18/11/07

Yes, this is my third entry but it's a good one. . . I am dedicating this update to Ched Cheverier becuase when I last saw him he was really into martial arts.

These are afew pictures I got from a random competition at my local gym. I went to the gym in the aftertnoon and the parking lot was packed. When I got to the second level with the gym is I saw a group of kids ouside the Judo room and I peeked in. I was pleasantly surprised by a Karate competition. The kids were as young as 7 or8 and as old as early teens. I quickly did my routine and headed home. I showerd, dressed, and charged my dead camera battery as quickly as I could. Heading back to the gym hoping it wasn't already over. . . .which it wasn't. I got out my camera as another match was about to start but as I took the 6th frame it died on me. So here are the six frames I got. Sorry.



















It was soo much fun to watch all the kids competing. I was standing behind one of the teams seating area and each time a kid would finish he would exit next to me. It was soooo sad becuase whenever they would lose they would all be crying. One lost and he came out and his dad was there and he turned and just started to cry on his dad's leg. His dad lovingly patted him on the head and shoulder and told him he did well. It was soo sad. I wanted to comfort him to and tell him that he could probably kick my ass even though he came up to my hip. I had no idea how hard Karate reall is when it comes to competing. One kid started to cry on the mat from another kid wailing on him. Height and weight seemed to really do a lot for a player at this level of competing. Basically all the taller and stronger (or even just fatter) players usually one. It was sad becuase the kid who started to cry on the mat. . . they had to stop the competition before the time was up (which isn't very long in the first place. . .it's like 1 minute for the older ones and a minute thirty for the less advanced kids). He was like holding his ribs and his leg from the apponent kicking him so hard. . . and they had padding on their feet and hands and he had a helmet on. Some of these kids were pretty talented even for being a lower belt. I was very impressed and want to see more Karate competitions/ martial arts competitions in general.