What a trip! Long. Tiring. But so very worth it. We left about 10:00 AM Friday morning and headed south. Mattie May did great for such a long trip and for being on a time schedule. She has made long trips before, but we usually aren't watching time and can stop often. But this time, we really wanted to be in Houston in time to relax, eat, swim, and get in bed at a decent hour. We only stopped twice on the way, once for something to eat and once for fuel and a pit stop!
Saturday morning started early, for a Saturday it was early. We had a yummy breakfast at the hotel, picked up Julie and Zachary, then we had to locate the tournament location and get her signed in, she was preregistered, but you never know how long you'll have to wait in line. Thankfully, it went smooth and we had her at the rules meeting in plenty of time. While she was listening to the rules, Grumpy found her ring assignment and found the ring so we were good to go.
I think there were about 18 kiddos in her division. Huge! What did we expect? This was Houston after all!
Lining up to bow in.
I know I'm biased, but why doesn't she get extra points for cuteness? Just look at that face! LOL
Intro. Good. Loud. Clear. Facing the judge.
A tad off balance, but good concentration.
She did her best in kata with just a few minor places being off balance. But it wasn't her day today - her participation medal.
This time something different - BREAKING! This is her favorite thing. She had worked really hard this past week, staying late every night at the dojo working on her hammer fist, elbow and foot stomp. But for reason's beyond Shihan's control, she only participated in first time breakers.
Great foot stomp, but look at that board leaning on the front cinder blocks.
Yeah, it should be in two pieces. For some reason the child tried to do a palm. She has never done a palm Crazy kid! She has a mind of her own!
Second place and we couldn't be more proud.
But she promises, next time she will do what she practices! And she did ask if she could try the board again, and she broke it!
And on to sparring. Again, a huge division. I think there were 17 and only three girls! They broke it up into two brackets with the winner of each bracket facing each other for the championship. We were a bit confused at first because they didn't tell us this, but we figured it out.
Lining up to bow in.
I'm sorry, but again, look at all that cuteness! I just love it!
Watching Rayven in the Intermediate/Advanced division.
Those two girls crack us up. Typical girls; best friends one second, mortal enemies the next! But they do love each other and support each other. I love listening to them cheer each other on.
AOK doesn't allow coaching once the competitors are in the ring, so Mrs. Terry is giving her some quick instruction before she goes in.
"Touch Hands"
"Fight!"
She did really well on her first fight.
We have really been after her about her form - kick, punch punch!
If you notice, her hands are down in this picture, but she has taught herself to duck her head.
Her opponents missed several points because she would move her head. Whatever works as long as it's legal!
Lolo messed up! My batteries ran out and I didn't have any spares! So what few pictures I have are from her first round. And how did she do? Well...
Remember, I said this was a huge division and it was broken into two brackets. Mattie May surprised us all! She won four rounds in her bracket with only one minute to rest between the third and forth fight to win her bracket and place her in the championship fight! And again, only one minute to rest before that fight.
At the last minute, I flipped my phone to video deciding if I drained the battery it would be OK. So as they say on the news...
"ROLL TAPE!"
That's right! Mattie May won! The tape shows, so I don't need to tell you that we were a bit excited! I think all that jumping was when I twisted my ankle. Frank was so excited he couldn't quit laughing. And Terry was louder than any one around! Mattie May has been improving but we never dreamed she would win against that large of a division. This is one proud grandma!
Remember this post when I said it's so good to have your name called? Well it's even better when your name is called last!
Love that smile!
Getting ready to bow out.
Perfect bow!
Her first place medal!
I know your asking yourself "No Trophy?" No! Not at this tournament. Here they win bicycles!
That's right! She won a bicycle.
We are so very proud of Team Abilene. They brought back five, let me say it again, FIVE bicycles to Abilene. They took the big city by storm! I have said this before, but I am going to say it again - we are so new to this and learning something at every tournament, but I can't imagine having her at any other dojo in town. AMMA teaches their students how to achieve with hard work, encouragement, and discipline, but most of all, they love each and every student that walks through those doors. Thank you Shihan Larry Fields and all your staff! You are the best!
Now to prepare for the next tournament. It's back to San Antonio and the Mongoose Open Karate Championships. And if our plans don't change, we will also be visiting Fiesta Texas! It's good to relax after all these tournaments!
It had been two weeks since Mattie May's last tournament and she was ready to go. We took off early Friday so we would arrive in Mesquite early enough to hit the indoor pool. She wanted to get in as soon as we got out of the car, she didn't care that she didn't have on her new suit yet! I love indoor pools but this one was a bit disappointing. It wasn't heated! Yes it has been quite warm lately, but not warm enough to get in a cold pool! We stayed in until her lips were completely purple, then dipped in the hot tub to warm up before we headed to the room. By the time Grumpy made it back with our food, she was bathed and ready to eat.
We had a great nights sleep and a good breakfast before heading to Forney for the tournament.
This was a great tournament at the Forney Sports Center. Even though privately owned, I wish every person in Abilene could see what a wonderful place this is. I image it to be exactly what we missed out on from last years vote for a sports complex. It is a great place with lots room for different events, such as karate tournaments.
We arrived in plenty of time for some stretching and relaxing before she had to get ready for her kata. As the kids started lining up, we soon realized that Mattie May was going to go last again (YES!). It makes the wait longer but works out better for her. Remember, I explained that in this post. But is is getting better at the waiting part. She has made a few friends from Midland/Odessa and she enjoys watching them. And Alexis was at this tournament too, so she had several friends to watch this time.
It was finally her turn and she made the most of being last. She is still not as strong as the the other competitors but she is learning with each practice and tournament.
I just love this shot. I can see the power coming from that little mouth as she shouts "ACE".
And look at the concentration in this one. Hands are in great position, both legs straight. I also like the judge behind her. You can tell she is concentrating on the moves.
And the end. Everything looks good, and you can "see" the power of her voice as she completes her kata. (Not sure how they judged the toe on her right foot. LOL)
And she finally has her named called! She won her first trophy for kata. Third place. Again, the expression on that face! She was so happy!!
And here she is with her trophy.
Little stinker! She raised that above her head on her own. I think think she has been watching too many championships with Grumpy! LOL
There was no waiting between events at this tournament. As soon as we were finished taking pictures, she has to get her sparring gear on.
This is right before her first round. Can we say attitude? She was full of it on Saturday!
She had been so strong in sparring, but ever since this tournament, she has just been shying away.
She was in the last pair to fight in her division. I know this little girl has been at almost the same tournaments as Mattie May and always in the same division, but I think this is the first time they have been paired together.
It definitely was not a good day on the sparring mat. She lost in the first round. But the good thing was, she was finished around 11:30! I don't think she has ever been finished that soon!
We let her play on the bounce houses for awhile, then we headed out to find some fuel and food. It was a great tournament and we are looking forward to the next one.
I want to thank Mike for letting me use his camera this weekend. I learned a lot with it and now I want a new one! I think I will tell all my family just to give me money anytime they want to give me a gift and maybe I will be able to save up for a new one!
This weekend we head to Houston for the Houston International Karate Championships in Spring. We don't normally travel that far, but this tournament has breaking. This child loves to break and there aren't many tournaments that have it. It will be nice because we will hopefully get to visit with some cousin's on Friday evening before we have to get settled in and asleep. And we are staying on Saturday night too, just because of the length of the drive. I try to give Frank a break every now and again!
I know I'm biased, but why doesn't she get extra points for cuteness?
This time something different - BREAKING! This is her favorite thing. She had worked really hard this past week, staying late every night at the dojo working on her hammer fist, elbow and foot stomp. But for reason's beyond Shihan's control, she only participated in first time breakers.
Yeah, it should be in two pieces.
But she promises, next time she will do what she practices!
I'm sorry, but again, look at all that cuteness! I just love it! 
Those two girls crack us up.
We have really been after her about her form - kick, punch punch!
Love that smile!
That's right! She won a bicycle.
Little stinker! She raised that above her head on her own. I think think she has been watching too many championships with Grumpy! LOL
It definitely was not a good day on the sparring mat. She lost in the first round. But the good thing was, she was finished around 11:30! I don't think she has ever been finished that soon!
