So last Saturday was the day I scored not only third place in the women’s heavyweight blackbelt sparring division of the Tae Kwon Do Association of Great Britain’s South East Championships 2008, but it was also the day that I also gained my first black eye…albeit a partial one.

I got a bye into the 2nd round, but my first fight was against a 4th Dan who I have seen at the British so I knew she was good (from Chelmsford, L Cox, I think)…I saw the stripes as the coloured tag was being tied around my waist and muttered a naughty word to myself as I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy fight, with me being a 1st Dan and not super hot at sparring.

First 20 seconds of the fight, ok, tried to get some kicks in, she was just bouncing and probably sussing me out, then before I could even think, she came in with a side kick RIGHT into my eyes and bridge of my nose. Cue me with hands over face as my eyes watered copiously everywhere and we had a time out. I couldn’t open my eyes for about 2 minutes cos they watered so much, and yes, it was painful. Then one of the refs said I was bleeding, I opened my eyes to see drops of blood hitting the floor.

Needless to say, I retired, because I couldn’t concentrate with the pain and I think she’d knocked the stuffing out of me. But luck of the draw meant I still got joint bronze. Don’t feel I really earnt it, but hey, I’ll take it as payment for the bleeding nose, bloodshot eyes, and the slight black eye I have : )

Anyway, I’m alright now, the bruise is fading….kinda? And the left side of my nose is sore when I push on it, so I try not to push on it : ) It was all worth it in the end, eh?

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 13th, 2008 at 11:25 pm and is filed under Tae Kwon Do. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.