from the December, 2012 issue of Kiai!

Report from New York: A Seido Tournament Experience

By Senpai Kate Phillippo,
Nidan

Back in October, I attended my fourth Seido tournament, but also had the opportunity to spend a full week in New York City. The tournament itself was a blast! I broke boards in competition for the first time, saw some incredibly talented martial artists at work, and had the amazing experiences of winning my sparring division (against one of the most intimidating and powerful karateka I've ever fought) and fighting in the grand champion round, in which I faced one of my sparring heroes in front of the entire tournament audience with Nidaime as the center judge!

But the learning and growth that came with this tournament went beyond these exciting experiences. Most of all, it was such a gift to be able to connect with Seido karateka from around the world. Seido friends new and old shared suggestions, encouragement, and stories from their lives. I learned a ton in the 7 classes I took at Honbu.

I also had experiences that showed me how much Seido has grown me. Even though I successfully registered for board-breaking in the tournament, I found out about 30 minutes before the breaking event that I was not on the roster. It worked out (with a lot of assertive, optimistic help from Jun Shihan Nancy), but I had to stay calm and positive through others' frustration and a moment or two of surliness with me. Doing so, while not always my strongest suite, made it possible for me to have a positive connection with these folks later, and the breaking was awesome! There was also a dispute over the final score of a sparring round in which I fought. Many people around me shared their opinions with the center judge, with the conversation at times taking on a contentious tone. Besides knowing that arguing with a judge is just not what I want to do, I was so thrilled to have fought well and to have survived so many elimination rounds that I decided it really didn't matter to me whether I won or lost. When I learned that the judges had named me the winner of that particular round, I could enjoy not only the win but also the knowledge that I'd engaged in that moment in a way that was respectful and reflected the joy I felt at being part of the tournament.