Over 3100 Athletes and 500 Coaches from around the country....in 1 location...for 1 purpose....to bring back a U.S. Junior Olympic/National Champion. This years U.S. National Championship is the largest event ever! This means larger divisions and tough fights. I received reports of how many athletes were in our Team's divisions...and I started praying. Esteban and Jaime had over 20+ athletes in their division! We had our first team practice on Monday to prep for the following day of battle!
After a long first day...PMAC's mission of bringing back a champ was a success!!! Jade Martinez swept her division and started off the day with a couple big wins for us. Valerie Ver was another medalist for PMAC! She defeated two opponents before losing in the semi finals. Thaddeus and Jaime both won their first match and were eliminated in the 2nd Round. Thaddeus fought in AMAZING fashion!!! He ripped up his 2nd opponent...but those DARN ELECTRONIC CHEST PROTECTORS!!!!
Abby, Kyra and Jocelyn fought today and were eliminated without medaling. They fought very hard but today was not their day. We have 4 more competitors who will fight for the title of National Champ in the next two days...FIGHT HARD TEAM!
**I am deeply saddened right now. There was a time where the 1st Generation Athletes would train us 2nd Generation Athletes with intensity and pride. They would push us and constantly challenge us to to get out of our comfort zone and learn the true meaning of competition! Competing meant "TESTING MY SKILLS AGAINST ANOTHER WORTHY COMPETITOR AND LET THE SCORE DECIDE WHO WOULD BE THE VICTOR FOR THE DAY!" There would be times when I, and many of my peers fought at a higher belt level to truly test our skills. Many of us 2nd generation athletes are now in our 30s-40's and instead of fighting in the ring, we are raising the 3rd generation of Athletes. Its so sad to say us 2nd Generation Athletes have gotten weak! We were taught to be tough and believe in our training...these days Black Belts are dropping down to Red Belts, Red Belts are dropping down to Blue Belt divisions etc. etc!!! WHY?!!!?? Why would you do that!!?? What are you teaching your students?? If you are a Red Belt...YOU FIGHT AS A RED BELT! If we continue to teach our students that cheating is ok, then WE HAVE FAILED OUR MASTER's and the MISSION OF TAEKWONDO!!! You, who allow your students to lie and cheat to get their medals are a disgrace.
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