Tracy and Billy headed to Waterlook Iowa for a taekwondo tournament with his team. They had Ana along for her 1st out of state meet and everyone had a blast. We went swimming, out for Chinese and ... the kids all kicked some major butt at the tournament. Go St Rogers Park TKD! You are amazing!!
Demo - came in 4th but this team has a ton of potential
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV4tSUO8yaQ
Pomsea - Billy took 1st (gold) and looked great with a 8.5. Interestingly enough, when he was competing in the tournament of champions round, he looked equally as good but only got a 7.5. Even he's not sure why the scores were so different but you can check it out for yourself....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMcWw0xApjA
Sparring - the entire team was on fire!! Billy, Ace and Esa all took home the gold in some really killer, aggressive and tough matches. Not sure that I agree, but at the Iowa tournament, head shots are allowed for ages 9+ (in MN those are only allowed at 15+). I didnt know that until 1/2 way through the tournament and was trying to figure out why none of the kids were getting called for fouls. It made for super aggressive sparring and the kids stepped up and showed what they were made of. Billy ended his match in a tie, which is beyond nerve racking, at 9-9. Then it goes into sudden death. Billy got his kick/point in the 1st 2 seconds of overtime. YES!! Proud of you all! (He's in the red)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCa9OGw8IZQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxAVuMCOS2E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6NemkUb2_k
Weapons - he competes with the bow staff and he's damn good. But, weapons is a funny event because they take it by belt range and age range (vs belt/age combo) so he was with the 12+ and Red Belt +, said differently, he was competing with black belts that were 17 years old. He was 1/2 their size! He didnt place but he was keeping track of scores and said he tied the 3rd place winner. Interesting.... Its fun to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH7-AB6jhAI
Fun - silliness, swimming, Chinese food and a yummy team breakfast, doesnt get much better than this!!
Kay had her Rising Stars Tournament and looked great, with the exceptions of a few errors that we'll describe below. All in all, not her best meet but good enough to get a score that would qualify her for regionals if it had been state, so ... she's consistent! She had a hard time holding it together after the beam (you'll see why below) but bounced back and is more determined than ever to do her best at state in 2 weeks. You are one tough cookie Kay! Proud of you !
Bars - in warm ups, she was doing pirouettes and her feet weren't hitting the ground. Couldnt quite pull it off in competition but it was her best bar score this year 8.625!! She was funny, she said "I sort of forgot I was in competition for a moment and lost my focus". Huh. And, she has 2 weeks to "get" the pirouette before state. Go Kay Go!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7gcxalExMA
Floor - it looked GORGEOUS!! Really put together, unfortunately she stepped out of bounds and got a 9.05 (still a pretty damn good score). If she had stayed in bounds, it would have been a 9.55 which is unbelievable!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-AbFLQrC48
Vault - we are going to leave this at - needs improvement ... 8.175 (Toms phone ran out of space at this point so no video of vault or beam which is just as well I suppose)
Beam - again, it was amazing and you are totally getting excited that she's nailing when ... she falls off during her spin. Its the easiest skill and a silly mental mistake 8.85 but without the fall it would have been a 9.35 - I think that shows how good the rest of the routine was.
So, over all 34.75 and we have a bit of work to do on staying mentally focused. But, better to make these mistakes now and know how they feel so that you can correct before state.
She's got this:)
Love you both, you are both strong, determined, coachable, focused and warriors.
