The Proudest of Moments
This may sound like one of those typically obnoxious, overly proud comments from a father, but...
I am the father of a CHAMPION!!!
Yes, that is right. My son went to the Massachusetts Open Tae Kwon Do Championship yesterday. He brought home three medals. He earned a bronze in poomsae (forms). That was his first event.
Then came breaking technique.
Now, Jonathan had already taken first place once before at a tournament in breaking. He has what I call a signature move -- his jumping front kick. He gets his leg up high and he kicks it hard. When his name was called, his masters held the boards for him. He easily broke the first board with a knife hand strike. Next he shattered a board with a roundhouse kick. Lastly, he ran and jumped and did a perfect jumping front kick and broke his third board. He was the only competitor in his rank and age group to break all three boards on his first try.
He was awarded a gold medal, making him state champ for his age and rank.
The best part of the championship, however, came after lunch. Jonathan was dressed for sparring, but he was the only one in his group. The officials were about to award him a second gold when Jonathan's masters stopped them. They requested he instead be moved up in class. Fortunately, there was a bigger, older kid in the same predicament as Jonathan, so little JD had to jump up in class.
They fought two rounds. Right from the beginning it was obvious that the other kid was stronger, bigger and more experienced than Jonathan. However, my son was not fazed. He stayed in there. Rather than running away or quitting, he fought this bigger kid, toe-to-toe. He kicked and punched. The last thirty seconds of the match was actually quite impressive. A man standing next to me remarked, "that's one tough kid you got there."
Jonathan may have lost the match, but he won far more. He proved to himself that he can stand in there, that he really is good enough. The silver medal they put on his neck after the match was, as I mentioned, the proudest of moments.
I am the father of a CHAMPION!!!
Yes, that is right. My son went to the Massachusetts Open Tae Kwon Do Championship yesterday. He brought home three medals. He earned a bronze in poomsae (forms). That was his first event.
Then came breaking technique.
Now, Jonathan had already taken first place once before at a tournament in breaking. He has what I call a signature move -- his jumping front kick. He gets his leg up high and he kicks it hard. When his name was called, his masters held the boards for him. He easily broke the first board with a knife hand strike. Next he shattered a board with a roundhouse kick. Lastly, he ran and jumped and did a perfect jumping front kick and broke his third board. He was the only competitor in his rank and age group to break all three boards on his first try.
He was awarded a gold medal, making him state champ for his age and rank.
The best part of the championship, however, came after lunch. Jonathan was dressed for sparring, but he was the only one in his group. The officials were about to award him a second gold when Jonathan's masters stopped them. They requested he instead be moved up in class. Fortunately, there was a bigger, older kid in the same predicament as Jonathan, so little JD had to jump up in class.
They fought two rounds. Right from the beginning it was obvious that the other kid was stronger, bigger and more experienced than Jonathan. However, my son was not fazed. He stayed in there. Rather than running away or quitting, he fought this bigger kid, toe-to-toe. He kicked and punched. The last thirty seconds of the match was actually quite impressive. A man standing next to me remarked, "that's one tough kid you got there."
Jonathan may have lost the match, but he won far more. He proved to himself that he can stand in there, that he really is good enough. The silver medal they put on his neck after the match was, as I mentioned, the proudest of moments.
posted by E-Luv at 12:30 PM
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