Spring Judo Tournament! A First Place Winner and... well... an "A" for Effort!!! : )

With a bag full of snacks, the portable DVD player, my book, a few little toys, a little travel game, and the camera... we were prepared for our role as "family of the Judo competitors" this tournament. We claimed our spot that morning and alternated between the kids playing on the practice mats while I read a book to watching a movie and having a snack. When it was Kadan or Blaine's turn we were ready to cheer and take pictures and videos galore! Though I am far from a sports fanatic... I must admit I do enjoy watching my husband and son compete!

This was Kadan's FIRST Judo Tournament! We weren't going to let him compete this time, since he's really only been doing Judo for a few months, but his Sensei said he thought he was ready to try it, so we said, "Okay!" He was SO excited. We prepped him a lot on trying his best and having fun and it would be really cool if he won but even if he didn't win it would be okay, etc, etc. We were much more worried about his attitude toward it all and not whether he won or lose. We just wanted him to have a good learning experience and to have fun and try his best.
Here's Kadan with Daddy waiting his turn...



Kadan's First Match... He was pinned pretty quick! The kid was a 7 year old and you could tell Kadan just wasn't sure exactly how to handle his first ever match and wasn't prepared to either get back up or not go down in the first place. He was such a good sport about it though! He had a good attitude, he didn't cry, he gave a bow like he was supposed to and he was ready for his next turn!



Kadan's Second Match... He did SO much better this time! Even though the kid (a 6 year old) still got him down pretty quick, Kadan held his own much better and wouldn't quit arching his back and twisting just enough so that his shoulder's weren't technically 'pinned'. He just wasn't quite strong enough to get back up though, and the other kid won, be I was so proud of his effort! : )



Kadan's Third Match... this kid was another 7 year old, and Kadan went down pretty quick again. I was still super proud of him! Three losses and he still came out of it insisting that it was fun and he was ready for another turn! : ) Being his first match, we really didn't expect him to win, we just hoped it would be a good experience and that he would have fun anyways and that he would try hard and have a good attitude about it all.



Afterwards he was bummed he wouldn't get a trophy, but mostly disappointed he wouldn't get another turn. Blaine gave him a little pep talk and all was well. He was excited to keep practicing and get better for the next tournament though, and he still said it was really fun, even though he didn't win. (P.S. Look how cute he is in his little Judo Gee!)


Little Zackery enjoying his sucker and watching Kung Fu Panda on the portable DVD player while we wait for Daddy's match. (Appropriate movie for a Judo tournament I thought!)
Baby slept through good portion of the tournament. He woke up just after Daddy's match. Surprised he could sleep through all the noise, but this kid can pretty much sleep anywhere. LOL

Blaine getting ready to conquer!!! ; )


Blaine's First Match of the Tournament (He won!)



Blaine's Second Match (Part 1)



Blaine's Second Match (Part 2) (He Won!)



My adorable hubby with his First Place Trophy! : ) Kadan was a little bummed that he didn't get a trophy, but his excitement that his daddy got a FIRST PLACE trophy ("Oh my gosh! Dad! You won! You WON! I can't believe it! Dad! You get a TROPHY! Good job, Dad! You won!!!") was enough to overrule the disappointment of his own loss. Please note the tissue up the left guys' nose. Yeah... that would be Blaine's fault (the cause of the blood, not the putting of the tissue up the guys nose, haha!).
It wasn't nearly as long of a day as the last tournament we went to. I was much more prepared and it ended up being a much more enjoyable day because of it! Maybe by this fall my man will be ready to take on the brown and black belts and he'll be the one with the tissue up in his nose. LOL! I mean... he'll still totally dominate and win first place even at that level. ; )