Sunday, July 14

Sunday, July 14th

Epic day for team Canada. Today we competed in the continuous sparring Black Belt divisions. The athletes did incredibly well; most won their first match and some went much further. The competition was at the highest level I have ever seen, and the divisions were enormous. There were at least 600 adult Black Belt competitors, from more than 25 countries on the 16 rings, which ran non-stop from about 10 am through 7 pm.

There were many on our team who experienced their first international competition, and I was overwhelmed with pride at their courage and fortitude. Just getting in the ring with players at this level is something to be proud of.

Certainly the biggest news was Jon Zaleski. He competed in the men's black belt heavyweight division with about 50 competitors. He beat players from USA, England (x2), Australia, and Argentina, on his way to winning the Gold. Each match was hard fought and he was almost knocked out in one match, and nearly forced out with a bloody nose. Luckily we convinced the medics to give him another minute to stop the bleeding so he could finish.

We had entered Jon as our heavyweight for the 5 man team, but he was too exhausted to continue, so we substituted in Jason Ayles from Trail. In the individual event Jason took his fighting to a new level, winning 2 matches before losing on a tie breaker on the 3rd match.

Our five man team had three different players than we had originally planned, due to one not making weight, one deciding not to compete, and Jon who was too played out. We ended up tying Chris Rowe's Black belt onto Carson Benedict and making him a "temporary Black Belt" so we could fill a team. We had Carson, Anthony Gibson, Mike Joblonkay, Michael Johnson, and Jason Ayles. They won their first match against England in a super-exciting event, and the crowd was totally going crazy cheering for their teams.

Michael took his sparring to a new level, while we were cheering "Toro, Toro, Toro," (bull), his nickname he picked in Dallas a few years ago. They were so happy with the win, it was amazing, you could just see the confidence rise in them all. The crowd was going nuts. They lost their second match to Poland, who went on to place 3rd.

After the tournament was over, some of us headed to the main hotel for the after party, and we finally shut down at about 2 pm because we had to get up at 6 to catch the plane. As I write this on the bus, most everyone is asleep (or passed out).

Personally the trip has been a highlight of my martial arts career. Seeing the competitors handle themselves with such integrity and indomitable spirit made me so proud to be their instructor. Getting to share that with Colin Nonomura after 20 years of hard work to build our school up to a level where we can compete with anyone in the world is frankly an indescribable feeling.

Seeing my son train so hard to prepare, and then enjoy the results of those efforts made me so proud as a father. Spending extended time with one of the Tae Kwon-Do pioneers was a rare treasure that very few people get the opportunity to experience. I think everyone will be going home with fantastic memories of this experience. Just seeing these young people experience Europe, and meeting people from different cultures, knowing that this will affect their world view makes all the preparations worth it. Everyone got along so well and supported each other, once again I am reminded of the good character Tae Kwon-Do builds in us.

Saturday, July 13

Saturday, July 13

Today it was really hot here in Coventry. It was also the busiest day of the tournament. Color belts and under 18's competed today.

The event is held in an ice arena about half the size of the Enmax Centre in Lethbridge. The competition area is the same size as a European Ice hockey surface. They have removed the ice and set up 16 rings. They ran for more than 11 hours straight today, processing more than 1800 competitors in this one single day.

Tickets were pretty much sold out with more than 2000 spectators + the 1800 competitors playing today, + the officials. In total there was more than 4000 people in the arena. It was organized chaos, and unbearably hot!

The day started with the official opening ceremonies and introduction of teams from 27 countries. It was an awesome experience to here them announce Canada, and we all cheered, stood up and waved. In the past they have had a parade of athletes, but this event has grown to over 3000 competitors, and there just wasn't room. Below is a photo and a clip from the ceremony, with about half of the competitors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpw8v9PEvvA


The only competitor today from Legacy was Jackie Addison, who did a beautiful pattern. Her division had 70+ Black Belt girls. She won her first sparring match before falling to a very talented American girl in a close match. We were all very proud of her.

The B.C. players had a great day winning three bronze and one gold in color belt divisions, an unbelievable performance by them. We have been travelling with most of them for about a week, and they are really a great crew.

Most of my day was spent in the company of Grand Master C.K. Choi. He is a wonderful man, and has rock star status in the U.K. I accompanied him for most of the time as he greeted people, signed autographs, and posed for pictures. I am sure I took more than 50 photos for other people, who asked me to work their cameras. He wore out a Sharpie pen today. We were both in suits and got so hot, we would have to leave the arena every half hour or so to cool off in the heat outside! Some people mistook me for his body guard, which I thought was pretty funny. During those breaks we had many wonderful conversations with him telling me about his youth and the early days of Tae Kwon-Do. I feel very privileged to have had so much of his time today. When he is finished here he will travel to Scotland, where he plans to film his sparring patterns which he invented to help students hone their fighting skills

Tomorrow the black belt adults go again with continuous sparring and team sparring. We have seen some amazing talent here, and I am sensing that they are nervous about their matches. I know they will represent us so well.

Friday July 12th

Up early and over to the contest. There was about 600 Adult Black Belts who competed today. The rule set was a system called stop time, which we are familiar with, but don't train for very much. The competition was excellent, and the judging was mostly fair, but a bit inconsistent, with a noticeable bias toward the home country at times. In fairness, it was a long day for the officials, and we respect their efforts and appreciate their sacrifice to make an event of this size work.

We got off to a rough start today, with many of us losing our first matches, partially due to a combination of unfamiliarity with their point standards, nerves, inconsistent enforcement of their own rules,, and the fact that some of us were just outmatched.

The day ended on a very positive note. Our three man team event (Anthony Gibson, Sam Lieff, and Jon Zaleski) placed 3rd, winning the first three matches, then losing only to a "super team" made up from three different countries. At least two of the players are world champions. Ours was the only team to give them a run for their money.

I also lost my first match. I thought I did pretty well, but my opponent kept running out of the ring every time I moved in. He got me once with a punch to the head, and got him twice, but he scored??? on a kick into my arms, and I could not keep him in the ring long enough to score again. Pretty disappointed in the outcome, but I am happy that I got to compete in the same tournament as my son and other students, and that is very rewarding.

Follow this Link to watch my fight:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O65La6rBSiQ


It was crazy with 16 rings going all day, and I never got a chance to see all my students fight, but I am very proud of all of our team today. They represented Canada with honor. I will hunt down video and post ASAP.

Tomorrow is Jr. Black and color belts. We will be cheering for Jackie Addison, and the crew from Trail and Kelowna. Sunday should be our best day, with the continuous Black Belt Sparring, and the 5 man team matches. Time for a good sleep now.

Thursday, July 11

Thursday, July 11th

Today was mostly a travel day. Along the way we stopped at Oxford for a tour of a few of the 37 Colleges that make up Oxford University. Our bus driver was a dud, and I thought our awesome travel agent Kim Bourke (Bourke Travel out of Seattle) was going to hurt him. If you think Tae Kwon_Do players are tough, wait until you see a disappointed travel agent!

We had a tour guide who was knowledgeable, but a "low talker" who never waited for the group to all arrive before whispering his nuggets of Oxford trivia. Despite that, the tour was a highlight for sure. It was interesting to learn that Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkins) is an Oxford Grad with a masters in Electrical Engineering!

After that we headed down the road to Stratford on Avon (Birthplace of Shakespeare). Very cool, and a must see. Six of our group are going back on Saturday to watch a Shakespearean play. Not only am I shocked that I could convince Mr. Nonomura to come to England, but now Shakespeare? If he starts quoting Macbeth, I'll eat my hat....

Attached is a picture of the longest established coffee house in England - 1654. Starbucks- eat your heart out.

We ended the day in Coventry, which so far seems to be the armpit of the British Empire. Wait, that is kind of an insult to armpits. Once there, we checked into the tournament. That was a gong show, with semi-clad people of both genders stripping down to underwear (and less) to try to make weight. A few of our team had to travel to a nearby sports centre and "sauna" off the last few pounds. Eventually everyone made their weight.

Our hotel is nice, but the internet is sketchy. I will try to update daily, but it might be hard.

Wednesday

Today we explored London on our own. About half of the group decided to go see St. Paul's Cathedral, based on Colin's recommendation. It did not disappoint. The architecture was amazing, as was the view from the top, after about 500 stairs. 

There was another group who did the Jack the Ripper Tour. It was quite interesting from what I hear.

After that it was Picadily Circus for some serious shopping action. Highlights were the 4 floor M&M store, the six floor sporting goods store, and the Burberry Store. The younger adults discovered this store called  Superdry, and went to town buying clothes and bags. rumour has it Patti did her Amelba Marcos impression, and bought a bunch of shoes to fill up her new closet.

Colin and Amy took in the "Book of Mormon." I didn't know it was written by the same guys who did South Park. He was laughing hard just telling me how funny it was after the show.

The Underground subway system here is a marvel. It moves so many people  efficiently and inexpensively. There is a massive network of tunnels that all connect in multiple places. It is fairly easy to navigate, and trains arrive about every five minutes, so you never have to wait too long. aside from Danny Torscher getting a "pat down" from some suspicious looking ladies, there were no safety concerns at all. Despite the massive size of London, this incredible system makes getting around pretty easy. The traffic is another story.....

The day ended with our usual day end recap in the hotel pub. Tomorrow we travel to Coventry. The players are starting to get excited for the competition. A few of them now have to cut the final few pounds to make the weigh ins. 

Jackie Addison Post

So, this trip has been one of the most wonderful experiences I've had in my life. I'm not even close to finishing the trip yet, but I know there will be many more memories! All this touring is sure making my legs weak but it is such a beautiful place, and there's so many beautiful places to see! It is kind of scary to think that this weekend we will all be competing in the TAGB worlds. One of the most exciting moments of the tournament will be watching my Master compete. I know he will do our country proud! Anyways, super exhausted. Time for bed!

Tuesday, July 9 - Night at the museum

Lovely Day today. More tourist time. About half of the group went on the London Dungeon Excursion. It was interesting. I was expecting a factual tour of the the real London Dungeon, but this was more of an amusement type thing, not even in a dungeon at all.

The other half of the group toured the St. Paul's Cathedral. It got rave reviews, some of us are going tomorrow.

After that we hiked all the way to the British Museum. One BIG PLACE. Egyptian Mummies, Rosetta Stone, and Cleopatra.

Tomorrow we have a free day to explore the city on our own. Thursday we head to Coventry. We have been torturing the competitors who have to try to lose weight, by ordering big meals, and drinking pints of Ale. Notice in the group picture in the pub, the dieting athletes in the foreground drinking water and eating salads. In the background we are drinking beer and eating desserts. We are much happier in the back.

The day ended with a trip on the London Eye, which is the a super enormous Farris wheely thing that towers way above the skyline of London. We tubed home and ended the evening in the hotel pub. We are all wiped and plan to sleep in a bit in the morning.