He is my son

I am capable of doing one thing at a time, doing it well, and then moving on. Much to Lynley's chagrin, this is just how I am built. It is all fine and dandy if you are a multitasker. I can do that as well but, when you get right down to it, at my best, at my most efficient, I do one thing. Over the years I have gotten much better at multitasking. In fact, at any one point in time, I am juggling 5 or 6 projects. However, that has been a long time in coming and, if I had my druthers, I would still be doing 1 thing at a time.

Last weekend we kind of had a surprise national qualifier for the AAU National Tae Kwon Do Championship. The AAU is another national Tae Kwon Do organization. It competes directly with USAT which is the sponsor of most of the tournaments we normally play. In Tae Kwon Do there are these two major groups vying for international dominance. The sparring rules between the two groups are different but essentially everything else is the same. It is kind of like the NFL and the old USFL, one will eventually dominate but, until then, we have a choice.

Regardless, last weekend we had the opportunity to compete in the regional qualifier in Addison. We felt that given Graham's performance in the last few tournaments it might be good to get some more sparring under our belt.

It was a good idea.

Graham dominated all of his bouts. By the end of the day he would fight 3 times and win each handily. He won gold and earned his spot at the National Championships in Fort Lauderdale.

So, what happened?

It wasn't complicated. It fact, it was just the opposite. Graham was told to do one thing. That was it, over and over, and that is exactly what Graham did. He spent every moment of the fight repeating a cover punch, kick, clench routine.

Over and over. Cover punch, kick, clench. Cover punch, kick, clench. Cover punch, kick, clench.

He blew the competition away and don't think they were pushovers either. With the exception of the gold medalist from the USAT Texas Championship, his competition on Saturday was equal or better than any we have been up against.

He was the difference. There was no hopping around like a little bunny rabbit. There was no cluelessness. He was on a mission and he knew exactly what to do. It seems as though, as Graham has advanced and gained more skills, he has just become more confused. With all of his newly found weapons he just never knew what to use. He couldn't do the math on the fly and figure out which combination to throw.

So, we erased all of that. Adrian gave him just one thing.

His mind cleared and he dominated.

Now, I don't know how Graham will fair at the National Championships or the Junior Olympics given the level of competition at those levels. I honestly don't know whether he will be able to get away with throwing this simple combination over and over. However, it certainly was nice to see him back in his element. And, I can tell you this for sure, I would rather see him lose due to being out played rather than because he spent 3 minutes hopping around the ring waiting to be kicked.

In the end, it was very easy for me to understand. His mind is simple, just like his dad's.

He can do one thing at a time, he can do it very well, and then he can move on.

It is the intensity, the focus, and the singularity of purpose which makes the difference.