I attended and competed in the 2021 Best of the Best tournament today. 

The new arm and leg protective gear that I have fashioned worked well, they did not hinder my movements that I could discern and protected me well enough, though the thighs need additional work (they were incompletely padded and the sports shorts I used have padding only in area targeted for their original intended sport).

My win to loss ratio was pretty standard for me, which is to say, not particularly improved despite all the additional training. I anticipate this will be an issue in my Silver Chain test. After two decades of fighting largely defensively, it is very difficult to change my patterns and responses, it will take a lot more work, and a lot more sparring.

In addition to my 38 tournament matches (19 opponents twice), I got in another 25 bokken matches afterword before I had to stop due to finger injury. Unfortunately, 20 of the matches (10 with Danny, 10 with James) are unlogged and captured on camera at extreme distance, so outcomes will be difficult to determine. The last (roughly) 5 with with Requiem and I had an up close camera for record.