2008 AKA Grands Bluegrass Nationals

I've been waiting to write this post for quite some time, now. For the past year and a half I've been secretly stewing away in second place at most of the national tournaments that I've gone to. Sure 2nd in the country isn't a bad thing, but I'm definitely not satisfied with being #2.

So what's the deal? What's kept me in that 2 spot? A better question that Mr. Nicklaus has helped come to realize and answer is: What's going to put in the #1 spot?

For about the last 2 - 3 months, Mr. Nicklaus has been working with me once a week for about 45 min to 1 hour. The biggest point that we focus on is what I'm thinking in my head; what kind of energy do I project with my thoughts; what self-fulfilling prophecy do I imagine.

It's made a world of difference. Hard work combined with the right thoughts helps you reach your goals at turbo speed.

This process combined with another important element helped put me in the mindset for my tournament in Louisville, KY this past weekend. The other element...fun. Mr. Nicklaus also made it clear to me that I have a tendency to focus almost too hard on my goal -- putting too much pressure on myself. On the car ride down I tried to goof around with all the other students from our school that competed to relax and enjoy myself.

Then Saturday came, and it was gametime. I watched all our students compete (you can watch videos of the instructors at http://www.youtube.com/user/KarateLaX) and then got myself ready to go. I made sure to relax and not get ready any sooner before I had to so that I could hit my peak during my form.

I had to keep myself from starting too soon because I was raring to go. All that preparation, all that emotion, all that energy. Then I got ready and let it rip.

"You gotta go out here and give what you got to win it"

I went second to last because I'm the number 2 seed in the country. After I went, I left the area because I didn't want to watch the number 1 guy. In the past, I made the mistake of watching and hoping that he makes a mistake. This time I left because my part was done, and the rest was out of my hands.

During the announcements of the places, I was the last person to be called -- making me the winner.

Thanks -- Mr. Nicklaus & Mrs. Suzann Wancket-Yue -- my instructors.

-wc3

P.S. Check the forms below.

Daytime Eliminations (1st Place win)





Night Time Finals