This past weekend on March 2nd, American Taido’s 49th annual National Tournament was held and I competed! This was my second time going to the National Tournament. Last year I was just a plain, Jane White belt with about a month worth of training and competed in the Untai no Hokei White Belt division. This year, I was Purple belt Green stripes competing in the Sentai no Hokei division! Everyone in my division put up a good fight when performing their Hokei’s, it was really tough! I ended up coming in 2nd place at this tournament. It was kinda bittersweet because I’m friends almost everyone that I competed against and wanted everyone to win.
Do you see that glistening, aerodynamic Purple belt up there? That’s me! I shaved my head a couple days before the tournament, and let me tell ya, it’s been quite the experience (So many new sensations to feel!!). This was the whole Sentai no Hokei division this year, kinda small, isn’t it? I’m part of the Teen/University group and most Purple belts are children. But don’t be fooled! Everyone up there did amazing and I hope to keep competing and learning with and from them. From left to right, the three Purple belts on the left are from the University of Memphis Taido Karate and the next two (me included) are from Mississippi State University Taido Karate and the 1st place girl is from the main dojo in Atlanta, Georgia, otherwise known as the Honbu.
Below is a video of my final Sentai no Hokei. It was the final Hokei to decide first and second place and my third Hokei within about 15 minutes. If you didn’t know, Taido is leg day everyday, and Sentai no Hokei is like if a month’s worth of leg day got together, now times that by 3 and that’s how my legs felt! (I’m exaggerating but my legs did hurt for a few days afterwards.
I wish I had more videos on hand of the Black belts, they were super awesome their sparring matches were amazing! I’ll update this post or just add a new one if I can get a hold of some of the videos.