

As you may know, my 9 YO son is on the Victorian Karate team for both kumite (sparring) and kata. The National Championships were last weekend in Caloundra, on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. He and I were booked to fly with Tiger Airways, but we had to cancel as they were grounded for safety reasons. I'd booked with them ages ago as I got a good price and in the end paid something like 3-4 times as much with another airline. That hurt, but I can't complain, at least we got a flight at a reasonable time.

Once we landed we got our hire car, stopped for an all-you-can-eat Pizza Hut buffet overlooking the beach, then drove to our hotel. The following day DS had both his events. As usual, kata started the day. He performed really well, winning his first 2 rounds 3 flags to 0. He then came up against the 2010 National champion in the 3rd round and lost 0-3. This boy made it through to the final so that meant DS had a chance to try for a 3rd place medal. In my opinion, he deserved the 3rd place but very early on in his performance he went to do a kick and his supporting leg came out from under him and he stumbled, rolling his ankle in the process. He recovered well and finished beautifully, but lost 1-2 flags. He did really well to earn a flag as stumbles and mistakes normally cost you any chance of a vote from one of the 3 referees. He handled the disappointment like a trooper. He did hurt his ankle a little bit too, as a bruise came up and we got some ice on it to stop the swelling. Although his results have been a little disappointing in the 2 National Championships he's entered, I would still put him up there as one of the top few kata kids in his age group. On one prior occasion this year he has even beaten the boy who took out this year's title, so that's exciting!

Not much later that day he had kumite. He came up against the eventual winner 1st round and lost 0-4 I think. He got another chance to come back for 3rd but lost that round also. He has a few strong competitors in his age group and as he is a little I think he is still overcoming a lack of confidence. It is scary to face an opponent who's aim is to kick and punch you as much as possible (That sounds harsh, but it is controlled and they barely make contact. They are also suited up like Michelin Men!).

The following 1 1/2 days were spent at the tournament, before we drove back down to the Gold Coast where we met DH and DS #1 for a family holiday, which I'll post about later.

A Fantastic Day of Karate

DS & I went to the final karate tournament before the Nationals yesterday. I wasn't sure whether to go or not as it was a long way from home, but it turns out it was very worthwhile. We hit the road just after 6am, with a breakfast pit stop along the way. The trip was very easy and we made it in no time.

It was quite a small tournament, with only 3 mats in operation. However, there turned out to be about 12 kids in his kata so he got a chance to practise his new ones a few times as there were 4 rounds. He went on to win! He also went into the 10-12 year age group for some extra practise and came 2nd, losing to another state team member. Just before his kumite event, it was announced that Jols (a martial arts equipment supplier) would give the winner of his age group a new Adidas gi, which DS was excited about and used as incentive to win the event with a perfect head kick in the final round. Jols also supplied place getters with a free drink bottle. I even bought DS a new t-shirt and myself a hoodie, so all up a great day!

I even dreamt he won kata, and won kumite 2-1 against a kid called Lochlain. There's a Lochlain he usually comes up against in Melbourne tournaments (who wasn't there) but funnily enough, the boy he beat (3-1) was a Lochlain too! I also dreamt I had to do a kata against another mum, but thankfully that part didn't come true. 2 out of 3 ain't bad!