Competition photos

Brielle's first Taekwondo competition was a big event for the family in several ways. First, it was in Bellevue, Washington (outside of Seattle), so that meant taking a several hour drive either way and staying in a hotel the night before. However, the kids love staying in hotels. It's so great at this age that they see running around in a small hotel room as a super adventure.

It was also a big deal because none of us had ever seen a Taekwondo competition, and we weren't sure what to expect. As it turned out, the event was well-attended but comfortable and not overwhelming. Ronan did a great job sitting in the stands for a few hours, and the restrooms were easily accessible (yes, this is what we think about as parents).

Finally, we wondered whether Brielle was going to get nervous, or perhaps even refuse to compete after seeing the venue. Kraig and I knew that we would have been nervous in a situation like this, and we didn't know how she'd react.

The gym at the college was set up with six different arenas on colored mats. Sometimes several competitions were going on at once. In the morning we watched sparring matches. This is something we haven't yet learned to do, but Brielle voiced some interest in trying it.

Then, we enjoyed several "demo team" performances from dojangs that have larger competition teams. Basically, a large group of students perform an exciting routine to music that includes TKD moves performed as a group as well as a lot of big jumps and board breaking. And, yes, "The Eye of the Tiger" was one of the songs. Ronan really enjoyed it, bouncing along to the music on my lap. Brielle thought it was great too. The demo team thing isn't something that's done at our dojang (maybe because we're smaller), so hopefully Brielle won't be disappointed if she can't do it in the future. Next, it was Brielle's turn, and she was ready to go!

Brielle was competing in the 4-5 year-old group (and there were very few of them). She seemed excited to get out there and didn't appear nervous. She followed directions and gave her introduction to the judges. You couldn't hear it on the video below, but she said, "Judges - my name is Brielle, and I will be performing taegeuk ee jang with your permission, sir."

When we saw that she was going to be performing next to another girl, we worried she might get distracted by what the other girl was doing. But she remained amazingly focused on her own form.

She wasn't nervous at all! In fact, we think that she did the routine better than she ever has. When we practiced at home, most often she would goof off and just want to be silly. But she showed us that day that she knows her stuff and can be really mature and confident when it's time.

Brielle is the youngest kid on the team, by a few years. So it was great to see that the older girls were really supportive of her. They were aware of her performance schedule and gathered to watch her and lend their support.

After her competition, Brielle was led across the gym to pose with her gold medal. (We couldn't move over there fast enough, so I had to zoom a bit.)

Master Ha was very impressed with Brielle's performance at her first competition. The three of us actually have our green belts now. She wore her orange belt because she hasn't learned her green belt poomse yet, so she's doing the orange belt one in competitions.

Both kids were really energized and happy after Brielle's competition. They ran around the hallways, dancing and kicking and hugging each other. We're so happy that this was a positive experience for the whole family.