Again, yes!

This upcoming Sunday I am going to compete again in sparring. I am not expecting any medals or wins, but I am expecting a good experience. I am looking for elite fighters that can knock me around and challenge me, make new friends, and continue to train with them to better my skills. If you're going to get better, you have to spar people that are better than you! Not the ones who aren't up to par. You are not proving anything to yourself and not doing yourself any justice to always spar less experienced. To help them out, absolutely, but you have to better yourself!

I got a great experience at our first competition of the season. I won my first match for the bronze, then the silver medal match I sparred a competitor from Cairo, Egypt who kicked m in the neck and I was unable to continue. He was excellent, but I am unable to travel to Cairo several times a month to spar this individual. But it was a great experience nevertheless.

A few people think I am crazy for competing again this week. I ask WHY?! And all these people say "Because of what happened at the last competition!" Is that reason enough to not do another one? Just because I got hurt at the last competition means I shouldn't do another one? I don't understand the logic behind this? Why do we fall? So we can pick ourselves up.

We do not fail if we fall, but if we don't get up, THEN we fail. There is nothing embarrassing about it and when we allow ego to get into the way, we don't do ourselves justice. You don't have to act like the best, but you have to do your damn best. I am looking forward to sparring again this weekend. Not for the medal, but for the experience and the new contacts. This competition was actually my very first competition I ever did nine years ago back in 2002. I DO have a goal though for next year. I want to become a Garden State Cup champion! That is my goal for next year's competition. It is something I always wanted to achieve since I was 13. I never worked for it, but now I am putting it out there.

I competed at the Garden State Cup four times and won three golds and one silver. I am not expecting anything this year, but next year, I wanna come home with the title belt. So experience is required along it training. So even more of a reason to take advantage of going to this competition this year. So does that make me crazy? if so, then I AM CRAZY! =P

Yours in service,
ANDREW TRENTO