A Beginner's Point of View 498-500

Day 499:

I showed up on time and had a quick stretch. My left big toe was really stiff. I can normally pop the joint but it wouldn’t pop. We also had a higher-ranking fighter visit us. I really wanted to spar with him.

We did kiri-kaeshi, men-ouchi, and kote-ouchi drills until my toe began to hurt. I stepped out and tried to manipulate it. I thought I had a caught tendon somewhere. I worked it until the pain went away and stepped back in.

We practiced kote-debana-men a few times until my toe and foot started hurting badly. I had to step out another two times before going home early. I was really disappointed. I was also disappointed that I didn’t practice with our guest even once. I was in the wrong rotation position and I left early.

Smeg.

Day 500:

No practice as I am healing from the previous class.

Day 500.5:

Tournament

Today was the first time I participated in a tournament as a shodan. It was really sweet. I feel so much faster than when I was an ikkyu. I was drafted to run a court table again. The first half of the day was just running the other divisions.

After lunch, it was my division. I fought a nidan and nearly won. I still lost, but it was so close. My next opponent was a shodan and I fought him to a victory. I didn’t score any points in my first match, so I didn’t get to advance. Still, I was happy with my effort. I stepped up my effort from the start.

Later, I was on our top team. We played against a young team of low-ranking people. We won all five rounds, scoring all the points. I scored a perfect 2-0 victory. Still, my opponent was not a pushover. I had to make sure to do correct Kendo to make sure not to allow him to score.

Overall it was a great tournament. I think I’m looking forward to the next tournament.