Sparring

Today was the TKD British Championships. It was a great day out. Unfortunately I didn't win any medals but I had great fun all the same.

The first competition I entered was special techniques where you basically kick above your head. They get the smallest person in the group and make them put their hand up and set the start hight of the board to that. The first height for me was around two metres or maybe two metres ten. I missed it by about five centimetres but given it was my first attempt I wasn't too gutted.

The next event I was in was patterns which I won at my last competition. I've moved up a grade since then though and had a new pattern to do so I was really disappointed with my performance for that as I'd thought it was my best medal chance.

Finally I had to do the sparring which had been exhausting at my last tournament and I wasn't too confident about. I did a lot better this time out though. I got some good hits in including the one here that Roz captured. I was leading this bout by a point with about twenty seconds or so to go, but the excitement got to me and instead of keeping out his way I moved in to try and seal it up and got caught with a kick which is worth two points. It wasn't a particularly sore one but it was frustrating. If I'd just kept out the way I'd have got at least a bronze medal.

Oh well there's always the next time.

Loads of other people from my club won medals so it was still a great day. I also got to watch my instructor competing for the first time. She's a six times World Champion and fifteen times European Champion and when you watch her spar you can see why. She was just phenomonal and it's clear there's probably no one better to learn sparring from.

Thanks for all the comments on my thousandth blip yesterday too.