This past Saturday Ricardo and I headed to Chicago for the 34th annual Illinois Shotokan Karate Club awards banquet. We do a lot of business with these guys for karate tournaments, competing with them at International tournaments, and of course through friendships as well. It was a semi formal event so we put on our best and headed out for the night. Ricardo was recognized on their multimedia shows and got a super cool International Competetor award with the rest of the ISKC team which was so super nice of them. The Booster Club handed out over $100,000 in funds that night ranging from travel scholarships to actual college scholarships. We even got to hear a presentation from a man from Haiti which was really neat. There were a lot of important people there from around the globe like the CEO of USNKF, folks from the Olympic Committee, World Champions, etc. I was super excited because I finally go to meet a lot of the people that Ricardo knows and hang out with them. There were two wives that we hung out with and I believe by the end of the night we were good friends. I can't wait to see them again very soon! We all got to joke about how our lives revolve around karate and how everytime we travel it's for karate. Many people don't understand or realize the sacrifice that US athletes make both financially and with family time. Being a pro athlete is time consuming, hard on your body, and takes a lot of time away from family. Ricardo tries really hard to find a good balance and for the most part I think we have it down pretty good. I am really proud of him and all he has accomplished since opening the school 3 1/2 years ago. Karate is a great sport and serves a lot of people in many ways. Hopefully this coming September we'll be heading to the Shotokan World Championships in London. Ricardo is supposed to compete with is buddies from Illinois again and I can't wait for that event!
