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Page 3 of 3 Saturday began early with the competition starting at 9am. Our school, Master Velazquez Tae Kwon Do Institute, had many competitors. They all did very well in all the disciplines they competed in. The day was filled with exciting events and demonstrations featuring weapons, point sparring, extreme martial arts, olympic TKD and judo as well as many more. In the midst of all of this there was the Tiger Claw Elite Championships. This event showcased the best of the best black belts from around the nation. The event was being held concurrently with the KICK USA National Championships. KICK is known as the Premier Organization devoted to Youth Martial Arts. This was a phenomenal weekend, many competitors entered both tournaments and took home medals in both events. Mr. Dave Sklar, head of the organization was a ubiquitous fixture, directing the event with the help of countless volunteers who worked as referees, scorekeepers, coordinators and everything needed to have over 1400 competitors on the floor. It was a truly monumental task with the KICK Team rising to the occasion. In asking David Sklar, Co-Director along with Rob Hartman, how and why he does this he stated, “ How we are able to manage such a massive event, is that we have a dedicated team of incredible people willing to devote their time and energy. Why is even easier to answer. Our goal is to motivate young athletes, to make the child in last place feel just as good as the child in first place. When we accomplish this, we know we have have created a magical moment for that child. That makes all the hard work worthwhile.” Finally, after a long day of competition it was time to get back home so that our young competitors could get a good rest and get back to school on Monday and for us the adults, back to our jobs and daily grind which allows us to support our young heroes in their quest for greatness. But the great outcome of all of this is not all the hardware they bring home, but the friendships they cultivate with other children who have so much in common and even share some of the same goals, as well as they get to see how their parents support them- win or loose, the sacrifices we make as parents and how we get nervous for them, cheer for them and how attentive and proud we are of the little seed planted in them that will be passed on to their kids and so on. I will leave you with this thought and yes you can quote me… “The decisions we make dictate the path we follow, but young impressionable minds are guided by the examples set by those who have influence over them.” Be there for you kids, your students and your friends because they will do what they witness from you, and yes, even when your feet and back are aching and you are exhausted beyond belief, because these things our children and our students will remember. Harry Bergollo is an Assistant Instructor MVTKD, Chief Referee with KICK INTERNATIONAL, and last but not least, a proud father. His twin sons, Nicholas and Zachary, brought home the following trophies from Disney's Martial Arts Festival 2006: In Contemporary Forms, Traditional Forms, Open Weapons and Point Sparring: We cannot wait to see what awesome things they will accomplish at Disney on Oct.26-28, 2007!
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