Just this past Saturday I went to Detroit for the North American International Karate Championships, hosted by none other than Mr. Conell Loveless.
A few months ago Mr. Loveless asked me to do a weapons demo at his tournament, and of course I was in like Flynn! Well, a few days before the tournament I decided, what the heck, I'll just compete for the fun of it.
What an amazing event. There were over 300 competitors from atleast 3 states and Canada and there were over 100 divisions!
Well, I ended up competing in Traditional weapons, where I did the Hook Tabak-Patalim, and open weapons division, where I performed to the song "Bodies" by Drowning Pool using my signature, the Tali-Bong. I ended up placing 1st in both. From there I moved on to compete for one of the four spots to compete for Grand Champion. All Black Belts taking first in Forms and Weapons in all divsions competed......and I took Second, respectable, ...but not a spot I like! It lit a fire under me, and I must say, I was very motivated by the prizes. AN I POD TOUCH AND AN ENORMOUS GOLD CUP! So later that night at the nighttime extravaganza everyone in the running for a grand championship performed in an auditorium up on stage. Now, I have been to many tournaments and have never seen this before, and I definitely LOVED it! I performed between two divisions first, then 10 minutes later, I was up to compete! There were about 12 judges sitting in the very front row, hot lights above, and some fierce competition. But I performed like there was no tomorrow because this was my very first time competing as a Black Belt, and this meant the world to me. I gave it everything I had. And I have the battle wounds to prove it! Blisters on my bloody blisters and the ropes on my weapons are bloody too! (Too much information?) Sorry, I'm proud of them. It proves I work hard.
As the Four of us were standing center stage waiting for the announcement of Black Belt Grand Champion, I wasnt really sure who the winner was. I was as nervous as I could possibly be. Every single person I competed against was AWESOME. We were just different. Then Mr. Loveless announced, "And the 2009 Black Belt Grand Champion is...........................MARIAH MOORE!!!!!" I wanted to jump up and down and scream myhead off and my heart out! Still in shock, I was handed my 5 lb. trophy that is a huge Gold Cup on a glossy mahogany base! NO JOKE, ITS AS BIG AS THE STANELY CUP!...then an engraved iPod Touch! (it says :NAIKC 2009 Grand Cahmpion)
This tournament was the next best thing to the World Championships. Very classy.
THANK YOU MR. LOVELESS FOR AN AMAZING DAY AND NIGHT! I CANNOT WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR!
Me and my Gorgeous monstrous amazing Gold NAIKC Stanely Cup!
Weapons Demo
Open Weapons Competition
Blisters on my blisters!
The Big Finish!
