First Tournament...

[traz]

Hey guys, I'm signed up for my first tournament and its happening in just under 2 weeks. I study Hapkido, and I"m in 2 divisions. One is a point sparring competition with SKITA rules, and the other is a continous fight with no face punches, with WKC rules.

 

Basically, I'm nervous because I've never been in a tournaments and I"m not sure what to expect. Does anyone have any pointers? Anything to be weary of? Anything in general?

 

Thanks guys!

[vertigo]

Bring the energy

 

This seemed to be the biggest point for me in my tournament. Give it your all, and that is all you can ask of yourself

[ramymensa]

Make sure you don't get injured previously. Some people have this "luck". Try to train intense, but don't kill yourself, you cannot perform miracles in 2 weeks, but you can surely break something in the meantime.

 

Try to be relaxed and confident. You are there because you know something, so start from this. In the days left, try to have your instructor work with you the best and weakest points so that you'll be prepared.

 

And never foget to have fun

[cathal]

Attitude is the key. If you let yourself get too nervous you could overthink; which you want to avoid. Be calm, breathe, do a few extra warm-up techniques to get your heart pumping.

 

Also pay close attention to the instructions, be aware of how you are asked to approach the area, opponents, bow, etc. and if you make a mistake shrug it off and keep going. Try not to grimmace or huff or stop and shake your head...just keep on truckin

[Kicks]

Make sure you don't get injured previously.

 

LOL, that's my trademark. It seems that I always go into tournaments pre-injured. I always joke and say "Why wait till the tournament to get injured. Get it over with now."

 

It's funny because when people see me limping that say "Oh, is there a tournament coming up?"

[cathal]

Now I'm gonna think that every time I stub my toe.

[traz]

Just thought I'd let you guys know how it went since you were nice enough to reply

 

I was in 2 divisions...point sparring and continous (which turned out to include full face contact).

 

In the point sparring, I got first, however it was a relatively small division. I still got gold though, so I'm happy

 

The Continous full contact sparring didn't go quite so well. In both my fights, I was pitted against higher belts and larger opponents, but I was still definitely outclassed as a fighter. However, I gave them a good run and landed some solid shots. Other than a bloody lip and some slight pain at the base of my nose, I walked away ok. I lost both fights, but it just means I'll have to train harder!

 

All in all I'm glad I went, I gave it my all and made some new friends. I must say, going with other members from my school really brought us closer, there was a definite sense of "family" and pride, as if we were a unit. It was cool heh. I also learned a great deal, gained valuable experience, and had a great time

[ravenzoom]

Hey thanks for letting us know. I'm happy for your gold medal, and you seem to take our defeats positevely, that is a very good point

[cathal]

Attitude is very important.