Kukkiwon Has Been Issued!!!

T’s 3rd Poom/Dan Kukkiwon has been issued. We are praying it’s on it’s way to our Dojang in the mail. It was issued on 2/28. We were already in Florida for US Open when it was issued.  We were too busy to check on things while down there. 

Picture From Earlier Today

T is actually wearing jeans and not workout clothes or his TaeKwonDo uniform😊. 

Last nights training session

Last night was a lot of talking and going over all the kids fights from US Open. T got some really good feedback from his coach and teammates on his fight. Even some of the parents were telling me how well he fought even though he didn’t come home with a medal this time. T was fighting a Giant in comparison to his size. His opponent had more experience and was older. T is the baby in his division this year. He is also one of the lightest weights in his weight division as well. Most of the kids in his division cut down to T’s weight bracket. T doesn’t have to cut weight. He just eats healthy most of the time and his weight stays on point. T learned last night though, things he needs to fix before his next tournament. Praying he makes the necessary changes so he can be more competitive at his next tournament. Some of what he needs fix are bad habits. He will break his bad habits over time and as he trains more. So wishing he had been with this team and coach from the beginning then he wouldn’t be needing to break bad habits. He would have been taught right from the start. But it is what it is and I’m just thankful that God opened the door for us to be a part of this team now rather than later. At least he has fewer bad habits to break now. Grand Master Cann would be so proud of how far he’s come from where he was. Miss her presence in this team every day. 

Crazy things T can do

T can get his body into the craziest positions. 

We are back in Matthews, NC training for the weekend and getting ready for the Pan Am Grand Slam in Portland, Oregon. That’s T’s next major tournament that he’s attending. He’s gaining much needed experience at these tournaments so win or not the experience he’s gaining is invaluable. 

US Open 2020

T gained valuable learning experience at this event. It’s a major event for TaeKwonDo competitors. T is in a new age and weight division this year and he continues to learn and grow as a competitor. We are proud of all the advancements he is making on his journey. We were grateful that Master Chris Hershberger was able to step in and coach T. We had several competitors hitting the floor at the same time but all the boys were covered thanks to Master Wasiu Nour Adjibodé, Master Striker(Justin Strack), and Master Hershberger. T is blessed to have such great men in his corner. T was more prepared than he’s ever been but he’s, as one of the other parents said, a baby in this division, and he has time to grow. We look forward to watching him as his journey continues and he strives to be the best competitor he can be. When we watch videos of where he came from and where he is now we see so much growth. He has much more growth ahead and we look forward to watching all of it. Thank you Master Wasiu, Master Striker, and Master Hershberger for the time you put in with T for/at US Open. Thank you also to Calvin Fleming, you are a great body coach. Thank you Bill Macchi, for the Chiropractic care you’ve given our son over the years. It takes a team of people to help elite athletes to stay at their optimum level and we appreciate you all. God has blessed T so much and above all else we give our thanks to Him for the athletic gifting that he’s gifted our son with. God is central in our lives. He’s at the center of our home and family and we ultimately give Him all the Glory and Honor.

A Day at SeaWorld

Boys are in line for this ride. It was the first stop on their list...LOL!  I’m looking forward to the shows😁.

And yes that is upside down. No thank you!!!  

Result for T

T lost his first round match to a more experienced competitor. He did very well though. He was calm, listening to Master Hershberger (who coached him because we had 3 kids on deck at the same time), and he used his techniques. That’s what we’ve asked of him for this year being in a new division and he’s doing just that. Win or learn as long as he does those things it’s a win in our book!!!  He’s young and still has much to learn and he will. This was a good experience for him. I will post some pictures later. 

Back in Holding

T is now back in holding with his teammates and his coach. His first fight today is against a kid that got 2nd at the Cadet Grand Slam in 2019. So needless to say he has drawn, yet again, someone who is really good but at these events there aren’t any kids who are horrible. It’s all high level competitors. 

 

Yesterday was a rough day for most of our Juniors. T’s buddy won his first and lost his second match. One of our girls lost the first round she fought but had a buy into metal rounds so I think she walked away either Bronze or Silver. Our other girl brought home Bronze at her first time out to this event. Another one of our guys lost first round. Another girl, a friend from another Dojang, walked away with Silver. 

I said all that to show you how hard this event is. It’s not easy. It’s very hard. Pray for T and his teammates today. Pray for safety as they compete and pray that regardless of results that they all walk away having learned from this event and continue to grow as competitors. 

This is our current view. 

Made Weight!!!

T weighed in at 31.3 kilos. That equates to 69 lbs. He can’t weigh over 33 kilos which equates to 72.8 lbs. Such an easy weigh in. We’ve learned how to reel his junk eating in before events then he is good to go😁.  He’s playing games while waiting to watch his friends fight. 

Getting Ready...

We are getting ready for traveling tomorrow to Florida for US Open.  It seems that I just got home and we will be heading out again.  Life is busy but we wouldn't trade it for anything.

Tomorrow we travel to the grands place in Florida.  Once there we will be in contact with T's coach to what he wants him doing and where he wants us to meet up with him.  T will still need to train to keep his cardio up and stay limber for his fight this weekend at US Open.  It is one of the biggest events of the year.  T is always learning and growing as an athlete.  He has such a great coach in Master Wasiu and we are so thankful that God brought us all together for T's benefit.  It has been the most beneficial thing we are done for T in his competition journey thus far.

T will weigh in on Saturday and fight on Sunday at US Open.  It is being held at Disney this year.  He is looking forward to also getting to see his teammates fight as well.  This will be the first year that T will have multiple team members that are attending this event as well and he is very excited about it.

After the event we are hoping to do a day at Disney.  He wants to do the park that has just open the Star Wars section.  Not sure which one that is but we will find out when we get down there.

I've been working hard to get ready for our trip.  The dog had to have a vet visit today to get a vaccine to be boarded.  T and I both had Chiropractor visits today.  I've been doing laundry and packing today and trying to make sure my home is somewhat clean for when my mom comes to watch the dog for us so that he doesn't have to be boarded the entire time that we are gone.  It's a ton of prep that has to be done and with my being gone for an entire month while T was training with his coach and team you can imagine how my house looked like a bachelor pad...LOL!  The house still may not be the best when my mom comes but it will be better than it has been and that's about the best I can hope for these days...LOL!

That's about all for now.  I'll post later on after T has competed at US Open to let everyone know of his first experience competing at this high of a level in a new age and weight division.