Nervous about big Tourney

[Steinhauers]

Hello,

 

I'm a 19 year old Blue Belt in Shotokan Karate. But maybe soon I will be promoted to a Green Belt. I'm really nervous about going to this big World Wide Karate Tourney in Hawiee. My Sensei asked me to go and I agreed. I've never been to compete before, I'm not sure how many events that I will be doing but I know forsure that I will be doing open hand kata ( Kanku Dia ), weapons kata ( techimini no dia ) (SP?), and Kumite. There will be people from all around the world that have been training in martial arts for their whole life compared to my 8 months that I have been in karate. I have advanced and picked up alot of things faster then everyone else in my dojo and sensei wouldn't have picked me if he didn't think I could do it. I'm training pretty hard right now and it's not until the week of june 22nd. I almost know the katas and after that I will perfect them. I still need work on my kumite but I fight against black belts all the time and I don't think I do to bad against them.

 

Could you give any advance to what I will be doing, will I be fighting and competing against higher ranked people if so how high. If it's alot higher then me I'm going to have to train much harder I feel. Just any info would help me!

 

Thanks,

 

Seth

 

Would anyone else be going to this tourney? If so e-mail me at steinhauers@adelphia.net I wouldn't mind meeting some people while I'm there.

[ramymensa]

If your sensei said you should go, it means he's sure you can hold yourself.

 

About kata. You must KNOW them not almost know Practice them zillion times and only them you'll be able to perform OK (remember it's a competition and you'll be over emotional ... they must be a second nature.) Perform only the katas you've done for months, not one you've recently learnt. You could win a competition even with a Heian Shodan, if it's perfomed perfect (has happened).

 

At kumite ... spar frequently and have sensei look and give advice, you can't do wonder in days, but at least get rid of some bad habbits

 

And ... be confident and it will be OK. Tell us how it went.

 

GOOOOOOOOOOOD LUCK

[aefibird]

Wow, your Sensei must think a lot of you to pick you for a big comp, especially if it will be your first ever comp!

 

If you get the chance, then see if you can go to a few other competitions before hand. This will help you to see what competition set up is like (lots of all-day waiting about for 5 minutes of action ) and give you a chance to try your hand at kata and kumite in a competition environment before you go to the big tourney.

 

As for your kata, as Ramymensa said, you MUST MUST MUST know the katas that you're going to perform. Remember too, if you get past the first round you might have to know 2 or more kata for both weapons and empty hand categories. Only go with kata that you are confident with and know 'inside out'. For competitions you have to 'over learn' your kata because you'll probably be nervous when you actually stand up in the comp to perform it. The kata should come as second nature to you. It doesn't have to be the fanciest, flashiest kata in the world to be a category winner, either. When I was a 5th kyu I entered a kata competition and won it with Heian Sandan. A couple of the other competitors (we were all kyu grades) did black belt kata - you could see that they wern't comfortable with it and had only picked that particular kata to try and impress the judges with their knowledge of kata.

 

As for kumite, keep on practicing and try and get some heavy bag work in if possible. If you do a lot of aearobic fitness work and streching that will also help your sparring. Try and work on areas where you know you have a weakness (eg if you favour one leg for kicking with, try and work the other leg).

 

Regarding who you'll be up against - the best person to ask about that is your sensei. There is different organisation of categorties for different events. The first competition I went to the ladies section were all grouped together - kyu and dan grades all in one category. The next comp I went to was totally different with different categories for different kyu grades (eg, 10, 9 & 8 kyu together; 7, 6,& 5 kyu together; 4, 3, 2 & 1 kyu together and another category for dan grades).

 

As for going to the tourney... I'd LOVE to! Anyone got a few thousand pounds they'd like to donate to me so I can go????

[Rich_2k3]

Cash or cheque ?

[aefibird]

Ah, whatever, I'm not fussy!!!

 

(doesn't even have to be in UK£ either, can't ya tell I'm desparate for some cash?? *sigh* There's never enough month left at the end of the money...)

[The Saint]

Train harder than you'll have to fight at the tournament is a word of advise someone told me sometime ago. Be confident in your abilites and you will do fine. When it comes to Katas, If i were in your shoes, I would try and perfert you most difficult Kata and do it zillions of times. Eat right, train hard and you'll do well, good luck

[tommarker]

I find a shot or two of Wild Turkey loosens me up before a competition

 

Oh... Don't drink kids.. it's bad, mmkay

[Gumbi]

Always remember that going into any tournament, you're not the only one experiencing these emotions- you're nervous, but so is your opponent. Had alot of fights to get to the finals, so you're tired, but so is your opponent.

 

Before I fight in a tournament, I never watch anyone else's fights, so as to avoid getting caught up in the excitement. I go to the corner, warm up, and relax.

[aefibird]

Before I fight in a tournament, I never watch anyone else's fights, so as to avoid getting caught up in the excitement. I go to the corner, warm up, and relax.

 

Good advice. It can be really off-putting to watch other people spar or perform forms or whatever. Sometimes it can get people into a negative mindset, such as "OMG, those guys are really good, much better than me. I bet my opponent is at least as good as they are!" Keeping out of the way in a quiet corner until it is time to do your stuff is a good way of keeping relaxed but focused on what's coming.