4th Degree Test & Karate Tournament 2013

So... I've been kind of reluctant to blog. Blogging has been a good outlet for me since I've been too busy to write in my journal. However, it's also very frustrating. Videos take ages to upload (if they upload at all), and the last post I wrote, about my experiences and friendships I made while I was working at Hogi Yogi, had issues saving and I lost the entire post! Grrr..
Anyways, I figured I'd give it another go because earlier this month was mine and Michael's 4th degree black belt test and the spring 2013 Bobby Lawrence Karate tournament.
We started off the tournament with the demo team competitions. Scott put our demo together. We performed well that night. We placed first in the 3A division, which somewhat surprised me. So here goes my attempt to upload the video. Let's see if it's going to work this time... Nope. Not today. I guess pictures will have to suffice.

The remainder of the tournament went very well. Michael and I showed up a little late to judge, and they already had all the rings organized by the time we got there. For me, it was perfect. It gave me the opportunity to bounce from ring to ring to watch and cheer for all my ninjas. 

Addison and Quinn getting ready to compete. 

Austin Poulsen. He placed first with White Tiger. I was one proud instructor! 

Landon and his brother Garrett. 

I was so proud of Landon! He messed up on White Tiger, but  he restarted , and with a couple ques from me, he got through the entire kata!

Here's Carson. 

He got that third place medal in flag sparring. And then guess what he did with it! He placed around his baby sisters neck. Awww!

Me and the Bronsons. This picture is becoming a tradition. 

 There were over 600 competitors, and we got through all the divisions hours before the black belt test! 

I didn't do great in my division, but I expected as much. I can't hope to place when I don't practice at home... Yeah I have to do better with that. I did however do better in sparring. I scored 3 points on Joelle, which I consider an accomplishment. 

Michael on the other hand, was AMAZING! (I love bragging about my husband!) He placed in every event he competed in! He took third in traditional kata and 1st in traditional weapons kata. His weapon kata was called Total Eclipse of the Moon. His commas were slicing through the air so fast! you couldn't even see them! 

Now to the good part. Sparring!!

Not only did Michael place first in his division, but he went on and became the GRAND CHAMPION!! Woo Hoo! Here are the people he faught:

Colten

Kuba

Jared Stout (AF)

Martin Tinoco (Lindon)

I hate watching him spar... It seems like every time he gets hurt... 1st it was his foot, and he had to wear his black boot. Last year he took a sidekick to his ribs, and they hurt for months after. This time, in his match against Jared, he took a spinning hook kick to the head, and it actually knocked him out! Right after the kick, he stumbled and then collapsed into Miki's arms. Miki was one of the side judges. He was only out for a couple seconds before he came to. The paramedic came and checked him for any signs of a concussion. I guess he passed all the tests, because they let him back out to spar. Ah! He really needs to stop scaring me like that! Anyway, he finished and won his match against Jared, and then he won the Grand Champion match  which he fought Martin Tinoco. I actually have footage of that one, but Michael thinks it's a boring match and didn't want me to post it. Next time. 

For winning, Michael got $500 prize money. 

Check out Spanish Fork's loot this year! 

And then the wife takes the prize money. ;)

Now, on to the test. There were pros and cons to the black belt test this year. They ran it differently than they've done in the past. We started off with 50 squats, and  this time there were 4 rotations. The rotations consisted of kicks, power karate, weapons and grappling. Then we were tested on the first part of Kanku Di and Kanku Sho. I thought it ran smoothly, and I liked the addition of the power karate.

I disliked that Michael and I weren't tested on any of our 3rd degree curriculum, and that the 3rds and above weren't highlighted like they've always done in the past. Oh well... Also, Miki wasn't the m.c. He is the best! Maybe next time. 

Well, Michael and I are now officially 4th degrees. Here's the video of us receiving our belts. We must be rubbing off on each other, notice how we do the same fist pump. Ha ha. (I attempted to upload it...)

Here's the rest of the testers.