P is for... and Celebrate the Small Things

P is for Passai

Passai is an advanced form first taught in preparation for black belt testing.  It's history appears to be rather convoluted as there's no consensus on its origin.  While we know that it was evolved by our Okinawan friends I discussed yesterday there is definitely an observable southern Chinese influence which may predate the Okinawan or Japanese development.

 

Source

The name itself means different things depending on which variation you're discussing (Okinawan vs. Japanese vs. Korean) but in our school we define it as "collection of the best" and characterize it as a fast and active form.  Given that I have other things to talk about today I'm going to end the history lesson there.  (But if you're interested, you can click HERE for more information than your brain can easily swallow.)

And now it's time to Celebrate the Small Things!  As always, our awesome host-est with the most-est is the one and only Viklit.  Click on the name to see the full list of wonderful participants.

Forgive me for departing from tradition, but this week I've got something BIG to celebrate...
Those of you around last week may remember me saying that I was nervous/excited about my upcoming home tournament where I would be competing in both traditional and open divisions.  I told you that I'd been practicing my behind off and was hopeful that would pay off.  Well...

 

That's me with the silver medal I got for taking 2nd place in traditional forms and the gold medal I got for taking 1st in open forms!  Woo-hoooooo!

It was seriously great to have all my practice rewarded with recognition, but it was even more rewarding to hear the judges give me feedback on my intensity and the quality of my performance.  Two of the judges are friends of mine and have trained with me for years and both of them said that I have improved SO MUCH they were blown away.  Having two individuals who I know from first hand experience to be amazing martial artists tell me that I've grown by leaps and bounds meant the absolute world to me.  I'm thrilled to pieces.

And now with this tournament out of the way I can focus all my energy on preparing for 3rd Dan in June.  It's gonna be epic!

What about you lovely folks- what are you celebrating?  Let me know in your comments!
Happy Friday, all!