ISAIAH 54:17

This verse has become a verse that we turn to a lot for T in the sport he is doing.  We have been drilling this into him for many many years now but not just the portion you will see in the photo below but the entire verse.  Here it is in the KJV version of the Bible:  "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.  This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord."  

We actually put this in our language and point to him and say you instead of thee to him though when we recite it to him.  And when he says it we have him put in me instead of thee to make it more personal to him.  

We really want him to take this scripture to heart because being in the sport he's in is a tough and you have to have tough skin to do this sport.  If you are wimpy and a whinny baby who can't take pain this sport is definitely not for you.  Know yourself and know your limitations is something we have been guiding T to do.  T is very much a realist, something he gets from both his father and myself, and he knows his limitations and the realities surrounding being able to make it to the the highest level of this sport.  He's no fool and isn't trying to make himself to be bigger and badder than he really is.  He's in a happy place right now in TaeKwonDo.  He wants to continue doing competitions and all of TaeKwonDo.  He is going to continue to do his best Win or Learn because at the end of the day if he learns something it is something he can pass on to his students when he has his own dojang someday.  I love his attitude and his focus.  He is becoming such an incredible young man who loves the Lord!  It is our hope and prayer that when he has his own school someday that it will stand out and be different because he will intertwine God into every aspect of it and make it a place that followers of Christ will want to bring their kids to learn TaeKwonDo.  

ONE EXCITED KID!!!

 T is excited because his renewed passport finally came in today.  Woohoo!!!  In the Open competitions they require a photo ID and we've found we get no push back of any kind if T always shows this at competitions.  You can do other forms of ID but we have always chosen this form because of the value of it and no one generally will say anything to you about wanting other forms of ID as long as you have this one.  

Meet T's New Master - Master Douglas Townsend

T is so looking forward to being Master Doug's student for all of his TaeKwonDo.  He's looking forward to growing and learning all he can while being his student.  He has known Master Doug for many many years now.  Master Doug had a winning competition Demo Team and that was his main focus for a good many years.  He's now switched his focus to more of the sparring side of things.  We wanted to take a moment and introduce you to his new Master/Coach because this is who he will have as his Master from here on out unless something unforeseeable happens.  Master Doug just recently earned his blue belt in Jujitsu.  That's a step down from black belt in that particular martial arts and it takes 10 years to go from blue to black in it.  He is very actively involved in instructing his students.  He's a very hands on Master and that is what T aspires to be someday.  This move to Master Doug was a needed move so that T can continue moving forward in TaeKwonDo.  He loves everything about TaeKwonDo and not just the sparring aspect of it.  He will learn a lot being with Master Doug and he looks forward to having a growing relationship with him for years to come.  There's so much more to this Master than meets the eye.   #GodsPlan

Douglas  

Townsend

Head Master @ 

CORE Taekwondo Performance Center

I'm a 4th Dan Black Belt, and I have studied Taekwondo since the age of 8 years old. In 2013, I became the +80 kg Weight Division Fighter for the US Virgin Islands Taekwondo National Team as well as one of the Olympic Hopefuls to represent my country in 2016 for the Rio Olympic Games.

Since then I competed in 2014, at the Costa Rica Open and placed third, placed top 16 and qualified for the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, and finished Quarterfinals at the 2016 Pan Am Olympic Games Qualifier in Aguascalientes.

Othordontist Appointment Yesterday

T's Ortho Appt. yesterday went well.  He chose dusky blue as his band color this time.  They chained all his teeth this time instead of just part of them and he's been feeling the pain big time last night and today.  I have to call Ortho in the morning because his teeth have already moved so much that the wire is poking his jaw in the back.  I'm sure before he has to go to his tournament next week we will have to go back to Ortho again to make sure he will be fine while we are out of town in Texas for the tournament...LOL! 

Peeeewwww

T was some kind of stinky tonight after sparring training.  Peeewww!!!  Had to get him home quick to get all cleaned up...LOL!  Only parents of athletes can truly understand what I like to call, "The Funk"...LOL!  It's a smell like no other. T looks stronger each time he trains though.  These are the days we can't get back as parents so we have to enjoy all of it and yes  that even means the stinky moments too.  Wouldn't trade our life with this kid for anything in the world.  He makes all we do for him worth it.  He's always kept us on our toes.  What a blessing it is to be his parents.  Looking forward to all that God has in store for him as he grows into a man.  Have a great night everyone.  #GodsPlan 

PRESIDENT'S CUP - PATU EVENT

President's Cup - a PATU event - will be happening August 19th-21st.  After Grand Prix T won't compete again until this tournament.  Praise the Lord that he will be able to eat and grow until he has to compete at this event.  We are looking forward to doing this event and T gaining more experience.  Just keep those prayers coming that we mentioned in our other posts about the other two tournaments.  Lots of changes going on and much for T to adjust to as well.  

I know you haven't see us mention that he is going to Nationals this year and that's because he won't be.  The tournaments we mentioned are all that he will be doing this summer.  One National event was going to be in Las Vegas and we've had our fill of going to that venue and really don't ever care to go back there again.  It's like a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah.  The other National even is in Utah.  We actually love Salt Lake City, Utah.  It's a very nice venue and a family oriented environment.  It's just too far for us to even consider going to just for experience and learning.  It's money better saved for events that closer to home.  

We thank you for staying up to date with us and covet your prayers.  #GodsPlan

USAT EAST GRAND PRIX

This will be the competition that T does after Texas.  There isn't much time between events.  T will be weighing in on the 16th and fighting on the 17th.  His group will be one of the first to fight.  T will be training like crazy to get ready for this one as well as staying on weight.  After this event though T will have a good long break before his next event where he can eat and grow.  He is looking forward to that and looking forward to actually being able to spend the 4th of July with family this year.  That will be a first for us in a very long time because T is always at one of the National events during that holiday.  It will be fun to have a change this year.  It's a much needed changed too.  Family is so important and having carved out dedicated time with them is something to be cherished.  Pray for T as we travel to this event as well.  Pray for his health and ours too.  Pray that he competes well regardless if he earns a medal or not.  Strong fighting is what we are after and getting valuable experience.  Thank you for keeping us all in your prayers as we do these next two events.  It will be lots of travel for us.  #GodsPlan 

PATU PAN-AM SERIES - TEXAS OPEN

It's getting closer to travel time for this event.  T has been working hard to get ready but also been trying to make sure that he add recovery time into all that he is doing.  While still training we've been working on healing an ingrown toenail as well as healing soft tissue injury on the opposite foot.  T still pushes forward through all of it.  T is looking forward to learning his new bracket as well as getting experience fighting with the new rules.  So much is changing and it's a lot for these athletes to get used to but T is rolling with it and adjusting pretty well.  It's going to be interesting watching these kids fight this year because I know a lot of mistakes will be made while they all adjust to all the changes.  There's never a dull moment!  Pray for no injuries and that T learns a lot and does well at this competition.  Doing well for T will be that he holds his own with the taller fighters.  It might not result in an actual win but that will be a win for T if he can stay strong while fighting these taller fighters.  That's what we are after right now.  Experience with the fighters and being able to stay strong fighting in this new division/bracket.  So keeping him in your prayers during this fight season this summer will be greatly appreciated.  #GodsPlan 

Oh The Memories...

While I was sitting at my moms arthritis appointment I put this together.  I love playing around with photo apps on my phone.  These are some great pics of T through the years too.  Just wanted to share it with you here. #GodsPlan

Ch Ch Ch Changes....

As the old song says, "Ch Ch Ch Changes..."  That's what is happening here.  Lots of changes.  First I want to share that I love seeing my son smile while doing what he loves.  I haven't seen it in a while but now we are seeing it again and are so happy that he is happy in what he is doing in TaeKwonDo.  There are changes happening and they are just bringing out such a happiness in T that we haven't seen in a while.  It warms this moms heart to see how happy he is.  Check out these pics where I've caught him smiling on camera recently.

All this has happened at Core TaeKwonDo.  He has made such awesome friends there and they all get along so great.  He really enjoys training with this great group of people.  Such a great atmosphere for our son to be in.  Ultimately for us it's not about any medals he will ever win, although T likes winning, but who doesn't.  For us it's about the fact that we want T happy in what he is doing and happy in his own skin with who he is as a person.  He's such a great kid who has had to deal with a ton of changes/losses over the years.  Where he's at now is a good place though and we couldn't be more happy.  

As of June 1st T will be Team Core and doing all his TaeKwonDo at Core TaeKwonDo!  It's a change we felt we had to make as a family financially.  God expects us to be smart with our spending.  But we were paying 3 different TaeKwonDo schools for training.  With the economy where it's at and getting worse we had to make a decision that will make smart financial sense and ultimately be what we felt God would have us do. T loves his coach, Master Wasiu, so much though which made the decision a hard one for us to make.  We sat down as a family though and got buy in from T to make this move.  Then Scot talked with Master Wasiu getting his blessing for us to make this move.  In TaeKwonDo you always get the Masters blessing when making a move.  T seems very happy for the up coming change.  It will be where he does his regular TaeKwonDo belt classes as well as sparring training. Master Wasiu won't be out of T's life entirely though.  These two teams do a ton of cross training together. It will be good to be home regularly.  I'm so thankful to be able to be relieved of the financial burden of all the extra TaeKwonDo expenses.  Having everything to be in one place with one TaeKwonDo school is going to be great and take a financial burden off our shoulders.  We haven't had that in 5 long years.  It's what Scot and I have been secretly wanting for some time now but didn't want to upset the apple cart.  Ultimately T didn't want to leave Master Wasiu.   He also didn't want to leave the Traditional TaeKwonDo school (Black Belt World - where he's done TaeKwonDo since he was four years old).  He loves Master Wasiu so and Grand Master Jun Lee.  But T knew when we shared with him the TaeKwonDo financials that it was best for us as a family to put everything in one school because it would save money.  We don't keep things from him.  He's at an age now where we want him learning about how to deal with finances as he grows into an adult.  He knew this move was a smart financial move.  We're so thankful for his understanding and his learning.  That's just another great thing about homeschooling.  

After all that, T shared with us that he loves sparring but ultimately he wants to be a master and have his own TaeKwonDo business some day.  I think he'd be excellent at it too.  So while he will still compete and try to reach the goals he has for sparring at the end of the day what matters for him is moving forward in all TaeKwonDo has to offer.  Right now T has told us his goals in sparring are to medal/win at both AAU and USAT Nationals and to medal/win at an Open event.  Open events are where athletes from other countries come and fight.  These are great goals to have and we pray that he will accomplish them someday.  We know he will put his heart and soul into it and at the end of the day that's enough! So check out what T's new Team jacket will look like starting June 1st and pray with us as we make all these changes that T will be able to accomplish all the goals he has in TaeKwonDo.    

As I close this out we want to say a special Thank You to Master Wasiu and Grand Master Jun Lee for all they have poured into our son over the years!  You both have been incredible influences in our sons life for the better!  We appreciate you both so very much and we will never ever forget you!  No matter where T goes or what he does a part of you will always live on in him!  God Bless you both!!!  #GodsPlan