The 7th New Jersey TaeKwonDo Open!
I had an exciting and adventurous day competing at the New Jersey TaeKwonDo Open! It turned out to be a fantastic experience—I earned a silver medal in Poomsae (forms) and a gold medal in Olympic Sparring in my division (red belt). This was my first time trying Olympic-style sparring, so it was a significant learning opportunity. I also made several new friends along the way. One gentleman, in particular, kindly stepped in to be my coach, helping me put on my gear and offering invaluable advice from my corner. It’s moments like these that make the journey in TaeKwonDo so rewarding!
Lesson's Learnt:
Comment #1: For the Poomsae I was more relaxed, but I had a moment in my form where I forgot the next movement and had a 2 second pause - which I think costed me the gold in Poomsae. The good thing was I did not stop, I went blank, but did not show it, took a deep breath, and then recovered. In the end the judges were divided, and two went for the other guy and one sided with me.
Comment #2: The tournament like the other two before it was at least an hour behind for Poomsae, and forms. I could have shown up later, and it wouldn't have been a problem.
Comment #3: The Olympic Sparring was very tiring. I was able to do the 2 rounds, but was practically dead after that. My heart was pounding and I was a bit disoriented after the match. One thing I learnt was how hard you need to kick/ or punch to get a point to register. I need a lot of work if I want to sparring against black belts.
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