TSD Tournament Tips?

[JGBurnum]

I will go to my first TSD tourney in August. Any tips for a first-timer?

[JusticeZero]

Get your uniform nicely cleaned and pressed beforehand, trim your hair, bow respectfully to the judges and the other one in the match, relax, and as soon as you can, spring forward with the first attack.

[joesteph]

Here's an article from Black Belt magazine, July 1999, "The Secret to Success in Tang Soo Do Sparring."

http://books.google.com/books?id=uM4DAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq="world+tang+soo+do+association"&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0_0#PPA32,M2

[JGBurnum]

Great article!

[DWx]

What are you competing in? Forms? Sparring? What type of sparring is it as well?

As JusticeZero said, being respectful and presentable will help a lot as it'll put you in the judges good books from the start.

If you're competing forms, I'd advise you run through them at least once before you go on. Helps settle the nerves and gets you focused. For sparring, make sure you know how the system works and watch everyone who goes on before you to get a feel for how they fight.

Good Luck

[bushido_man96]

DWx has some good questions there. Are you using a point system, light contact, etc? Those things will play into your strategies. And forms is a different beast.

Great article, Joe. I like CS Kim's stuff alot.

[Vella]

Never rush, be decent, , as soon as the fight starts strike dont wait till your opponent starts.

do not use the same movement.

one last thing keep smiling

[sensei8]

I will go to my first TSD tourney in August. Any tips for a first-timer?

Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!! RELAX!!!!!!!!!!

[tallgeese]

Now that the thread is back up, how did it go?

[masterphoenix]

I will go to my first TSD tourney in August. Any tips for a first-timer?

Practice your forms facing all different directions. You rarely ever know ahead of time how the rings will be set up, or which way you will be facing, and most tournaments seat the judges at various sides of the ring - hardly any way to predict what direction you will face.

Have someone sit in a chair, and go up and do your presentation for them and your form, even if they don't do martial arts. The idea is to get used to making the verbal presentation and performing in front of people. We even allow the simulated judges to do things that are distracting to the student, because I have seen judges yawn, watch other rings, make faces, and other things. In order to prepare for the best possible performance, we have to factor in the possibility of distraction and address it beforehand.