It was another long day at the championship.

Forms:

Kyla performed Yul Guk, and performed it very well. Unfortunately, the judges must have not had enough coffee and gave her 2nd place. I'm not saying this because I'm her dad, Im saying this because I watched. She really deserved to get 1st, and not 2nd. But, I'm extremely proud of her for going out there, and doing a great job.

I'd also like to congratulate her friend Taylor for getting 1st in form for her group!

Board Breaking:

Her first combo was a jumping snap kick (1 board), and a side kick (1 board). Her second combo was a round house (1 board) and an outside ax kick (2 boards). She broke everything on her first attempt, and did a great job at setting up the holders on her own. However, she took 2nd. Frankly, the girl who got first also did a good job. It was a toss up to me, and I think she only got 2nd by a few 10ths of a point. But, she wasn't robbed like she was in forms :-) Good, solid performance. Next time, I think she'll be doing 2 boards for each strike. I think that that's what put the other girl over the top, since she used 2 boards in each of her combo's.

Sparring:

If you're keeping score, Kyla has gotten 1st in sparring two championships in a row. And, this time, she didn't disappoint. She is still reigning champ. As I know I have said before, sparring is, to me, the most important event. You'll never be attacked by bullies who coincidentally attack in a way a form will defend you. And, it's unlikely pine boards will be jumping out at your on the school yard.

Her first match was against the girl who got 1st in the breaking event. It seemed like a decent match up, at first. Then, the girl punched Kyla in the throat a few times. I saw twice, Kyla said it was four times (maybe angles I didn't see). Kyla was hurt, and they stopped the match for a moment. Getting punched in the throat isn't a good feeling.. been there. She cried, understandably, and the other girl got a warning. When the match resumed, Kyla came out with a vengeance, and kicked the girls ass. She won the match.

The second match was, well, not much of a match. Kyla was tired and hurt, but came out swinging. Her opponent, well, I don't know. Either she's not a great sparrer, was intimidated, or a little scared (Kyla was obviously on a warpath, and she knew it). Kyla knocked her out of the ring twice, and almost knocked her to the ground a few times with front-kicks and punches. She really dominated. After beating both girls, she took the gold.

I must say, I'm extremely proud of her performance for the day. However, her sparring made me extremely proud. Not just because she did well, but more because she didn't give up. She was punched in the throat, out of breath, and in pain yet she continued on. She didn't give up, and she didn't let up.

This is in contrast to one time in class she was kicked in the gut (the boy she was sparring, his foot slid under her padding), and gave up. I told her that life is a series of kicks to the gut. The difference between winners in life and losers in life is if you get up or not. And, this time, she got up and she's a winner.

CONGRATS KYLA!