Just like Sempai Jimmy Galanopoulos and Sempai Alex Katigbak did before her, it was now time for Sempai Kimm Carrière to fight at the international level.  As Sensei John remarked, Sempai Kimm did not get to this point overnight.  This was the culmination of hard disciplined training and participation in countless tournaments since the tender age of 9.  In the last few years, Sempai Kimm has been ramping up her fighting skills with many hours of extra training to supplement her regular classes at the dojo.  This has been paying dividends at the local level, so it was only logical to test herself on a bigger stage.  For her first foray into international knockdown competition, Sensei John chose the 2014 Diamond Cup in Antwerp, Belgium.

Here's a shot of Sensei John and Sempai Kimm at Trudeau airport as we were waiting for our SwissAir flight.  Funny to see them walk into the airport terminal side by side, dressed in the same dojo jackets, sit down beside each other and cross their legs in the same direction at the same time.  On the plane, they even got up at the same time to go to the rest room!  I guess they've been training together for so long now that they do everything as a team.  I joked with Sensei that their cycles are going to be synchronized soon if he's not careful.  :-)  Scary.

Thursday morning, 6:40 AM Brussels time!  Finally got into the glitchy wifi in our hotel in Brussels.  Sempai Em and I met Sensei John and Sempai Kimm at the airport and flew over to Zurich together.  In Zurich, we took separate connections to Brussels.  Sensei and Kimm are staying with our good friend Sensei Bert Janssens until the tournament on Saturday (I believe Sensei Bert will be competing in kata...maybe he'll be in the same category as Sempai Dave? :-)).  Em and I met up with Sempais Tony and Dave in Brussels...they took separate flights in.  We're staying at a hotel near the Brussels city centre so we can explore the sites on foot.  Love the architecture and multiculturalism.  Very cool how everyone switches instantly between English, French, German, Flemish, Arabic, Spanish, etc.  Love the accents (wonder what they think of our Canadian accents, eh? :-)).  So far, everyone we've interacted with speak (Parisian) French primarily (with a touch of a Flemish/German accent?).  Very accommodating to tourists...many went out of their way switching languages to help us out with directions, etc.  After a short nap to recharge, and an awesome Belgian beer in the hotel bar, we went out for a nice dinner at a local Italian restaurant called Fornostar.  Oishi desu (delicious)!  The 2 bottles of wine and jet lag definitely helped us sleep and adapt to our new time zone.  Hope everyone is having a good week at home (and continuing to train hard).  Until the next update...Osu.

We met up with John Sensei, Kimm Sempai and Bert Sensei for lunch today at the Grand Place, a huge community square in the heart of the city surrounded by tall, unbelievably majestic, old-world buildings.  We enjoyed some more incredible Belgian beer and assorted lunch specialties (including some delectable lamb), but felt guilty because Sempai Kimm could not partake. :-(  She has to ensure she makes weight for the tournament...all I can say is that Sempai Kimm is crazy disciplined (not to worry, she had Belgian sausages and sauerkraut for dinner later on :-)).  In support, Sensei John is not imbibing either until the tournament is over.  Something tells me both of them are going to get pretty "ugly" at the sayonara party after the tournament. :-)  After lunch, Bert Sensei took us for a walking tour of the city including the royal palace where we watched the changing of the guard.  Unbelievably picturesque and beautiful city.  Unfortunately those photos are on my big camera so I won't be able to post them until I get back.  Meanwhile I can share a couple that Sempai Em took this afternoon on her phone.  Tomorrow we head off to Antwerp where the Diamond Cup is taking place.  Say hi to everyone at the dojo for us.  Will post when I can. Osu!

A panorama of the Grand Place and a saliva-inducing photo of some world famous Belgian waffles! :-P

Thursday, June 19 (Belgium time)

OK, couldn't resist, one last photo before I get some shut-eye for tomorrow.  Here's a hilarious shot of Sempai Tony as he spontaneously crashed a boisterous celebration by the Columbian fans on the streets of Brussels after their team won their soccer game that night.  Unfortunately after they figured out he wasn't Columbian, he got a severe beating and had to hobble back to the hotel (kidding :-)).  Never knew Sempai Tony liked to "par-teh" so much. :-)

A shot of our intrepid, world-traveller, pro-photographer, Sempai Dave, as we headed towards the metro in Brussels to leave for Antwerp this morning.  As per his Kyokushin training, his suitcase was full of bricks.

We're on the train from Brussels to Antwerp now.  Mistakenly sat down in 1st class.  Got kicked out of 1st class and moved into 2nd class....which looks EXACTLY THE SAME (including the AC outlets beside each seat so we could plug in our rechargers). :-)  A Belgian lady smiled at us and assured us that there was slightly less space between seats.  We couldn't tell the difference. :-)

A shot of the north entrance to Antwerpen Centraal Station and a panorama of the square that borders it.  Hopefully meeting Anna, Sylvain and Niki tonight for dinner (after they finish training at Sensei Bert's dojo).

Tonite's "WIK/KDL Trip To The Diamond Cup" blog entry is entitled: "It's A Small World". :-)

One final photo before tomorrow's event.  As you can see, things got a little "animated" as we exited the restaurant to head back to our hotels. :-)  Well John Sensei always says that Kyokushin is about training hard AND partying hard.  As I mentioned near the beginning of this trip, I suspect the sayonara party after the tournament is going to be completely nuts! :-)  Hope everyone is doing well at home.  If they have wifi at the tournament venue, I'll try to post live updates tomorrow.  Osu!

Ok...a little too much partying last night, so Sempai Tony, Sempai Em, Niels and myself got up late.  On top of that, we took a taxi driven by a Chechnyan man who had no idea where the Arenahal was!  So we ended up being dropped off at the WRONG sports arena.  After our efforts to gain access were stymied, Niels consulted the GPS on his phone and figured out that we were at the wrong venue.  So we got back into the taxi whereupon the taxi driver called his dispatch centre and got the proper directions.  FINALLY we arrived!  The rest of the WIK/KDL contingent had already draped a big Canadian flag in front of our seating section and some of the more rabid WDL/KDL fans (Em, Niki and Niels) proceeded to do some face-painting to show their support for Sempai Kimm.  Shihan Marc Van Walleghem is here too!  After a little conversation to catch-up, he dragged me to the in-house bar for the Duvel that he promised me when he was in Montreal 2 weeks ago.  9% alcohol in a tasty blonde beer...them's potent suds! :-)  So please forgive me for any typos and shaky pics/videos. :-D  Anyway we're on lunch break before they present the finals of the mens and womens "cadet" divisions (juniors...17-21 years).  After that, the adults have at it!  Can't wait!

The field of battle....

Sensei John with the other coaches for the review of the rules...

I'm rushing off to the post-tournament Sayonara Party, so this will be a quick entry.  For those of you who missed the live stream of Sempai Kimm's fight, she unfortunately lost in the first round to a very tough Spanish fighter who eventually won the entire division.  They were very evenly matched and went to an extension, but Kimm lost the decision to the Spanish fighter after the first extension.  Regardless, we were all very proud of her!  She did an awesome job...as did Sempai Dave who got his first taste of competition at the international level as well.  Osu!  Well done guys!  By comparison, Bert Sensei was the veteran and we were happy to see him perform some beautiful katas as well (Sempai Dave had to compete against him).  Osu!  More details tonight (if I can still type straight after the Sayonara Party :-)).

2 AM Antwerp time...back from the Sayonara Party.  First...more details re. Sempai Kimm's fight.  There were 7 girls total in the lightweight women's division.  Kimm drew arguably the toughest girl in her division for her first international fight.  Like Kimm, the Spanish fighter was tough and quick.  The first (3 minute) round was initially fought at a controlled pace.  Kimm used her smooth footwork to dictate the timing of each engagement.  They traded hard body shots and loud kicks to each other's legs throughout the round.  Sempai Kimm tried for the knockout twice with well-executed jodan ushiro mawashi geris, taking her opponent by surprise both times, but didn't make good enough contact to put the Spanish fighter down for the count.  Consequently the judges unanimously called the first round a tie.  The second (2 min) round started in much the same way as the first, but each fighter started to increase the intensity of the strikes.  Kimm would dish out quick flurries of punches versus her opponent's shorter bursts of power shots.  Sempai Kimm tried for a jodan hiza geri, but drew a warning for grabbing because she momentarily put her hand on the back of her opponent's shoulder.  Unfortunately that penalty, plus perhaps the fact that her opponent was busier kicking-wise, cost Sempai Kimm the fight by split decision.  Despite the outcome, Sempai Kimm was in good spirits and knew that she had given it her all and learned a lot from this initial experience at the international level.  Sensei and her entire group of supporters watching from the stands (which included her mom, Debbie, and her dad, Sempai Alain) were all extremely proud of her.  She trained extremely diligently to earn this trip and did her utmost on the tatami.  Well done Kimm Sempai!  You did your entire dojo very proud and you represented West Island Karate / Karate de L'Ile with distinction.  Osu!  It was a true pleasure to watch you compete at this level.  Awesome job!

Ok...on to the most important part of the whole trip to Belgium...the Sayonara Party!!! :-D  After all the hard training, disciplined diet and numerous other sacrifices, it was time for Sempai Kimm to finally let loose!  After a fattening, carb-loaded pasta dinner (which Kimm threw down like a hefty truck driver in a damned hurry eating at a truck stop), the Belgian beer started to flow and the music and dancing got underway.  Of all people, Debbie (Sempai Kimm's mom) encouraged everyone to get on the dance floor and join the other competitors in their huge celebration.  That's all it took for Kimm to take to the dance floor with her mom, Anna, Niki, Sempai Em AND Sensei Bert and shake what their mommas gave them.  The energy level was insane and it was nice to see Kimm so relaxed and care-free.  The place really went nuts when the DJ played "Selfie", so of course Kimm grabbed a handy cell phone to take selfies of themselves as they danced the night away under the flashing DJ lighting. :-)

Not to be outdone by his student, a certain COACH spontaneously jumped on to the dance floor and did some celebrating of his own.  Yup, this is a shot of John Sensei BUSTING A MOVE!!!  Never thought I'd see the day.  And all it took was a plane ticket to Belgium to see it!  Well that's the end of our strange and wonderful trip to the 2014 Diamond Cup in Antwerp, Belgium.  We're all getting together one last time as a group tomorrow before we split up (some of us are heading home, some of us are travelling to other destinations in Europe).  We're going to have a late lunch and watch Belgium play at the World Cup tomorrow...I'm sure the action in the city is going to be nuts!  Hope everyone at home is doing well.  Take care and we'll see you soon.  Osu!

This blog entry is not really about the tournament, but it was such a ridiculously fun day today that I felt compelled to share it with you guys back home.  WIK/KDL had our own "sayonara party" today by meeting up in Grote Markt in old Antwerp...another absolutely beautiful and expansive community square similar to Grand Place in Brussels.  We were joined by our good friend Sensei Bert Janssens who suggested the location.  He's a big soccer fan and knew that they would setup a giant screen in front of the Antwerpen City Hall to broadcast today's match between his beloved Belgium national team, the Red Devils, and Russia.  He also knew that the free outdoor broadcast would be attended by THOUSANDS of rabid Belgian fans.  We setup camp at an Irish pub situated on the edge of Grote Markt facing the screen (you can see Sensei John in his orange shirt at the bottom of the middle photo below if you look carefully).  The square was relatively empty when we got there at around 3 pm, but filled up quickly as game time (6 pm) approached.  The sea of people was a truly awe-inspiring sight and almost everyone was adorned in the colors of Belgium's flag: black, yellow and red.  The positive energy and anticipation of the crowd was infectious!

Our good friend, Sensei Bert Janssens, was very generous with his time and spent a few days showing us around Belgium while we were there.  Our trip would not have been half as much fun without his company, humor and unique energy.  After we watched the soccer game together in Antwerp, he posted this very kind note on Facebook:

After returning home, Sensei John posted a Facebook message regarding Sempai Kimm's experience at the Diamond Cup (she was still touring Europe at the time).  He obviously wanted everyone to appreciate what it took for Sempai Kimm to get to this point in her Kyokushin development.  Sensei's pride was evident in his words.