July 2022 - The start of July & the California Karate Tournament

We kicked off the month of July by having a goodbye dinner for a friend of Ryan's who returned to Japan. Although it was at our house, we were not really the hosts, as our two friends made all the food and brought it over, so sweet! We also attended the Fourth of July parade as well.

I also got to catch my baller nieces in action at the courts, where they have been thriving, despite being among the shorter end of the spectrum on their teams. ;-) #Asianlife

Although I worked part of the day on the Fourth, I was able to invite my parents down to lunch at the Rocks and they had some traditional Fourth fare of barbecued ribs, beans, corn on on the cob, onion rings and of course...ahi poke. Is that not traditional fare? And...what are the odds...while I was there with them briefly, I literally ran into one of Rich's childhood/HS friends, who was there on vacation. I'd last seen him perhaps 20 years ago!

Took my niece shopping one day and she picked out these adorable matching outfits for her and her sister...

Only the second trip to the movies in about 2.5 years, thanks to COVID!

The second week in July, we made a quick trip over to San Diego, CA for the first karate tournament in 3 years (last one was Nov of 2019, as the world shut down in March of 2020).

Bowing in the opening ceremony - Ryan was the only competitor from his dojo, so he lined up with another dojo from Oahu who was kind enough to let him join in.

He had some amazing competition in the kata division, and unfortunately did not place. However, we were proud of his effort, and he did well...the others were just phenomenal.

Bowing bin in his ring before the kumite competition

We knew Ryan felt immense pressure to do better in the fighting/kumite, as he hadn't placed in kata (this has only happened once before, in seven years). So I think he was motivated to do well in fighting.

He won his first match, 2 to 1. 

He lost his second match, 0 to 2. The score doesn't show it, but it was a good match and I think he narrowly missed getting points by a split half second at times.

He narrowly won his third match, 2 to 1...and managed to place third! We were beyond relieved, proud and thrilled for him, as he hasn't been able to spar/practice fighting in years, and went in a bit stiff/cold compared to others...

The tournament was nerve wracking for us, as it always it. We were super disappointed there was no weapons/kobudo competition, as Ryan often does well in that, but we were so grateful for the opportunity for him to compete. The venue/tournament was extremely well organized and ran smoothly, and his placing really was the icing on the cake. It definitely made the trip 'worth it' as the Big Island tournament will be cancelled for the third year straight this year...so it was a priceless opportunity. Well, not priceless. There was actually quite a price tag as our last minute fares/hotels/rental car was sky high thanks to revenge travellers snatching up all the good fares. ;-)

Ryan has lost most of his dojo mates over the last 2.5 years, and staying motivated to go to practice has been difficult, to put it mildly. We are doubly grateful that his instructors continue to show up for him weekly, even though he is often the only student in attendance. COVID has decimated attendance statewide, and it's just another really awful COVID casualty.

This is all the more meaningful that his Hanshi and Sempais show up for him, and we feel incredibly blessed and grateful to them.