US Open Update Yet Again

So we are now going to US Open in Las Vegas. We are prepping T for this event as much as we can in the time we have left before we have to travel for this event. I will be spending most of February in Charlotte as T trains with his coach for this event. By the time we go to US Open T will have had a total of 3 weeks of private training with his coach on top of team trainings. He has an event this weekend, next weekend, as well as an AAU Qualifier to attend in February before going to US Open. So to say we have a lot going on is an understatement. We covet your prayers as we finance everything. God is so good and always makes a way where there seems to be no way. So as God provides we continue to move forward and help our son live out his dreams. 

Please pray for our safety as we travel and as T trains and competes at SET in South Carolina (1/19), Tag Team Competition with World Sparring League(1/26), AAU Qualifier in Georgia(2/16), and US Open in Vegas(3/1). Please pray for T to stay healthy throughout all of this. He’s been overcoming what seems to be a cold so pray he recovers from it quickly. He needs every ounce of strength/energy for all he has to do in the weeks and months ahead. Pray for Scot and I to stay healthy as well throughout everything. Pray for strength for us as we help T do all he has to do to be the best that he can be. Pray for T and I as we balance getting his schooling done in the midst of everything. 

Such exciting times but also very busy times too. We wouldn’t have it any other way though. We love our boy and are so proud of everything he is doing in this sport he loves so much. 

Recent picture he took for his Global Licensing Photo. 

Normal Speed of T training at Home

SLO-MO of T Training at Home

My Awesome Husband

My awesome hubby putting mats down so T can train on Bob the Bully and not loose his footing on the rug and fall. I knew those mats would come in handy again someday...LOL!  They used to be in T’s playroom before it became a kid cave.

A few More Pictures from T’s Training This Week

It’s been a really good training week for T. Looking forward to more training weeks as successful as this one was. Looking forward, Moving Forward!  

Training Today with Master Wasiu

T has had almost a week of training with his coach Master Wasiu. It’s been a really good week of training so far. T has been learning a ton and honing his skills more. So thankful for his team and coach. He’s loving every moment of his training. Life may be crazy but it is so good to see T improve daily as he trains more.  Enjoy the video T and I put together for you.  

Today’s Training

T had a really great training session today. He’s really starting to get the hang of doing what his coach wants him to do in his techniques. The pics I’m going to share are of him doing his drills more successfully than he’s ever done them. I love it when I get to see him getting it and successfully doing what his coach wants from him. His partner, David, didn’t like it so much though because he was at the receiving end of him doing his techniques correctly...LOL! 

Global Licensing

T has been approved and now has his first World TaeKwonDo Global License. That means he can compete anywhere anytime. 

Yesterday’s Training

In the pictures I’ll be sharing you’ll see T doing drills with one of his teammates. It was a rough day yesterday. T had private training and team training. Trying to retrain bad muscle memory habits from bad training is not easy. When we first started out in TKD we only were looking at doing family TKD. Never would we have imagined that five years later we’d be doing elite competitions with our son. God always has other plans than we do though. So family TKD doesn’t focus on making sure they are as accurate as they need to be with their Kicks. As long as they are close they are fine with it. But when you are an elite competitor the techniques have to be just so in order to pull off whatever fighting move you are doing. So the process of breaking old bad muscle memory habits and making new ones is not an easy one as T is learning. It will come but it is going to take him doing the new techniques a ton!  He has already come so far in such a short period of time. There is also so much more for him to learn. He loves doing it. It’s challenging. Sometimes tears are shed. But T keeps going. We are so proud of all he has accomplished and is accomplishing. 

Update

I wasn’t able to get video or pictures of yesterday’s training sessions because Scot and I spent most of T’s training time on the phone wrapping our minds around all the new USAT rules and how important it is for T to attend or not attend US Open this year. While we are figuring it all out we went ahead and applied for his Global Licensing. Without having that in place there is no competing at US Open anyhow. More importantly though is figuring out if we can pull off actually doing this financially. It’s an expensive trip to Vegas for US Open on top of all the other tourneys T needs to attend this year. We have found out that he needs to attend as many USAT events as possible because they take his top 3 scores outside his home state to get his seeding points.  US Open is an exception. They are added in on top of the state points. The resason you attend more events is there is potential to attend an event with someone ranked higher than you and provided T beats them he potentially gets even more seeding points in strength factor points. It’s a whole new world for us now that T will be in his last year as a youth and moving to Cadet in 2020. Points really matter because they roll. He can only take 50% of the points he earns this year into his Cadet year because he is moving divisions from one age group to another so the more points he receives means he’ll have a larger 50% number that he gets to take with him next year. And this of course is all provided that they don’t go and change the rules on us again next year. So much to consider to make sure T is in the best place he can be going into his Cadet year in 2020. 

Our heads are spinning thinking about all that has to take place this year and the financing that we will be needing to put towards it all. It’s a huge investment of time and finances. Most importantly we are supporting our son and helping him towards the future he wants in this sport. He is putting forth tons of effort with all the training he’s doing. It’s hard to really think of our 10 year boy as an elite athlete but that’s what he is. He is an elite athlete.  

Pray for us as we endeavor to make the best dicisions that will be most beneficial to T as an elite athlete. Pray for T’s focus and for his really making his techniques as sharp and fast as they can be as he trains more and more. Pray for wisdom for us going forward as we work out all the financing for everything. 

T and I are now in Charlotte with his coach half the month and we are at home half the month. This has been the most time I’ve spent away from my husband since we were married in 2006. We both know it’s just a season but it doesn’t make my missing him any less. He’s my best friend and for him to not be able to see everything first hand that our son is doing down here in Charlotte is hard.  Pray for us as we are having to spend so much time apart. Scot is doing all he can to finance this journey our son is on while I’m with our son making sure his needs are met and doing schooling in the midst of it all. The great thing about homeschooling is it can go with you wherever you go. It’s also what almost every elite athlete does so they can keep a consistent training schedule and be able to attend all their events. 

Life was crazy last year but it’s going to be even more crazy this year and yet even more crazy in 2020. Mrs. Donna (one of T’s teammates moms) explained to me that what we are really working toward now is being able to attend Pan Am down the road. Pan Am is a stepping stone towards the Olympics. There’s so much our little guy will have to accomplish in the years to come in order to get the invite for the Team USA trials to earn a spot on Team USA to be able to compete in the Olympics in 2028 which is his ultimate goal in this sport. 

I’m sure that was more information than you expected when you started reading this but I want to keep everyone informed who are following our blog which I’m finding out are more than I thought were following.  Keep following and keeping up with us. Sign up to be added to an email that you will receive when I make new blog updates. Have a great day!