Caveman participated in the Friendship Open Martial Arts Tournament weekend before last, benefitting the Special Olympics. It was a local event, with at least four different martial arts styles represented.
I was very proud of how well he did for his first tournament. He won a gold medal for his kata.
He also participated in sparring and flags, and received bronze medals for those events.
It was also my first tournament to judge kata and referee sparring matches, and that was more fun to me than competing. Mojo also helped out as a timekeeper, getting to sit with the wife of the late Sensei who designed our club patch and built our headquarters. She really enjoyed that.
And here I am among some living legends. It was announced at the tournament that my Soke (in white), who founded our style of karate, will be inducted into the Masters Hall of Fame in Ft. Worth, TX this year. He is one of the kindest and most humble martial artists I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. I am standing next to one of his first black belts, who also recently received his Sokeship (10th degree black belt). In the front is one of our Sensei, who had a stroke and currently resides in a nursing home. I’m glad that one of the guys thought to go pick him up to attend, thankful for the chance to meet him, and thankful to be part of a group who cares for one another.
Our family doesn’t go to many tournaments, so we’re choosey about the ones we do attend. This is one I’m glad we didn’t miss. I enjoyed seeing some of “our people” whom I haven’t seen in awhile, and I enjoyed meeting some new people. I love how the different martial artists in our area cooperate and mingle together. I hear them frequently say “We’re family”, and it really does feel like one big family.
