This morning, we had to wake up at the crack of dawn to get ready to go to the Tae Kwon Do Tournament for our eldest. Crack of dawn, people. Crack of dawn!
Let me tell you, even though I stayed home to hand out candy last night, I got exhausted. Why? Because I was cooking dinner in the kitchen. So every time someone knocked, I had to waddle-run myself to the front door. All. Night.
So, this morning, I got up later than I planned. Luckily, my husband woke up when he was supposed to and prepared everything. (I'm so lucky, I know!)
This tournament was special because my daughter was going this year without the support of any of her teammates, instructors, masters, or grandmaster from her Tae Kwon Do studio.
Sure, we got permission from grandmaster, but no one else was coming.
Her cheerleading fans consisted of a grand total of 9 people. That includes us, her immediate family.
Having played competitive sports myself, I know that not having anyone from your home team to cheer you on automatically puts you at a disadvantage. It's all about the mindset.
So we tried our best to psyche her up and keep her thinking positively. We cheered our loudest. We didn't care if anyone else looked at us funny for being loud. She needed to hear and feel our presence.
And you know what? SHE DELIVERED!
First event - Form
Three judges gave each a score 9. That's 9, 9, 9 - almost perfect 10s for executing her red belt form!!! We were so proud of her for listening to our advice...
Take your time...
Don't dance, the moves are strikes and blocks, show force...
Don't look down...
Be stable and don't bounce...
Don't show hesitation, instead, pause quickly...
And she did all those things. So proud.
Then the second event - Sparring:
She had been training to get better at her sparring. Getting faster, more agile, having better stamina, working on strategies...
This event was what we were most looking forward to - and being most nervous about. How far has her training gotten her? How much better is she now than last year's?
Well, SHE TOTALLY BLEW US AWAY. There was no competition. She killed it. She used her training at the right times.
It was awesome.
Now, would I still have been proud had she not won those events? Of course!
I was also proud because SHE GOT OUT THERE TO DO HER BEST, NO MATTER WHAT. She knew no one else from her studio was going. But she didn't back out. She didn't whine. She stuck through it and did her best. SHE PERSEVERED.
You can't teach kids perseverance by just telling them. They must experience it. Just do it. And she did just that.
And that's why, I'M A PROUD MOMMY!
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