First Competition

[GojuGal]

Well, I didn't win anything, but I had a great time. It was a wonderful experience, and now that I know what to expect, I'll definately be trying again next year.

Thanks for all the tips everyone! You really helped me get past the nerves.

[cathal]

Good job man. The first few tournaments are the most challenging because of the mix of emotions.

[lordtariel]

Great job anyway. Remember, you may not have placed first, but you placed higher than all those people who were too afraid to go. Glad you enjoyed yourself.

[poisendhearts]

what kata are you performing, or should i say what belt color are you

[bushido_man96]

Well, I didn't win anything, but I had a great time. It was a wonderful experience, and now that I know what to expect, I'll definately be trying again next year.

Thanks for all the tips everyone! You really helped me get past the nerves.

I am glad to hear that you had a good time. It is very important to enjoy yourself when you go to tournaments. Getting the experience is important as well. Now, you should have some ideas of what to work on in order to make your next trip more fun.

[baronbvp]

now that I know what to expect, I'll definately be trying again next year.

GojuGal, what did you learn?

[GojuGal]

Wow, baron, what did I learn? So much, it's hard to put it into words.

I learned that being surrounded by black belts isn't as scary as I thought it would be! Seriously, that was one of my biggest concerns. I was sure I would be intimidated by them and not feel like I was worthy. And although they were all very serious and focused on their judging, they were very nice, and very helpful.

I was also very concerned about letting down my Sensei. I was afraid that if I didn't perform well and bring home a medal that I would disappoint him, and that wasn't what happened at all. Although I'm sure he would have wanted me to win something, he was very pleased with my performance of the kata and had nothing but positive reinforcement and constructive critcism for me afterwards.

I learned that although I know the movements for the kata, I need to work at increasing my power and intensity as well as improving my stances. I need to really root myself in my stances. I need to find the proper candence in the kata, learn where the speed needs to be, and where the slower but powerful moves are. I learned that it's time for me to start breaking down the katas and really examining what the applications are for it. That way I can learn how to present it properly. It's not a matter of just knowing what stance, what punch, what block, comes next. It's knowing and visualizing why that stance, that punch, that block comes next.

Like I said, there's so much that I learned, I'm not sure I can put it into words properly. Explaining myself is not my strong suit!

It was very interesting, as well, watching all the other styles that were there. I knew there were differences between styles, but it was really neat to see how different they could be. I also very much enjoyed watching the weapons kata. That's not something we do, and I would love to learn.

It was a great experience, and one that I'm looking forward to repeating.

[baronbvp]

there's so much that I learned, I'm not sure I can put it into words properly. Explaining myself is not my strong suit!

I think you explained it VERY well! You obviously were paying attention. Well done, GojuGal.

Here's a tip: try doing your kata in a dark or dimly lit room. (Blindfolded can be too hard for balance reasons.) You'll be surprised how feeling them without seeing them will increase your understanding. I found it really works. I also do mine in front of a mirror. A particularly tricky part you can do frontward and backward and frontward again, to feel and watch the motion. As you said, the bunkai application will shine through.