First Competition

[GojuGal]

I will be going to my first tournament soon and I'm a bit nervous about it. I will only be competing in kata, nothing else.

Is there any advice you all can give me? Thanks in advance!!

[obiwansbane]

first tourney? yay good luck!

my first bit of advice, go in every division possible, its best to lose the fear and gain confidence at a lower level because if it was say ure first sparring tourney in the blue - brown division ud be going against people with 3 years or so of tourney experience and its quite intimidating... (well at least i seemed to scare all of the new blue belts that entered my division)

as for your kata, try and visualize a fight as you go through the steps and look at where you block and strike as if you have a target in mind. DO NOT LOOK AT YOUR FEET WHILE GOING THROUGH THE KATA! This is something i find that is very common, and its bad, especially when ure trying to present a form. It shows the judges (who dont know you) lack of confidence, and no true understanding of what you are doing while executing a kata.

And lastly, if you mess up, or forget a step, DO NOT STOP THE KATA! Improvise and add in your own few steps for about 3 or 4 techniques and if you dont remember the rest after that throw one last technique with a nice strong KIAI to make it look like you have found the ending of ure kata and then finish, Bow, etc w/e the etiquette at your tourney is.

Okay a lied, not lastly... when presenting yourself to the judges, i have seen people yell out their presentation, and when it was done to me one tournament i wasnt very impressed by the participant. The yelling is not necessary. Walk into the ring with confidant strides, bow no more than like 30 degrees (so if ure hip was a vertex your body would make no less than a 150 degree angle) and then present yourself to the judges in a normal volume voice, that oozes as much confidence as you can muster into it. NO FIGETTING, SHUFFLING YOUR FEET, OR SHIFTING YOUR WEIGHT FROM ONE FOOT TO ANOTHER AT ALL!

Once you have presented yourself bow, step back, and do your kata. once your done and have been scored etc. and are told to leave and someone else is called in, bow to that person also, and then go and take a seat to watch the rest of the katas.

best of luck to you and i hope this helped you out!

[patusai]

Try to relax before the competition. Good luck

[bushido_man96]

Make sure to practice your form in every direction possible, and in different environments, if at all possible. Many times, students will practice their forms in the school, facing the same way each time. When they get into a different environment, they tend to freeze, because of the lack of familiararity of the surroundings.

Also important, breath deep and relax.

Good luck to you! Let us know how you do.

[lordtariel]

If you're doing sparring, make sure you finish your techniques strong. That's not to say you need to kiai after every hit, but just keep it sharp and pull back into guard rather than just keeping your arm out there. Also, make sure you're doing some combos... don't just throw one technique at a time.

As for kata, it's pretty much all been stated already. It's all in the attitude and technique. Go out there with confidence, preform like you own that kata, even if you don't. And don't sacrifice technique for speed. A slow, strong kata will beat out a fast sloppy one any time.

Above all else... relax and enjoy yourself. Meet people from other dojos and get to know them. It's always fun to compete or train with new people. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[GojuGal]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I'll have to come in and tell you all how I do. I'm still a bit nervous about it, but it will be what it will be.

Thanks again!!

[MisterRadley]

The others have given some great advice. Good luck!

[Symphony-x]

my advice: practice infront of people, get used to an atmosphere, practice, if you can, infront of a mirrow. practice your kata in different directions.

get someone to video you and watch it back, so u can see problem areas

[DWx]

I'd say presentation is everything.

Look confident and the judges will be confident in you. Plus if everyone else sees you calm and collect, they think you're a pro and sometimes get intimidated.

When you walk on, stride on like you have the right to be there (but don't give the impression that you're arrogant). Don't shout but speak loudly and clearly enough so that they hear you.

Make sure your gi is clean, no creases, belt tied correctly. If you feel the urge to straighten it after your kata, wait until the judges tell you to relax and then turn away and straighten it.

After the showing the correct image of yourself, its all down to your own technique.

Good luck!!!

[armanox]

Once again, relax. Also, if you mess up a kata, keep going as though the mistake was supposed to be there. Look confident. Keep you kata timings good - some parts are meant to be slow, others fast.