Ligo Dojo Tournament March 10 2012 Durhan NC

Coming soon to North Carolina, the Ligo Dojo of Durham will be hosting their first tournament. It is slated as a beginners tournament. My dojo will be sending some fighters and I will be coming down to join them, but as support and a spectator.

Tidbits from their facebook page:

What It's Like Before a Fight

6 Months Out

Shihan, sensei or someone tells you about a fight coming up, sometime in the month of say, October. I am either asked if I want to fight or I am told that I am going to fight. Doesn't matter which because if I wasn't asked, I would ask if I could go.

Visions of training plans and completely filled out workout sheets dance through my head, much like pre-Christmas sugar plums. I'll do fine, I think. I can't wait. Confidence flows through my veins. Not that I think I will win, but the confidence that I will arrive, fight and they will remember me, win or lose.

2 Months Out

Are You a Warrior? ~ Warrior Dash Preview

The gear that is included.

I can't believe the day is almost here. I registered over 3 months ago and have been excited ever since. It will be my first race. I will be headed out this Saturday around 7AM. I am dragging Gaylen to race with me and Michelle to take pictures.

I know there are races almost every weekend no matter where you live, but this race is different. This race is more of an obstacle course and the fee includes a viking helmet and a beer! What race have you been to that gives you beer? It also comes with a t-shirt, and a medal.


12 obstacles from hell await you along this 3.02 mile course. Are you a Warrior?

Fighting Tonight GAHH!

Today is the day, well I should say that tonight is the night. This the the worst part, waiting to fight, the sleepless night before the butterflies in my stomach. Wishing it for to be done.

Yesterday was such a long day. We didn't leave until way after the time we were supposed to and it took an hour longer than we planned. Didn't get in Connecticut until after 8:30. When I got to the room Sensei was off training Tim. I should have been with them, but I missed out. Took a quick swim, sat in the hot tub and then I hit the showers.

Sleeping before a fight is harder than the fight. You see in a fight you choose to get on the mat and go at it. With sleep, I chose to sleep, but didn't. It was so very much beyond my control. I tossed and turned. Stupid thoughts and ideas popping into my head. When I did sleep, the dreams woke me up. Dreams, equally stupid as the ideas.

Today I have a kata competition. Last night during one of my sleepless bouts,I imagined myself doing kata. I am supposed to do pinan ni. So I did ichi, ni, san, shi, then blanked out. Could not for the life of me remember what the next 3 steps were. I could remember all of those after that, but those three step drew a complete blank.

Fighting doesn't start until 5ish, it will be a long day.

Sometimes, you get knocked out

I am posting the fight that I lost at the Dageki World Champs last October. This was the fight for first and I sadly lost. I need to keep my hands up to start with, I know. I also need to work on blocking. I am not ashamed of what I did, in fact I am proud of the fight, even though it is VERY short. I got knocked out. In fact I can't recall when the ref tied my belt, even when watching it, I can't remember. It is like seeing someone in a Patty suit fighting from 20 or so seconds on. The next thing I remember is the doc standing over me, and me telling him that I needed to fight. He was telling that I was done.

Dageki World Karate Championship

Last January the video came in from last October's world championship fight. It was saddly misplaced. Good news though! It was found the other day. So here is my semi-final fight from Montreal, Canada. I am the cute girl with the pig tails and the yellow belt.

Fight Video - 8th Annual US Kyokushin Karate Open

Patty Pittman vs Amy Kaufman

There are things in this life you just don't want to do, but you have to. I had to watch my fights from May. I had to edit and upload the video from the 8th Annual United States Kyokushin Open, the first 'full contact' fight I had ever done, it was also the second fight I had ever been to.


The reason for the quotes around the full contact, is that we weren't supposed to wear pads. There was a woman who came down to fight semi-contact, but there wasn't anyone to fight her. The powers that be, decided they would lump all us women together. So as we lined up for the march out to the mats, the woman looked at the rest of us and bowed out of fighting. It didn't matter if we fought with those thin hand pads and shin guards, it was fighting 'full contact' fighters that had her worried. They did find her a fight, but it was left on our ticket that we were "semi contact'. Let me tell you, pads or no pads, it was full contact.

Sportsmanship or the Lack of

I used to watch football alot. Every Sunday you would find me peeled to the TV witha remote in my hand, switching between games. The rest of the week, ESPN was background noise. After a while I started to lose my interest in the game and moved on to other pursuits.

Today I log on to Yahoo and the front page story is about the Jets coach tripping a player. I could hardly believe it. A grown man, whose team is down by only 4 points, sticks out his knee for a dirty play.

World Champs - After Fight thoughts

I had a wonderful New England afternoon to walk in the woods with my blaze orange (hunting season) and just be alone with my thoughts. The dog was running all around and would only occasionally bring me back to the moment, so it was perfect.

I thought of the first fight I had. I did well, not the winning part, but the being in control part. Even if I had lost, being able to formulate a plan in my head and execute it was an achievement. I had technique. Usually I go out there and can hear nothing and I have fists flying. This time, I heard everything that my coaches said and tried my best to follow through. I heard chest, I hit chest. I heard switch and I tried to throw a knee. I went for the back leg just like I was told to prefight. Still could use more help in the technical part of fighting.

Dagéki World Karate Championship 2010

Leading up to the fight

We got to Montreal around 4 in the afternoon. After we settled into our rooms, we went to weigh in. I was up to 178, which is 5 pounds heavier than at the dojo. That made me disappointed. I haven't been overeating. But then I thought that maybe all the coffee and sitting around for 4 hours might have added some water weight. 

We waited to eat until after weigh-in because kenny had to be sure to be in light weight and it was awful close. Dinner was a very nice Indian Buffett. I never had indian food before and I have to say that even though the flavors were foreign to me, I really liked about half of the things they offered. I didn't over eat, which is usually hard for me at a buffett. I guess it is hard for everyone because as I sat, my tummy warm and full, everyone kept getting more food. I started to get picked on (freindly) that I could eat something, until Sensei K told them to leave me be. I think it is hard for people who don't struggle with weight to understand.

Nerves, Nerves, and more Nerves

 Tonight we had our last full contact training before the World's on Saturday. It was supposed to be an easy night. We did some sparring. It started light. Sensei Kris and I were sparring, probably 30% power. Then Kenny and I sparred and it started at 30%. Kenny is so hyped up. Slowly the power got turned up to about 80%, by him. I was still trying to keep the power down but defending myself, I turned it up too. The last 30 seconds hurt. When Kenny and Sensei sparred it was almost a fight.

Kenny is all about a certain technique. I can't say what it is because I don't want to give away any inside info right yet. But I have to say it is a very nice technique, but a fighter has to use a technique when it is an open option rather then trying it until you succeed. It was his downfall at his last fight. He was just looking for the opportunity to show his awesome skill, that he got beat with basics.

Speeding to the World Championship

Time is VERY short. I only made the final decision last week that I was going to fight at the upcoming world championship.

How could I not fight? Many people train for years for this opportunity. In my dojo, most people have a couple of years of semi-contact fighting before going to full contact. I am lucky enough, at my advanced age, to find a talent that I never even dreamed that I would have. I still have tons of talent polishing to do.

Last May at the US Open, I 'knew' I was getting a butt whopping before I got on the mat. I 'knew' I was going to lose and just prayed that I wouldn't embarrass the dojo and my teachers. I was so scared. I was determined that, even though I would probably lose, that the women were going to have to work for their victory. I wound up winning first place and my first trophy ever.

Sabaki (Fight) Class

On Monday in class we trained our front snap kick. I know, basic, right? I needed to work on it. All the fancy kicks in the world won't win a fight like a well placed front snap kick to the face.

We paired up and our 'opponent' was to come at us with a punch or a kick and our job was to shuffle step back to get out of the way. Then we were to shuffle forward again and deliver a front snap kick to the belly. I worked with Ryan P.

Ryan was the guy who gave me my first bruise, way back when. When I first started karate, I didn't know my own strength, so I would fight hard. I have since learned that all white belts are scary. You don't know what they can and will do. They will either fly off the handle trying to take your head off or be so timid you have to remind them to fight. I was the first one.

Indian Leg Wrestling

Kata Class

Wednesday was kata class. I usually like kata class, especially just after belt tests. After belt tests we do not do the physical fitness. I don't mind working out. Heck I am always doing something, but I like doing the other stuff so much more.

My youngest daughter is now a cheerleader. She cheered her first game on Wednesday. So cute. She is in 8th grade and this is her first time in school for 4 years. She is doing great with it too. Already she is making tons of friends. Boys are chasing her, and the best part, she is telling them NO! Big W00T! for that.

8th Annual United States Kyokushin Open Part 2 First Fight

All the fighters were summond to the warm up room where we were lined up for our divisions. The women were line up last. First called was Amy, then a woman from Canada, with a yellow belt. Woodrena would be up next, and then I. The yellow belt jumped out of line. She said she was to fight semi-contact, not full. They quickly found a partner for her to fight.

My first match was against Woodrina. She was a big woman, a very nice woman, but scary all the same. I had spoke to her earlier when the kids were sparring. She was a down to business kind of person. A lawyer with two kids. Her kids were good kids too. They were well behaved and respectful. She was very nice and seemed to have her life put together well. When I grow up I would like to be as confident and as well put together as that lady. I'd like to be as scary too!

8th Annual United States Kyokushin Open Part 1

Friday night when I was supoosed to be sleeping, i was online writting for this blog. I couldn't sleep. I wasn't tired. Then about 11:30 I was done writting and checked all my usual pages for the latest news. I decided to get on facebook. I was checking status updates and was about to play poker when Sensei got online and starts yelling at me, ALL CAPS. Go to bed, she screams. 'Osu Sensei!', I reply.

I slept rather well for what I was going to do. Fighting in the US Open as a first full contact fight. Someone remind me, what was I thinking?

I had looked up Amy's fights in the Ligo Dojo website. She is crazy scary. She made it three rounds in the world's tournament. I didn't know for sure who else I was fighting so I couldn't research that.