Dear Tom Scott,
I admire to you for many different reasons, for one you are very accomplished in Karate. You've won National titles in the US and also World titles. You have been the USA National Team Captain and a USA-NKF Certified Coach. You were the first USA Karate athlete in 10 years to win the gold in kilo and open weight categories at Pan American Karate Championships. Recently you won a gold medal in the World Karate Championships in Paris. Which is amazing also.
But besides just Karate you're also a great person. Every time I see you, whether it's at a tournament, at training, or just getting lunch you always have a smile on your face. You're also very friendly and approchable which you don't often see in Karate competitors. I also admire how committed you are. You can see that you are willing to put in the effort and work harder than everyone else in the room. Also, you always do things to the best of your ability, no slacking.
Something that I just recently found out is that besides being an amazing athlete you are also very intelligent. You went to the University of Texas in Dallas and earned a Master's Degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Also, you went to Texas Christian University and got a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice, and made the TCU Dean’s Honor List. All that school and still was able to keep up and compete in Karate. Impressive honestly.
One day I hope to be as accomplished and well rounded as you are. But for now I can only see you as a role model and try to become as great as you are.
Sometimes in my own dojo I feel like an outlier. My dojo is Wado style, the man who started the style was never really into Kata so he basically threw a few random Katas in his style and focused mainly on Kumite. When Karate people think of Wado they know, 'Oh those are fighters.' But I have always been drawn to Kata, the flow, the strength, the fancy jumps, all of it. The only problem is that Katas from my style don't exactly do well in competition. They're too boxy, and honestly kind of boring.
Shito on the other hand has tons of Katas, so many I can't even count them all. The man who started Shito really liked Kata, he put a lot of effort into creating them. The first time I ever saw a Shito Kata was at a tournament in Colorado. A girl performed her Kata and it caught my eye instantly. I watched her move through it, she looked almost as if she was water and stone at the same time. She would flow like a river into the move then freeze like stone. Mesmerized I asked my Sensei what she was doing. because I had never seen anything like that before. He said, "Oh, that's Shito."
I wanted so bad to learn Shito Katas and compete with them. The only problem was that no one knew them or was willing to teach them to me. All until one day Hector came to our dojo. Hector is a US Military Officer, and has a black belt in Shito. Of course I asked him to teach me and he did. I picked up Shito quickly and soon started to do them in tournaments. But that only created conflict. My Senseis did not approve of me learning Shito Katas because we are Wado. But I've rarely seen Wado Katas win, and I felt awkward doing them. Shito had finesse and the majority of the best Kata Champions in the World do Shito. Eventually, me doing Shito grew on them. They even bring Shito people in to do seminars. But still sometimes I can't help but feel different for wanting to be successful in Kata.
Wado Symbol Shito Symbol
I'm going to Japan! And I can hardly hold it in I'm so excited. I'm going during February break, I'll be there for a total of 10 days. I'm going with my sister, my friend Danny and Danny's dad who is also a Karate coach at my dojo. Danny's dad is the one who organized the whole trip and invited my sister and I to go. It's actually a surprise for him, so don't tell.
I've only been out of the country three times, twice to Mexico and once to Costa Rica. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is the flight. I hate flying, honestly if I could go the rest of my life without ever stepping onto a plane, I would. The annoying whiney kids, the crowded aisles, crappy food, uncomfortable seats it's all a pain. But that's a problem because I love to travel and see new places. The flight from here to Tokyo is about 14 hours... Yay. But it'll be worth it. In my previous blog I talked about a woman named Sakura Kokumai, the 1st place Kata Champion in the World. She's a local in Japan so she'll be able to show us around, show us the best restaurants, and get away from other tourists. Not to mention I'm getting the opportunity to train with her.
As many of you may know, Karate originated in Japan. I can't wait to see how other people train and see new styles. One thing I know for sure is that they are much more intense than they are here in the US. I'm afraid that I'll sneeze during training and get my head cut off with a samurai sword. I'm totally kidding... I mean I hope I'm kidding.
