I wasn't feeling very well. I had been struggling with some back pain. I was taking a steroid to reduce the inflammation. And I had just started physical therapy. I thought there was a very good chance this would be the only tournament that I would ever enter.
When was entered in forms and sparring. I competed in forms first. I was so nervous that I was shaking while performing my form. I forgot a step and had to go back and do it over again. Amazingly, I got second place. It just happens that another woman in my division was even more nervous than I was.
Next was the breaking competition. They stacked up ten boards for us to power through. These boards were probably a half inch thick. No one was expected to break all of them. I broke six, but someone broke seven, so I got another silver medal. You are allowed to try a second time, but I don't think it counts. They might use it to break ties, but I don't think so. I did try again, and I broke through the rest of the boards on my second strike, but I hurt my hand, too, so I decided that I would never strike twice at these tournaments again.
Finally, it was time for the sparring competition, but there was no one my age entered. The officials considered placing me in the same division as a couple of men at my belt rank, but Master Je Kim was there, and he thought better of it. Instead I was put in the same division as some younger women. I think they were 17 years old. One was blonde and one was brunette, I never did learn their names.
I first went up against the blonde. She told me before the match started that she had hurt her arm in the breaking competition. She asked me to be careful, but I don't think that I succeeded. She finished the match, but she left the area crying. She didn't have a coach with her. She never returned for her medal.
My second match was against the brunette. She was much more aggressive than the blonde. I remember she scored with a back kick more than once. I never used back kick. I was afraid to take my eyes off my opponent. she was always getting so close that I couldn't kick her. I was really frustrated, and I pushed her several times, which is illegal, but the referee didn't give me a warning until I shoved her so hard she fell on the mat.
In our second round, we were getting so tired we couldn't get our kicks all the way up to our opponent's belt. I know we kicked each other several times in the hips, and I know I kicked her really hard. I shouldn't have, but I did a lot of things as a green belt that I shouldn't have. Later, when I saw another pair of green belts sparring each other I was impressed that they were all power and no grace. I think I was like that. I hope I'm better today.
I don't remember the scores, but I won both matches soundly. I took home a gold medal in sparring, a silver medal in breaking and a silver medal in forms. My daughter also competed this day. She was not very happy with her performance. She brought home a bronze medal in sparring, a gold medal in breaking and a bronze medal in forms.
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