Busy busy day.
Training in the morning was Kumite drills in the car park, which given the heat and more so the humidity, is really taxing. But everyone pushed through, bar one minor injury.
Following the training the team headed to the Broward Convention Centre for registration. With the AAU Nationals happening at the venue the same day, the team were able to get a sneak peak into what the venue will look like for the Worlds in a few days time. Whilst Kieron and I were registering the team had a peak inside and it was clearly noticeable, that nerves had hit a few of them when seeing the scale of the venue, and making all the hard work a reality.
The nerves got the better of some of the team, but the team spirit and camaraderie really showed when the others rallied round for comfort.
After registration we headed to a Filipino restaurant nearby in an attempt to try and address some homesickness. It was nice for the team to try different foods from their team mates family heritages. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal.
Lunch was followed by an afternoon trip to the beach for beach training and a swim. Kata and stance training and sand running was all part of the fun.
With it now being the 4th of July Holiday weekend, the beaches were busy with locals but also noticeably other teams also attending the competition next week.
Today our team was completed following the arrival of Anna, Frank’s mum.
Tomorrow afternoon the team are attending a Kumite seminar with John Fonseca, the first karate athlete in the world to win repeat gold medals at the Pan American Games, first American to medal at the Karate World Championships in almost 16 years, and first American to win the Paris Open in more than 30 years.
This will be a fantastic opportunity to complete our official training plan for the competition and for the athletes to train with karateka from around the world.
all the days photos available on Facebook.
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