It was a fun (long) day at the tourney. Kyla did great, and I'm very proud of her.

Forms

She took 4th. She really should have taken 3rd. Not that I'm being "that" parent who thinks she deserved to place because she's my kid. She really did deserve 3rd. The boy who got 3rd didn't even do the whole form correctly, and didn't perform it as well as Kyla. The 1st and 2nd did do well. But, she deserved 3rd. I'm proud of her either way for participating.

Breaking

She took 2nd in breaking! This was even after changing her two routine just before she had to perform. Her first routine was a jumping snap kick, then ax kick. And, her second was a side kick, then reverse punch. She wanted to use 2 boards for each technique, but we did 1 instead. There isn't extra point for attempting extra boards, unless you succeed. The boys she was against all failed to break their extra boards (except the kid who got 1st). It's something that can work for, or against you. In either case, she was great and got a well deserved 2nd place for it.

Sparring

1st place!! She kept herself well guarded, and was aggressive. I explained to her that anyone she'd go up against would do 2 things which she could capitalize on:

1. They won't be able to block well. Let's face it, a 8/9 year old can't block very well. So, if she's aggressive, she'll land things since the opponent won't be able to block everything.

2. When they kick, their hands will spread out of their body. This is another thing kids do. They can't always control both their legs and arms at the same time. When they kick, 8 out of 10 times, their body will be left exposed. Perfect time for scoring.

She followed this advice, and won. If she was to take 1st in anything, I'm happy it's sparring. After all, in the street, pieces of wood likely won't attack you, and the statistical probability that a street fight could be fought in the steps of a form is pretty low.

It was a great day, and I'm extremely proud of Kyla. She also now has more medals to go with the others, and her trophy's. Plus, she tests for blue belt in a week.