| Sunday afternoon, I competed in my very first martial arts tournament. I have been studying Tae Kwon Do for two years now, and I felt it was time to compete.
I entered the competition in the Intermediate Forms event, performing a form (kata) called Bushido. One of the judges recognized it right away, because he was my sensei's former instructor, and the form I did was written at the school they used to go to.
It was very exciting to participate in a martial arts tournament, and turned out to be less stressful than I expected. The judges were all very friendly and helpful, not at all the impression of tournaments you get from the movies.
As I said, this was my very first tournament, so I am especially happy that I took home the trophy for First Place in my event!! Woo-hoo!!
A classmate of mine also competed in sparring in the novice division, and he walked away with Second Place. It was also his very first tournament ever.
All in all, it was a great day, and a wonderful testament to our sensei, that his first two students to compete both did so well. :) | 
