September 4, 2011
Filed Under News, Senior Dojo, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 

Poneke Match Fight Night

Just want to thank everyone including absent friends who helped the fighters prepare and sent them along to represent their home dojos at our match fights last night.  Every year the mix is sooo different it is like reading a totally new book in the same series, familiar themes but totally different story.  So much depends on who is around, who is injured, what else clashes, making flights (don’t worry Sempai Eddie, you are in very good company).

This year it was fantastic to have a contingent from Seido again (strong fighter) but also to have so many luminaries, fighters, dojo operators, high grades and family from the NZKOK.  Our event has evolved into something quite unique over 12 years so it was fun to be able to share a format we enjoy so much with everyone.

Overall we are stoked with how the night went and very proud of the Poneke guys/girls who were given some really tough matches.  Just bowing in to a Kyokushin fight gives you superhero status in my book.  It is the little things that mess with your head like having an injury, not feeling fit, not being in the mood, forgetting your gear, being outweighed or being relatively inexperienced, not wanting to lose, not wanting to be seen losing.   It is the ability to let all that noise go and try win anyway that is most transferable to life.   I have sat in a lot of crowds watching all types of fights and I have only just figured out that the single thing that causes any crowd to lift the roof is a glimpse of hunger and hope in a fighter who has got it stacked against them.

It is really apparent, watching people watch fights, that we value hope and determination way more than anything else.  Even a tiny window of hope beats beautiful technical skills which we admire like artwork and it beats the affiliations we have with ‘our own’ fighters.  It even beats the win.  It IS the win!  Congrats everyone for jumping in.  We hope everyone had a good time and we hope the fighters are very proud of themselves and understand why the crowd loved you.

HUGE thanks to all the helpers too!!!