Timothy's First Tournament

Emma has been in dance for three years now, and really loves it.  She also does horseback riding, which she also really loves.  But we really didn't have anything lined up for Timothy.  I knew that we needed to find some kind of physical activity for him to be involved in, but for some reason, dance just didn't appeal to him. ;)  Thankfully, we have a great Tae Kwon Do program here.  Timothy had been asking since we started school last fall to sign up.  Finally, in January of this year, we got him all signed up.  He came home from his first class beaming!!!  He was so excited and I was so happy for him.  I love the fact that he has an activity that challenges him physically.  I also love how they focus on character qualities like perseverance, self-control and respect.  

So, today was his very first tournament.  I was very excited for him, but also a little nervous.  Randy is the one who has been bringing him to class, so I hadn't seen him in action yet.  Turns out, he has been working very, very hard the past couple months.  

The day started with the patterns, or forms.  Each person choses a pattern, or series of moves, appropriate for their level.  Timothy's group had six students, and he was last.  As he began, I realized that to my completely untrained eye, he appeared to do quite well.  I was right.  He placed first in his category!

The day ended with the sparring competition, where Timothy placed third out of 6 in his category!  I am so proud of him, not because of his trophies, but because of his hard work.  (Ok, the trophies are cool, too.) :)  

He also received award patches- one for Academic Achievement and one for Curtesy.  

So very proud of you, dude! :)  Way to go!