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Western Canadian Martial Arts Championships 2008

The 2008 Western Canadian Martial Arts Championships was the first tournament I have ever attended. I was really impressed by the size of the local community and how everyone could come together to create such an amazing event. There was a full range of events going on all day long, like a veritable martial arts festival. People of all age categories gathered to gain rank in Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, as well as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kickboxing.

I was there as a part of the Versus 21 team to cheer on Adam, our entry into the kickboxing matches and Josh who entered into BJJ at the last minute. That was my first reason for being there – cheer on Team Versus 21.

getting ready to fight

But something else I saw that day was what made the greatest impression on me. For a while I turned and watched the juniors who were there to win higher ranking belts and challenge themselves. I remember seeing a young man, about 10 years old, in a Tae Kwon Do match. I saw him take a kick to the gut that knocked him to the mat. We all know that feeling, from one time or another in our lives. And when you are so young, its your whole universe that has just caved in. He lay there folded up for about 20 seconds. Then he sprang to life and bounced back to his feet with a Kiai shout. A good recovery by any measure. I dont recall if he won the match or not. Its not really the point. I was really impressed by how he found the inner strength to get up again when he was down and face off again. He meant it. He was determined. He will be able to draw upon that inner strength for the rest of his life. Years from now, when he is in a rut, he will think back to that time and use it to pick himself up and try again. Isn’t that what martial arts is for?

Versus 21 team: ali, sensei blake, adam, iman, and norm

It was humbling to see other people as well, who tried and failed. The students were there in their gis, representing their schools with pride. A few of those students took a heavy hit. Maybe it was a moment of inattention, they their guard down or maybe their opponent got in a lucky kick. They looked like they were knocked into next week, stunned, bloody nose and all. Of course first aid attendants were on hand to attend promptly to everything. But there is no first aid that can provide much comfort for the hurt deep in the eyes of those students. They believed in themselves enough to be there, trying hard for that next belt, only to have those hopes crushed. Lets hope they will come back and use that experience to face a new challenge and prevail.

sensei blake and adam