April 29th saw the most recent Ontario Chito Ryu tournament.
All of the usual suspects were present:
Renshis Ferri and Bellhouse presiding and pitching in;
Sensei Debbie Brooks from Burlington Chito Ryu karate Club, and other dojo heads from New Hamburg, Richmond Hill, Whitby, Pickering etc. were judging and refereeing;
Volunteers ( students, parents etc ) were selling tickets, staffing bbq and score keeping.
Thank you to Randy Cotton and Debbie Park from Burlington Chito Ryu Karate Club for assisting the entire day!
I was acting as the onsite medical care for the tournament. Glad to report there were no significant injuries-a credit to the equipment and the control of the referees and the competitors.
And there were the competitors. 130 children competing in kata, kumite and team kata. There were not as many adults as in previous years, possibly due to the beautiful weather.
I had decided to compete this year, as another way of preparing for my grading. It seemed like a good way to perform kata under some pressure -in front of a large audience. As it turns out, that was a good idea. I managed to place second but more importantly noticed that I must have been very tense during my demonstration, as I struggled to control my breathing at the completion of Sanshiryu. Lesson learned ( i hope ).
Finally, 2 more items. Congratulations to young Alistair Park from our Burlington Club. In his first tournament ever he placed first in kumite and second in kata! He is our first junior student of this most recent group to compete and we could not have been prouder.
Secondly, a large thank you to Bill Moran from the entire Ontario Chito Ryu community. Bill, a Higashi student and crony of mine for almost 30 years is the driving force behind most of our functions. Bill organizes the events, books venues, recruits volunteers, organizes food, drink, rings, mats, helpers, drivers and does anything it takes to complete a successful event-whether it be a tournament, kigami biraki, or other karate related celebration. Bill is always there and always reliable and again, to Bill Moran from the Chito Ryu Community-thanks a million!
All of the usual suspects were present:
Renshis Ferri and Bellhouse presiding and pitching in;
Sensei Debbie Brooks from Burlington Chito Ryu karate Club, and other dojo heads from New Hamburg, Richmond Hill, Whitby, Pickering etc. were judging and refereeing;
Volunteers ( students, parents etc ) were selling tickets, staffing bbq and score keeping.
Thank you to Randy Cotton and Debbie Park from Burlington Chito Ryu Karate Club for assisting the entire day!
I was acting as the onsite medical care for the tournament. Glad to report there were no significant injuries-a credit to the equipment and the control of the referees and the competitors.
And there were the competitors. 130 children competing in kata, kumite and team kata. There were not as many adults as in previous years, possibly due to the beautiful weather.
I had decided to compete this year, as another way of preparing for my grading. It seemed like a good way to perform kata under some pressure -in front of a large audience. As it turns out, that was a good idea. I managed to place second but more importantly noticed that I must have been very tense during my demonstration, as I struggled to control my breathing at the completion of Sanshiryu. Lesson learned ( i hope ).
Finally, 2 more items. Congratulations to young Alistair Park from our Burlington Club. In his first tournament ever he placed first in kumite and second in kata! He is our first junior student of this most recent group to compete and we could not have been prouder.
Secondly, a large thank you to Bill Moran from the entire Ontario Chito Ryu community. Bill, a Higashi student and crony of mine for almost 30 years is the driving force behind most of our functions. Bill organizes the events, books venues, recruits volunteers, organizes food, drink, rings, mats, helpers, drivers and does anything it takes to complete a successful event-whether it be a tournament, kigami biraki, or other karate related celebration. Bill is always there and always reliable and again, to Bill Moran from the Chito Ryu Community-thanks a million!