Z-Ultimate Self Defense Studios National Championship Tournament

Hi everybody!

I didn't post yesterday, because I had a very long day, and I was lazy.

My karate tournament happened yesterday! It was super fun and definitely worth the money to register. If you don't know much about tournaments, you have to pay to participate. It costs money to run these things: buy trophies, hire the photographer, pay for the venue, et cetera, et cetera. The more you participate, the more you pay. It's just how it works. You don't train for free, you don't compete for free. The best things in life might be free, but the better things are costly!

I participated in Women's Sparring, White/Yellow, Women's Kata, White/Yellow, and Weapons, White/Yellow/Orange/Purple. All three divisions made for a long day. The tournament was held in Irvine, California. The Z-Ultimate school is slowly spreading across the US from California, so most of our dojos are in this state. Adults started with sparring or katas at 8 am. I had a bit of a drive up to Irvine, and I arrived at 7 am. Doors opened at 715, so I went in, changed into my gi, found a couple of others from my dojo, and started warming up. I was a case of nerves.

It's a bad idea to have Mickey D's for breakfast. Ever. But especially right before a competition.

I placed third in sparring. I could have placed first but I didn't get a point at a critical time in one of my matches, so I went up for the third/fourth place match and won.
In kata, I thought that me and my friend would kill the competition... and we both didn't place. I still can't figure it out... but I'm happy with my form. It's too bad the grandmaster doesn't remember what a horse stance is... lol. Anyway, if you can't tell, I'm very bitter about that.
For weapons, we had a huge amount of competition. It would be very hard for a Dragon Set I to beat a double nunchucks form. On the other hand, I had a very solid DS I so I was very happy. Dragon Set I is a broadsword form. It's very fun for a yellow belt because it's very basic. I wish I didn't have to do open hand in order to do weapons, but my sensei has this wise idea that open-hand forms are the bedrock of martial arts training. Sigh. Anyway, next tournament, I'm going to win it all. Except maybe weapons, but most of the purple belts should have moved on to blue, and I should be a purple belt by January. So I have an excellent chance.

Weapons went at 530 pm. I took a nap in my Jeep in the middle of the afternoon and had a terrible nightmare about my dead grandmother (she looked pretty lively, though) stealing my Jeep with my sword and phone and gear. It was terrible.

I didn't get home til almost 8 pm. It was quite a day: 5 am to 8 pm all told. I slept like a bucket of lead.