In my humble opinion, tournament fighting is a tool used to compare yourself against other arts in a controlled environment. Tournament fighting should be agreed upon by both Instructor and Student. I've been studying martial arts for 29 of my 33 years. I would not push any of my students into participating in a tournament until they are ready. Even then, As an instructor, my students must be placed through "tournament fighting school" prior to participating in any tournament. I agree with Drunken Monkey who made mention of "In House" Tournaments and given the "politics" involved participating in these In House tournaments result in favoritism by some (not all) judges.
