Zena won gold medal in kata and silver in kumite. Great job Zena!!! She would like to share here experience.
My Overall Experience for Nationals
From the time we won Regionals, we've had to train which was hard but worth it. There were some days that I didn't want to do it or go, especially on Saturday but after competing in the Nationals, I finally understand why we had to do all that work. My parents kept pushing me to work hard and I'm glad that they did. My mother and I worked hard with my school to so after finally finishing, I could focus on karate and Nationals. Even though I missed a full week of practice because I went to Kona for my explorations program, I'm very proud that I won a gold and silver medal.
I was very excited on the day we flew because it was like an adventure with my family and Sensei. After such a long day of flying and finally getting to the hotel, it was pretty cool to see where we'd be competing. I told my mom that I was nervous but excited. She told me that I'd be fine and that she was proud of me. Having my parents there and the some of my family made a difference and I could feel their support, including the support of my Ohana and the rest of Kachi at home. My mom and aunty kept posting things on FB so it was nice to see everyone's comments and support to. I kept telling my family how I wished Sensei Maile, Senpai Pinky, Shosei, Meigu, and everyone else was there which would have been so much fun. Oh and Sensei is so funny, when we went to eat at White Castle or anywhere for that matter. lol
On the day of competition, my stomach was sore from being nervous. lol I was nervous for my cousin and brothers to, but so happy when I found out that Zarian made gold and Zane made bronze. After I made gold, I was super happy and Sensei was very supportive. I liked how he was there to help support me and be next to me because I was so nervous. I kept looking over at my mom and dad and got strength from them. Since this was our first competition being nervous, I think, was natural.
When Zarian won gold the second time, I was getting more excited and couldn't wait to get my kumite on. I was hoping that Zander would have gotten a medal to and finally after waiting so long, he finally won bronze in kumite. My brothers drive me nuts but I was so proud of them. Then I was up and even though I got hit and it hurt, I won silver. I wanted to cry from the pain but I remember my mom telling me to keep going, be strong, and to shake it off.I was so happy that I won anything and it was so much fun to have been apart of this with Sensei Robert and especially my family.
The next two days we went back to watch the older belts compete which was pretty awesome. We got to meet Nick and Gunnar who kicked some major behind and that was exciting. We got to meet other Sensei's and other Senpai's which was awesome to. To get to see them compete was so much fun. We also cheered on a girl named Taylor, who was also from Hawaii. She was so fast like Nick and Gunnar.
The other days we got to walk around and eat with Sensei and my family. Later we got to visit an amusement park called Kings Island, like Knott's Berry Farm, we went to Cincinnati Zoo which was so cool, and finally watched our first ever baseball game. It was Cincinnati Reds vs. San Francisco Giants. It rained on us but we still had fun and the Reds won. At one point it was scary because the Ohio river was rising and we all kept getting flash flood warnings on our phones but my mom drove us safely back to the hotel.
The next day we left back home which made me sick from all the flying and I hope we never fly United again. It took us forever to get home. I'm happy that my parents paid for so much to get my brother's and I there to Nationals and my aunty, my family, and the rest of the Kachi Ohana. Thank you to Sensei Robert, Sensei Maile, Sensei Shannon, Senpai Pinky, her dad, Linda/John, Shosei, and so many others for helping me and my family. It was fun, a great experience, and one I will never forget.
Love
Zena Rawlins
