It seems like I have lived this experience before. I was only 17 at the time when I competed in my first tournament. It was one of Sensei Cezar Borkowsy”s big tournaments at the Etobicoke Olympium. Well before the movie Karate Kid and only a yellow belt, I had no idea of what to expect. With butterflies in my stomach, the grandeur of the event was overwhelming. Perhaps a thousand competitors had gathered to be the best. On that day however, it was not meant to be me. I lost. In fact, I got smoked by athletes with more experience that I had. There was no chance since my scores likely place me in the bottom half of the division. That experience however taught me that in order to win one day, I had to lose today.
Fast forward today, April 18th, 2011. I still have butterflies, except its not for me anymore. We have a new team for the 2011 season. They are young, inexperienced, excited, and also filled with butterflies. Unlike my training regimen during my youth however, this team is a dedicated crew with its own training times and coach. Our team, Team Meibukan, consists of 8 athletes. Andrew McAdam-Wong, Kiana Wong, Maria Cruickshank, Dharini Mohan, Trenyce Superville, Brian Plante, Connor Doyle-Dimou, and Vander Cats. Half of them have never competed in Provincial level tournament. Although they have been training for months for this day, they and I share a little nervousness.
Will they mess up? Will they freeze? Will they forget their kata? Will they get hurt? So many things ran through my mind as each competitor stepped up to represent their families, dojo, and of course – themselves. I was not alone as the stands were filled with friends and family members who would support them no matter what. If they lost, we all lost. If they won, we all won. We were a team. Lessons are learned either way and in the world of sport, we must know how to equally deal with glory of winning and disappointment of losing.
As the owner of the dojo and chief instructor, I feel very proud to say that my students have surpassed me. While at my first event, I had placed in the bottom half of my division, at this season’s very first Karate Ontario event, every athlete of Team Meibukan placed in at least the top 5 and brought back a stack of hardware to include 5 golds, 3 silvers, and 2 bronze. It was a happy day for for all of us and a good sign for future events.
Our next tournament is a recreational event on May 29th in Markham.
We are getting a head start preparing for the Festival 4 Athletes charity fitness challenge this year. Last year we had a great team donating their time and money to help keep violence off the streets through the Argonaut Foundation. Athletes from all over come together and test themselves as they try to beat their own records from last year. There are different age groups to compete in and it is all for fun and charity.
