At the Valdosta Super Regional tournament we had a special guest at the event, Alvin Peyton.  Mr. Peyton, Mayor Pro-Temp, on behalf of Mayor John Gayle and the city of Valdosta honored Mr. Church and ATA with a Proclamation.  The proclamation proclaimed January 14, 2012 as ATA Health and Fitness Day.  This day will forever be remembered as a day of not only health and fitness, but confidence, discipline, personal excellence, and leadership.

We would like to thank Mr. Peyton, Mr. Gayle, and the city of Valdosta for bestowing us with this great honor.

Congratulations to everyone!

We would like to say a huge THANKS to you all.  We could not have pulled off such a tremendous event without your help.

If we did not thank you personally please know that anything you did to help was greatly appreciated.

*PLEASE email any pictures you have from the tournament to: alane@valdosta.edu.  I will be making a silde show next week.  I am waiting another week to make sure everyone has sent their photos to me.*

RESULTS:

4th and 5th Degree Black Belt Division

Mark Webb placed 1st in Traditional Weapons, Sparring, Creative Weapons, Extreme
Weapons, Extreme Forms and 2nd in Traditional Forms and Creative Forms.

2nd and 3rd Degree Black Belt Division

Jennifer Hardy placed 2nd in Weapons and 3rd in Sparring and Forms

1st Degree Black Belt Division

Marge Sprott placed 3rd in Forms and Sparring

Kyle Turner placed 2nd in Forms and Weapons and 3rd in Sparring

Color Belt Division

Jay Johnson – 3rd in Weapons and Sparring

Madison Swain – 1st in Sparring, 2nd in Weapons, and 3rd in Forms

Anna Leigh Coody – 4th in Weapons

Patrick Horsley – 4th in Sparring

Jay York – 1st in Forms, Weapons and Sparring

Clay York – 1st in Forms and 2nd in Weapons

Ian Willis – 3rd in Forms

William Horsley – 1st in Sparring and Weapons, and 4th in Forms

Jacqueline Wang – 1st in Forms

Alexander Wang – 1st in Sparring and Weapons

Nicole Sinnott – 1st in Forms and Weapons and 2nd in Sparring

Alex Sinnott – 3rd in Sparring

Anita Sinnott – 4th in Forms

Garith Chaney – 1st in Forms, Weapons and Sparring

Christian Dawson – 1st in Forms, Weapons and Sparring

Matthew Dawson – 1st in Forms, Weapons and Sparring

Duane Cunningham – 3rd in Forms and Sparring

Richard Hartnitt – 3rd in Weapons

Mandy Lane – 1st in Forms and Sparring

Seaborn Williams – 2nd in Sparring and 3rd in Forms

Christian Martinez – 1st in Forms and 3rd in Sparring

Paul Massari – 4th in Forms

Keith Strickland  – 4th in Forms

Zada Wilson – 2nd in Forms and 1st in Sparring

Teresa Hamiliton – 1st in Forms and Weapons and 2nd in Sparring

Zachary Coody – 4th in Forms

Dawson Norris – 1st in Weapons, 2nd in Forms and Sparring

Lexi Colbert – 1st in Forms and Sparring

Sean Northcutt – 2nd in Sparring and 3rd in Forms

Matthew Godwin – 1st in Forms and 3rd in Sparring

J.T. Davis – 2nd in Weapons

Patrick Grove – 1st in Sparring and 2nd in Forms

Lukas Smidtas – 1st in Weapons and Sparring and 2nd in Forms

Maddy Lawson – 2nd in Sparring and 3rd in Forms

Jackson Lawson – 3rd in Sparring

Nathan Lawson – 3rd in Forms

*Pictures to come*

ALWAYS REMEMBER TO COMPETE IS TO WIN!
She-hahp (tournaments) are controlled competitive environments that allow practitioners to display and improve their skills in a safe environment. Although some may think it is all about “who is better”, that is only a part of their purpose in Songahm Taekwondo.

In general, there are basically two types of tournaments:
1. Winning a trophy at any cost, while exclaiming victory and scorning defeat
2. Competing with a good attitude (possibly winning a trophy) and learning under ideal conditions

The second is what we in Songahm Taekwondo try to achieve!

Remember that tournaments are not just for a trophy. They allow our members to meet new people, make new friends, put nerves to the test, and display skills. By focusing on these purposes, it is very possible to be happy whether one wins or loses. Most people think that the reward at a tournament is the trophy. By eliminating this idea, we eliminate the unnecessary devastation of leaving without a trophy.

In reality, competition is not just in a ring. Students of Songahm Taekwondo, as well as all other human beings, are competing with self on a daily basis. We compete with our body to lose weight. We compete with our mind to retain knowledge, and we compete with our intellect on our spiritual convictions. Even in the case of a match against an opponent, we are not only competing against that person’s skill, but also against ourselves to the the absolute best that we can. Therefore, tournaments are a great opportunity for increasing skills as well as boosting confidence. And, just as importantly, it is possible to learn self control over a temper, or become motivated to react positively instead of negatively to outcomes one does not desire.

For all these reasons and more, she-hahp (tournaments) are a vital part of Songahm Taekwondo, and one of the most dynamic, fun aspects of our art.

Next up was Mr. Sibley in the adult men’s color belt ring, Mr. Sibley placed 3rd in Songahm forms after a 5 way tie breaker, and 1st in Songahm Weapons.  In the last event of the day for our schools competitors, Mrs. Powell a 3rd degree black belt, took 3rd place in Songahm Forms.  Then after 3 hard fought sparring matches Mrs. Powell won 1st place in Sparring in her division.

The day fell to the close after that with the last of Team Performance members packing and preparing to leave, closing ceremonies brought the end to the 2010 Songahm World Championships.  But remembering that this means the new Tournament session is underway, and the excitement and new friends that we will meet along the way.

Kameron Anderson, took 3rd Place in Songahm (traditional) Weapons and won 2nd place in Sparring, after a very intense and close sparring match.  Also competing was Ryan Spaulding, in his first Worlds as a Black Belt, while I was unable to watch his performances, it was reported that he did a great job and took competitor awards in Forms and Weapons for his boys age and division. Tori Sibley took 4th in Weapons after loosing a 3rd place tie breaker, and then won 3rd place in Sparring.

In the afternoon session Ms. Brittney Johnson a 2nd degree black belt, won 1st place in Sparring for the Girls 14 to 16 age division.  Mrs. Powell and Mr. Webb competed in Songahm weapons, as of this posting I am awaiting their results.

Mr. Sibley finished the afternoon, winning 1st place in Creative Forms, 2nd place in Creative Weapons, 2nd place in XMA Forms, and 1st place in XMA weapons.  Mr. Sibley competed in the ATA’s new Black Dobak (gi) for XMA and Creative competitors.