Gabriel's second judo tournament was in Vire.
He was SO excited about going. He had a taste of it last time, so he knew what to expect, and he most definitely wanted more of the same.
He had four matches. He won the first three, and handily, too. In the fourth match, the opponent got Gabriel down on his back early on. And was able to keep him there for the 15 seconds. (That's a first.) In the rest of the match, Gabriel dominated clearly. He even got two Nippons on the opponent (the throwing down in one swift motion), but Gabriel forgot to finish the job, and keep the guy down. So, the decision in the end was for the opponent, since he did have Gabriel on his back during the match (for more than a few seconds, but not for 15 seconds!), and Gabriel did not finish off his Nippons, which would have given him the win.
I just love watching Gabriel's two Nippons (his firsts ever). They are fantastic! Check them out. Nippons are the highest sort of win you can have, and what true Judo fans go to see.
Natalya and I were really curious what Gabriel's reaction would be the first time he would lose. And, it turns out he was funnily surprised. As if he didn't get it at first; which he genuinely seemed not to.
"I lost?"
["J'ai pas gagner?"]
He seemed to think, in his innocent, child-like way, that it was automatic you win every time.
The video is fun. It shows the real Gabriel. Happy with kids, happy with sport. Happy with physical sport.
He had so much fun, and was smiles and giggles all day.
*Gabriel's Second Judo Tournament*