Located within the Fisher Mitchel School gymnasium, this small competition in martial arts generated a large positive response with all who attended.   The event began with a demonstration of Aikido, then in the spirit of competition and the positive role of good sportsmanship the tournament was kick started by an exhibition match between Mr. Hill of the Bangor YMCA Taekwondo program (me) and Master Edward Hall from Hall's Olympic Martial Arts.

According to those I spoke with after the tournament this match set the tone for the rest of the day’s events by showing everyone what good sportsmanship and competition is all about.  That was the outcome Master Hall and myself had hoped for and I am glad it seemed to set the example for those attending.

A special thanks goes out to Master Hall for agreeing to this last minute plan and showing me I need to work on my speed.

During our visit I couldn’t help notice how small the event was physically but how much impact it made on the students we had brought. Most tournaments these students had gone to in the past were much bigger in size and attendance, but not as big as the smiles on their faces from getting to interact more personally with those who ran this one. Large tournaments tend to have a distant feel to them as you are shuffled through as a number and then disregarded once you’re done with your event.  Not so here, as all of our students left with the feeling they had been part of something not just been somewhere.

A huge thank you goes out to Master Hall and all of those who helped conduct this event. I know I speak for all of us at the YMCA TaeKwonDo program when I say we had a blast.

Below are the videos for the exhibition match that started the tournament. Light contact