Karan
Nair
Ms.
Asuncion
English
9H 3
8 October 2015
Tournament
What are tournaments like? I have been learning
karate for eight years and tournaments are one of my favorite things to
attend. They are held annually around
January and lots of people attend them. The place I attend, Enshin Karate, has
gone through many changes but still follows tradition. I started karate lessons at age six in first
grade and throughout the years I’ve learned a lot of lessons, particularly patience, respecting others and
good sportsman ship. Currently I am a
first degree black belt at Enshin Karate.
I have competed in five tournaments throughout my eight years. My third one was the most intense for me.
I arrived at the Westminster Elementary
School in Fairfax and knew what to expect, but still had butterflies in my
stomach. I signed in with my parents and
entered the gymnasium of the school. I
put on my gear and stretched out. It was
seven in the morning and I was very tired, but also very anxious. Since I had a couple of hours before my first
fight, I walked around and talked to people and studied the other fights going
on. Finally, I heard my name being
announced for my first fight. I knew my
opponent. A friend of mine that attends
the same karate dojo I go to. I felt bad
because we were friends but I had to still continue with the fight. We stepped up to the mat and nervously looked
at each other. The referee signaled the
match and called, “Go!”
I took a deep breath and went on my
toes and moved around. I knew my
opponents weakness already so I tired him out and threw punches. Even though he was heavier than me, I moved
around and landed a high roundhouse kick on his head. The match was two minutes long, but felt like
just seconds. The referee called time
and it ended with me winning by one point.
Now I had moved up to the semifinals in
my bracket. If I won all three then I
would win the grand championship in my division. I saw my opponent and he was very tall and
threw a lot of high kicks. I strategized
a good plan to keep my distance when I stepped on the mat. The referee called, “Go” and the match
started. All of a sudden he threw crazy
kicks that really confused me. They were
trick kicks and he was landing a lot of them on my head and getting points. I soon caught up by doing the same
thing. Two minutes got over and the
match ended in a tie, two to two. It
went into overtime and our coaches had one minute to prep us. The timer started and we kept our hands up
and threw a bunch of kicks. I got one on
his head right before the match ended.
The referee called time and it ended four to two with me winning. I hadn’t ever gotten this far and I was very
excited.
I saw my third opponent, a world
champion that traveled to Japan for some tournaments. I was greatly intimidated by his experience
and felt very nervous. My coach gave me
advice and I stepped on the mat. My
opponent and I looked at each other nervously with our dark helmets on. The match started and he charged at me with
all sorts of attacks. It was time to
think technical; I used his movements against him and threw him on the
floor. I got two point and excitedly
moved out of the way. The match was
intense, on both sides of the mat we had people cheering and rooting for
us. My ears zoned out all the noise and
all I could hear was the loud sound of my heavy breathing. Before I even realized it, the match was over. My opponent was looking greatly upset by the
time I shook his hand.
I had won the grand championship but I
still felt bad for my opponent that I beat him.
Like me, he must have spent months preparing for this moment. I found him through the crowd of people
congratulating me. He was upset but told
me he was fine. I thanked him and went
back to my side. Good sportsmanship is
something very wise and respectful to show.
You don’t have to perform it, but it is a great quality to have in the
journey of martial arts.
I won first place that day, but I had
been also respected by my opponents, and won a fair match. At the ceremony, the Grandmaster called me up
to hand me the grand champion trophy. I held
it with a huge smile across my face. I
went home that day feeling very accomplished, and couldn’t wait to go to the
next annual tournament.
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