Advice Needed: What rank should I use in competition?

[marie curie]

Ok, so I'm going to a tournament December 4, and I dont know what to fight as...

I did Ko Sutemi Seiei Kan for four years when I was younger (age 11 through 14) and earned the rank of san kyu (first degree brown belt of three). I have a good deal of knowledge and skill from that system, but as it has been a while my reflexes arent what they used to be and I'm rusty on a good number of the techniques.

I recently started another striking art, Kajukenbo, which is very very different, using a lot less traditional methods and a lot more practical self-defence. By the time the tournament comes along I will still be a white belt, and will have been training for about 6 months in this art. Because of this, I'm re-developing my fighting skills and reflexes.

Also, in the past couple of years, I did a semester of Olympic Style Tae Kwon Doe at school and a semester of Kung Fu while I was studying abroad in China, as well as about a year and a half of Judo and a some of Brazillian Jiu Jitsu starting this term.

Obviously, my fighting will be comming along a bit more quickly than that of other white belts since I have done it before in class weekly as well as in tournaments.

The Problem:

Kajukenbo doesn't have it's own tournaments, but there is an open karate tournament at my school in December that some people are going to. I can't very well just make up a middle rank to fight at (intermediate division). It seems wrong to enter a karate tournament as a white belt when I have fought in karate tournaments as a brown belt, especially since everyone else in my division will have payed and trained to fight other people with similar experience. Similarly, for advanced people, they wont be getting the fight they paid for.

The divisions are:

Novice (less than one year of experience division)

Intermediate (1-2 years of experience)

Advanced (people with >2yrs experience)

Masters (for masters)

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[P.A.L]

based on what you mentioned and the fact that you been in tournoment you fit in Advanced group or intermediate group, if this is a open karate tournoment and you will spar in point system go with advanced or inter. if it's a kyukushin system go with Novice. for kata go with novice anyway.

[Red J]

Well for the fighting I would say white belt is out of the question. You have 2 plus years so you should do the advanced grouping or the intermediate if you have been out for a long time.

[marie curie]

Thanks! I talked to my instructors about this yesterday and he said that he would put me in the intermediate division.

[shogeri]

I say, go in as what you are, a white belt.

You have no idea the amount of experience or lack of experience someone else might have.

Rank and or Belt Color mean little or nothing, save for the person (system/school) who have them the rank in the first place.

I fight combatively. I am older. On the street, I consider myself somewhat effective in many things.

I was heavy into research back then, as I was on the thresh-hold of developing my own Martial Way.

However, I wanted to finished (and start) with a bang, so decided to go to a tourney. I was flexible, but not in cardiovascular shape. I wasn't at the top of my tournament game.

My point sparring was weak. My kata, excellent.

I held two Black Belts, and have taken several other miscellaneous styles along the way.

For giggles, I was even taking TKD with my 8 year old at the time.

I fought at a lower rank, after being out of the circuit for almost a decade.

However, the person I fought admitted to being an orange belt for about two years, and was one the circuit for five. He was a decade younger than I.

Needless to say, he won fighting. I won forms/kata.

So again, we come to the proven fact, that rank means nothing.

Quality AND quantity of time put in, is what counts. That is, if you are point fighter, then train for points.

If not, then continue with what you are doing, and do not mix the two, as it can be confusing.

Also, if you fight combatively, or as a street fighter might, then it's good to get a system of point sparring back under your belt.

If you win at white. Then the next one you go to, go as orange or yellow.

Then up the color again, and again. Until you get to Black. Never go up in rank or color unless you have won at the previous rank.

This builds confidence, and gives you a base line from which to gauge certain skill and technique in regards to a few point sparring principles.

Those are my thoughts...