T's Got Me...

T has finally gotten taller than me. He's been my height for a little while but now he gets to glory in the fact that he is taller than me and he's approaching his dad's height rapidly...LOL! He has been growing like crazy since May/June. Even though I did this funny picture of us you keep getting taller bud!!! 

Training at Core 9.27.2022

Here’s a video from sparring training. T was fighting up tonight with the guys/men. He put on his old foot socks that are missing almost all of the magnets…LOL!  Hard lesson learned for him tonight because he hardly got any scores on the electronics. He now knows to make sure his good foot socks are in his gear bag. Enjoy the video. 

T’s Kick in Second Match…

This was the only kick that T could get off on his opponent in the second match that gave him any score at all. T is in the blue. He got a side kick that scored. He certainly was a trooper with the odds he was going up against. Ben eventually won Gold but one more big tournament for Ben with a Gold medal win and he will be the dominant athlete in the -49kg group. It’s hard to believe T is older than him. Ben has one more year as a Cadet fighter next year while T will be a first year Jr fighter. 

T’s Fights from Grand Prix Final 2022

T fought fantastic. He won his first match. He had to really work for it though. Rabins won the first round and T won the second and third rounds of their match. T’s in Red.  Here’s the video from their match:

T’s second match was very difficult and hard to watch. He got beat by point gap both rounds. Peters towers over T though. T came away from that match realizing he really needs to work on getting around his long legs. T knows he has a lot of work to do to fight guys like Peters and win.  T’s in Blue. Here’s that fight: 

T’s Grand Prix Final T-shirt

T is so proud of his accomplishment today in the -49kg weight division. It was a new division for him. He gets to go to team trials in January in the new weight division. It was an invitation only event today.  You had to medal at one of the three Grand Prix’s they held to be able to compete today at the Final. Huge steps forward for T. So stinkin’ proud of this kid. 

Final Bracket Winners 🥇🥈🥉

Here’s the final bracket winners. 

Grand Prix Final Results…

T fought hard and won his first match. He lost his second match to the eventual Gold Medalist. For him being in a new weight division we couldn’t be more proud of how well he did. T’s main goal was to medal so he could qualify for team trials and he accomplished that goal. So proud of our boy. Now we look ahead to getting ready between now and January for team trials. 

Brackets Are Up…

The brackets are up. T has a good first round match up. Everyone pray he wins his first match and moves forward to medal rounds. If he moves forward to medal rounds he gets to do team trials in January. We are secretly hoping for gold but we also realize it’s his first time in a new weight division and just from past experience first times in a division are tough but nothing that T can’t step up to the challenge of either. He’s growing. His mind is in a good place. We feel he could really do well.  Right side of the bracket is on top and left side (where T is) is on the bottom. As usual T has the harder side of the bracket but it’s nothing he’s not had to deal with before.  Just keep him in your prayers. His report time tomorrow is 11am. 

Venue is Ready…

Someone took this picture of the venue.  Four rings. T is so excited to be going to this event. He’s looking forward to all he’s going to learn. 

T’s New Arm and Leg Gear…

T’s new arm and leg gear. He already loves them. He said they feel so good and so much lighter on his legs and arms😊. 

T’s Credentials…

They now send credentials digitally.  Just wanted to share it with you here. He weighs in tomorrow and fights Saturday😊. He’s fighting a heavier weight division this time. Pray he has a good showing and brings home a medal. A medal moves him forward to team trials in January. If he doesn’t medal that will be ok because he’s getting much needed experience for what’s ahead when he moves weight divisions for his first year as a Jr fighter come January. Either way it’s a win win for him. Getting him ready and moving forward in doing what he loves😁. 

Master Issoufou…

A picture of Master Issoufou with his Olympic Silver medal 🥈 from Rio 2016:

Here’s a pic of him with his countries flag:

Master Issoufou is still fighting. He’s heading to Worlds again this year representing his country. T will continue to stay in touch with him and follow him on social media. He made quite the impact on T in the short time T got to spend with him. 

Tonight’s Training with a Special Guest from Niger Africa…

Tonight we had a special guest from Niger 🇳🇪, Master Razak Issoufou Alfaga, at sparring training. He asked to be called, Master Issoufou. He’s a great athlete and a great guy. He won a silver medal at the Olympics and a gold medal at the World Championships. He’s the real deal. I’m so glad that T got to train with him. T really enjoyed getting to know him and learning from him.  T told us how encouraging he was to him and how much that meant to him. T dreams of having legs as long as his someday😊…LOL! 

Private Training @ Core w/Master Doug 9.12.2022

Here’s a video of some of T’s training getting ready for the Grand Prix Final this weekend in a new heavier weight division with taller fighters. 

9.11

To this day I remember parking my school bus after my morning runs and being told by my boss about the first tower being hit. I went straight home and turned on the news and I watched live as the second tower was hit by the second plane. It was all so surreal. I watched as they crumbled to the ground. One right after the other. My heart sank and tears flowed for two reasons. The first was the loss of lives. The second was because I knew this was an attack on my country. Every year at this time it is all still so fresh in my mind as if it happened just yesterday. #alwaysremebering #neverforgetting #truepatriot #nineeleven

Happy Grandparents Day!!!

Just wanted to give a shout out for T to his grandparents!  He so loves his Nan, Popsie and Maw Maw. So thankful he’s gotten to grow up with them in his life. 

T’s 1st Ever Officially Coaching😊!

T got to coach several of his teammates today for the first time as an AAU Coach at the 2022 Carolina AAU TaeKwonDo Fall Open Championship. He really enjoyed it and learned a lot as he was coaching his teammates.  He coached two to Gold, four to Silver and two to Bronze.  He’s so proud of how well they all did.  For many it was their first time fighting on that level. What a great day for #teamcore!!!  #coretaekwondoperformancecenter

1st Private Training with his New Master/Coach Master Douglas....

T had his 1st session of private training with his new Master/Coach today and absolutely loved it.  He said it felt good and he really enjoyed all that he learned in the session.  So thankful for this happy place our son is in and how he is really enjoying all that he is learning as he makes forward progress in TaeKwonDo.  The clothes he's wearing in the pictures his Aunt Debbie and Uncle Jeff got him.  They were his birthday gift from them.  They kept trying to wait to give it to him when we came up but at last they just finally had to ship them to us...LOL! They fit T perfectly.  He has three other sets that he's looking forward to wearing that I'll post later that they bought him.  Getting those in the mail made his day yesterday.  

Congrats Master Douglas!!!

We want to give a shout out to T’s Master/Coach, Master Douglas. He’s been picked as a finalist in the 2022 Best of the Best Martial Arts Instruction. We are so excited for him. This is well deserved. He’s such an awesome Master/Coach. 

T and His Teammates…

T and his teammates at training tonight. These five are so awesome!!! Love how much fun they all have together while training.