US Poomsae Team Trials, Part 3

Well, it's over and it didn't turn out how I thought or hoped it would. As I've said in previous posts, naturallly, I'd hoped I would win and be on the way to Russia for The World Championships in July. Really, though, I knew that wasn't likely going to happen. This was team trials after all and all of the competition is tough.

It was great to watch and see all of the current US team members perform. The current A Team guy in division went before me and I was second. He was so much better to watch in person than in a YouTube video but, in my humble opinion, I think the guy who came in third (there are two thirds so I mean the guy who came in first third and not second third) should've won the whole thing. He, I think, is already on the US B Team. Anyway, it was a fantastic learning experience and something I'll never forget being a part of. Who knows? I could be back next year. In the meantime, there is the World Master/Instructor Training Course and Special Black Belt Promotion coming up in June, given by the Kukkiwon and USA Taekwondo, and US Nationals in July.

I'm going to have a lot to work to do for Nationals if I'm going to do better than I did today. Like I said in my previous post, I've been struggling with Pyong Won but I didn't think as much as the judges thought. I had a lot more power and nicer kicks than four or five of the other contestants but they scored higher than I did. I had all of the proper elements at the proper times in the form but I guess I wasn't precise in anything (foot placement, elbow placement, hand placement, etc) because I got 0.43 for my Accuracy score. 0.43! I guess with top level competition a codification of the forms had to be done but they've become so mechanical that the art side of martial arts is being neglected. Yes, this is sport poomsae and it's called that. Yes, I do tend to do all of my forms with a non-sport precision but I've been woorking on the sport stuff and have a lot more work to do but 0.43! Like I said, I had all of the proper elements at the proper places. I guess my hand may have been at eyebrow height when it should've been at eyelid height and my low knifehand block was too high above my knee. I don't know. Yes, I'll admit it, there's a little bit of sour grapes here but 0.43! I expected to lose and not do well and it's not my ego that's brusied. It's my pride.  Well, like I said, I've got a lot to do for Nationals.

For everyone - my wife and son, my friends, my colleagues, my students at school and my students in the dojang - who has supported me in this endeavour I thank you. I apologise for not doing you honour by performing better. I will seek to do better in July.

USA Poomsae Team Trials, part I

The team trials for the USA Poomsaea (forms) team is this coming weekend and I'm competing in my division - 1st Male Masters, for black belts aged 41-50. A little unnervingly, I've been feeling very relaxed about the whole thing the last few weeks. Maybe it's because it's, basically, here. Who knows? I might be a mess the day of the event and not get any sleep the night before. To make things more interesting, I haven't trained as much the last two weeks either. First, there was my hamstring pull when I last trained with Master Levy. Then, time and other things (work, my wife's work, not being to to get or afford to get a babysitter at particular time) got in the way.

I don't know. Maybe I've really manage to harness a "who care, whatever happens happens" mentality that's going to serve me well. Or, I reallly feel like I don't have a shot of winning and making the US team that I've just decided to say "Oh well" and throw my hands up in the there. I'll admit that some of that has come to the fore. Training's been difficult. Discounting my hamstring pull, I've been learning and practising the forms I might have to do one way with Master Levy, another way with some of the masters at New Jersey-USA Taekwondo and, yet again with slight differencs, from the textbook and DVD that's come ouf of the World Taekwondo Federation and Kukkiwon. Add to all of this - and maybe it's a case of paralysis by analysis - my sidekick has gone the way of Elvis and left the building. I've never had a good forms sidekick but, now, it's seemed tohave vanished altogether. Plus, I've been thinking a lot more about my novel and the agents who have it, or parts of it, and haven't gotten back to me yet. Through all of this, however, I've managed to compartmentalise everything and maintaina very relaxed demeanour about the team trials.

That is, until last Tuesday at around 4pm. I'd come out of a doctor's appointment when I the alert that an email had come in on my iPhone. I checked the email and it was from USA Taekwondo. It was about team trials and had attachments and information about getting my credentials, the schedule of the events and it provided a list of the forms we are going to be asked to do on Sunday. If I get all the way to the final, I'm going to have to do Keumkang in the preliminary round, Pyong Won in the semifinal and Shipjin and Chonkwon in the final. I love Chonkwon and, having had to learn it (and Shipjin and Jitae) from scratch over the last couple of months I think I do it pretty well. Pyong Won, though, has a bunch of sidekicks and Shipjin has that difficult slow part where the block opens and is followed by a spearhand attack.Keumkang is the only one of those four I feel confident in. So, my calm demeanour has gone out the window along with my sidekick.

Well, on the flip side, having received the email and all of its attachments with all of their info has revved me up and made this entire thing - this Taekwondo resurgence I'm having - feel very real. If this stars are aligned properly, who knows? I could end up in Russia at the World Championships at the end of July.

I'll keep you all posted.