This past weekend I attended and competed in the Ozark Mountain Nationals Open Karate Championships. It was a tournament hosted by the owner of Next Level Sport Karate dojang (training hall) in Springfield. Richard Osborn Jr. did an outstanding job hosting this event.
Richard hopes this event will grow to become a large regional event. This past weekend had just under 100 competitors. The event was well run and went smoothly. I have little doubt that, in time, the event will grow. In my opinion, it ought to. It is well worth every person's time to attend.
I started this post to say something nice about Richard's tournament. It was a good tournament. If you missed it this year, don't miss it next year. Not to have this tournament on your calendar is your loss.
For myself, I was my division so I won by default. Cool huh? Until you realize that made me eligible to fight for grand champion. My fight was against Derek Gillis, a fourth degree black belt from Richard Jr's school. I have sparred against him before in class. It was funny, before the fight he gave me a hug. I took it as an apology in advance for the beating he was about to give me. In retrospect, I think I was right.
Derek is about 6 inches taller than I am, about my weight and feels like an Abrams tank when he hits you. The most memorable hits were the shot to the forehead, the knee under the ribs and the reverse punch to the rib cage. I was on the receiving end of all those shots. I got two in of my own but I was happy when the timekeeper called "time!" (may the Lord bless him). Suffice it to say, I don't have the grand champion trophy at my house. Nonetheless, I would not have passed up that fight for anything.
Next year, be there. You gotta love this stuff.
