Test, Tournament and The Big Black Boot

Well folks, there's a lot that's been happening lately. One of the main events took place on May 14th. On that day, Jess, Michael and I promoted to third degree black belts! Woo Hoo! That means we now get to wear the black gi - we look legit, I'm not going to lie.

Yup! there we are :)

These are the Black gis I was talking about! Oh and two of my darling students.

Also that same day, was the tournament. Surprisingly, I did pretty well. I took first in Contemporary Forms, Traditional Weapons, and Self defense. I placed second in Traditional Forms and Contemporary Weapons. I didn't place in sparring, but I did put up a fight, so yeah.... Six events! That's a lot! 

When Michael was sparring he was doing a kick, and rolled on his foot. He immediately went down, and we later found out that he ripped ligaments and tendons. They gave him a gigantic boot at a nearby insta-care. It was horrible to see him in so much pain, but he is much better now, he even taught a class yesterday!

Michael and I are going strong. We get closer everyday. We told the Lawrence's about us, they were very cautious at first, but after 48 hours of debate, we both ended up keeping  our jobs. Thank goodness! I love Michael sooo much! even if he is a little OCD ;)

Marriage?? Psshh...

What if I graduated early and got married... Just a thought.

Prom 2011

Benji took me to Prom this year. I have to say, my dress was pretty stunning! We went out to eat at a fancy Italian restaurant at Riverwoods, and then to the dance. The dance was held at Primrose Retreat; the perfect place! I had a great time. I hope he did too. I think he did, because Hopper told me later he had never seen Ben smile so much in his life. :)

Oito!

Spring break was so much fun! I went camping in southern Utah with the Williams, need I say more? Well... not really, but I'm going to anyway. 

We first went to capitol reef and staid in a campground called Fruita (seriously, I don't know what these crazy mormon settlers were thinking, when they named their town that!) Anyway, we went on several short hikes. Little Miles and Hope were always wanting to hold my hand. I think they were kind of getting on Chloe's nerves, but I thought they were super cute. I also carried Aiden on my shoulders through one of the hikes. We also visited the Fruita school and Pride Rock.

 We also went to visit some Uranium mines, which were full of radiation... don't worry though, Chloe and I are immune.

Whenever we loaded up the van, the Williams kids would count off. I became number 8. 8 in Portuguese is Oito. Good times, good times. 

The third day we went to Bryce Canyon. It is so pretty there! We went on some more hikes, and on that third night, we slept in a cabin. Playing games with the Williams' is really fun. We played mafia, California Speed (I actually beat Chloe once!!), and Chloe taught me how to play a game called cribbage. It was really fun!

Thank you Chloe, for the BEST Spring Break ever!

I'm Craving a Shake

Mr. Michael James Brooks, I'm sure glad that you said something, because there's no way that I would've ever come out and said it. :)

6th Annual Bob White Invitational

On Friday, March 25th, my dad drove Blake and I to compete in the 6th Annual Bob White Invitational the following day. The Bob White Tournament in Huntington Beach, was very intense. I did not place in anything- actually, no one from BLK placed. If Bao would have skipped whatever band event he had, and joined us, he definitely would have. Here's a list about the going ons of the Tournament:

• Bob White is an old guy with a hunch back
• I competed in forms, sparring, and team sparring
• There were three asian girls who were absolutely amazing in the kata division. Their forms were extremely intricate, they had strange hip movements and they hissed like snakes. Two of the three placed. They kicked butt!
• I slaughtered my form :( Sad, but true. I always get so nervous.... I messed up multiple times. When the division was over, it took all I had inside to keep from crying.
• Sam and I were on a team for sparring, along with another a cute kid named Zack. I felt a little bad for Zack, but he was a good sport about being placed on a team with two extremely nervous girls.
• Sam was kicked in the nose during her first match. It kept her from competing in individual sparring. We later found out that it was broken. 
• I did pretty well in team sparring. I lost, 6-7, due to some unfair points that were called against me. (Even Master Lawrence said so) I felt good about the match though. My confidence and performance are all thanks to Michael.
• There was a demo team from Idaho I believe. There demo was purely self-defense, and it looked mega painful. I would not want to meet a single one of those people in a dark ally way. Take that back, I wouldn't even want to meet them in a light ally way. Haha
• In individual sparring, I was put up against a third place world champion. I had no chance. I did score two point however. I was eliminated the first round.
• Michael Bartold was awesome in Sparring! He won his first three matches! He was doing fantastic until he got kicked in his already injured ribs. Even after that however, he should have won the next match. Anyone could tell you that. I swear the judges were biased against him. 

This was the first time I have ever competed (or even seen for that matter) an open tournament. It was a great learning experience. Now that I know what they are like and what to expect, I would like to compete again in the future. 

Once the tournament was over, I begged him to go to the beach. He agreed, so we went to see the ocean along with my grandparents, Blake, Sam and her dad. Grandma Decker had filmed my form, and was planning on sending it to my relatives, but I told her film me one more time on the beach and send them that one instead. That way, they wouldn't have to see all my many mistakes. For your entertainment, here are two videos that were taken on the beach, along with some photos from our trip to Cali. 

Nevermind. Vidoes not working. grrr.

Confidence?.. Uh.. Sure

Michael has been sparring with me practically every night, with hopes that I might actually have a chance at Saturday's tournament. Ha.. right... When we practice, Michael let's me win a lot. Let is the key word here. I've seen Michael spar for real, and trust me he could kick my trash. I doubt I would be able to score one lousy point!

Anyways, he always gets hyped up about how great I'm doing, and that I'm going to do really well in Cali. I'm sure he can read my doubtful expression, but he just goes on:

"Haley, your Two One Blitz is amazing!"

"Haley, your going to do so great!"

"Haley, you've gained so much confidence!"

Tonight he even got Jess to join in the flattery. I appreciate what he's trying to do, but sometimes I just want to strangle him until he admits all his lies; until he admits I'm going to get dominated in the sparring division. I'd tell him myself, but he'd just get upset, and that would break my heart. Especially after all the time he's spent dedicated to preparing me.

I'm glad I have a friend like Michael. I'm also a little scared that I like him a little too much... When all's said and done, I'm going to miss these sparring evenings.