“To enlighten and evolve through the art of Kenpo”
| Volume 10 |
June - December 2005 |
Issue 2 |
From The President...
My Big Tournament
My Big Tournament
by Nicholas Barany
I felt very much pride when I won a trophy for fourth place in a karate martial arts sparring tournament. It was very hard to win that fourth place trophy because the opponents I faced proved very difficult to beat. But first I had to get all my fighting gear and my mouthpiece on. As I walked into the building I saw tons of judges and fighters already prepared to start the tournament event. The aroma of sweat that clouded the inside was so powerful I could almost taste it. I jogged over to the area where my age class was and greeted the judges and other fighters. But as soon as I finished an announcement echoed through the room which started the tournament.
The first round started and I was paired up with another opponent who I hadn’t had the time to meet. Quickly reacting, the judges said to get into fighting stance as we finished bowing to each other.
“Fight!” says one of the judges as we charged in to the center of the mat swinging blow after blow. Finally my opponent left an area open as he threw a punch. As I blocked, I saw my opponent’s befuddled expression. I shuffled in as I glanced over to see where he was standing. As soon as I saw him I whirled around unloading most of my strength on his head to win the point. Next round I waited for him to rush in so I off-angled and hit him for the next point. I was in the lead by two points and I only needed one more to win. My opponent charged in before I could kick and he jammed me and won a point. Furious at this point because I was mad at slipping up, I charged him this time and caught him off guard. I won the point and advanced to the next round while my opponent lost and watched the rest of tournament unroll.
Overconfident, my second round proved too hard for me to handle. As I put my mouthpiece back on I entered the second mat for the next round. This time my opponent was a little bigger than I was, but my mind was drunk with confidence by my last success in the first round. As we bowed to each other I got into my fighting stance already knowing what I was going to do.
“Fight!” said the judges and I ran in punching and kicking at the same time. Unfortunately, he blocked both and hit me in the head for the point without even taking a blow. As I was hit, I felt the hard foam of the hand gear slam against my headgear. Angrily, I recuperated by changing my battle tactics for the next fight I would have with this opponent. Slowly stretching, I waited for the next time we fought. Again I was pummeled under his blows. I choked on each of those punches and kicks he dealt me. This next loss weakened me for I lost my confidence as he was much stronger than I was. The third time we fought I kept my guard up when he punched but could not hold him off for long. I soon forgot to keep my hands up and out of nowhere came a huge fist! I barely blocked it and I almost fell over but bewilderedly held my position. After that I was slammed by another blow and I was defeated.
Shaken by the last loss I brushed myself off and went onto the next mat. Forcing myself to regain confidence, I reassured myself for this new adversary. He was my size and he was not as bulky as I was. He was a tough-looking opponent with short hair that barely popped out from his headgear. He was skinny but it looked like he could hold his own. I evaluated him for the short time I had between the rounds. The judges started the fight as I feigned in and out and rushed in for the point. This small win increased my confidence greatly. Again the judges started the fight as I fully charged in and won the point again. The last fight had the same outcome and I felt more powerful.
In the last round I had met my match but I wouldn’t give up. I fought each fight as well as I could but I only won because he forfeited over the fact that he kept punching me in the face. If he had not done that I would not have won fourth place. It worked out for me because I won a huge trophy that made me fill up with pride.
In the end I was announced fourth place in my age group in the sparring tournament. My mother, father, and my brother were proudly yelling, “Great job Nick!” as I stepped up to take the trophy. This moment really made me proud because the tournament was so hard and I did so well.
Since I finished this tournament, challenges are not as hard for me even though I didn’t win first place in that tournament. This whole competition was a major step forward and I am surprised I won fourth place. Also whenever I come across walls that impede my progress I can always look back and motivate myself to try harder. Now when I look at obstacles such as tests, tournaments or any other challenges that come up in life I take a different perspective. I now know what it feels like to try my hardest. Even if I have doubts I’ll fully succeed.