What impresses judges Things to add to forms

[Taokara]

Hey I do kungfu and im going to a tournament wich will just have karate people judges. So i can make up stuff in my forms that they wont know. Will yelling and slapping legs makeing sounds and breathing impress them. Basically what can i do to make my form look better to these karate judges.

[Pacificshore]

Power, fluidity, and well timed slow breathing. Be careful about too much slapping of the legs for sound effects. Sometimes that can be looked upon as being sloppy. I've seen that happen before, especially if the judges don't understand the concept behind it. Also don't assume too much that the judges won't know what you are doing, they are martial artists in their own right and do know more than you may think. So in the end, just do the best form you can emphasis the power and the grace of Kung-fu and have fun.

[sk0t]

If you are going to a karate tournament:

 

Yelling will impress totally...loud long yells, and the beginning, and the end, and somewhere in the middle will impress...and I agree with Pacificshore that, Martial Artists who judge, do know more than you think, and if you make something up that looks like it doesnt fit they will know...

 

And you never know what a 'karate' person knows... since to the rest of the world... we all know 'karate' anyways...!

 

Scott

[KickChick]

I agree.

 

I was once "one of those karate judges" at an open tournament a few years back. We did have a few Kung Fu katas to judge and I will tell you what impressed me most. The incredible balance and height on tension kicks, the intensity of concentration shown in the faces of the competitors, crispness of the "moves" followed by fluidity and graceful movements.

 

When any "effects" get over used or are just haphazardly worked into the performance of the form .... judges can usually tell . I personally don't like it. If you yell (yell loud), if you knee slap or elbow slap within the form, make it heard and show power!

 

I look primarily at faces alot during comps because if a "mistake" is made and I may have missed it.... you will see it in their expression. (A sure giveaway so be careful!)

 

...

 

These were some of the "common" tips you should be aware of that are used for judging competitors at tournament:

 

Judges should understand the meaning of each movement and the realize that each pattern and its required movements have various levels of power and speed.

 

Judges should be able to differentiate between unnecessary, meaningless movements and valid movements.

 

 

 

Competitor should express proper mental concentration (spirit), decorum, and character.

 

Competitor should demonstrate proper application to achieve maximum performance (slow/fast; expand/contract) and proper range and contrast of movement, with full inner and outer body control.

 

Competitor should demonstrate proper footwork and distribution of body weight, such proper weight distribution in a back stance or a fixed stance.

 

 

 

Competitor should not use meaningless stamping of the feet for sound effect or add any extra movements, such as telegraphing movements or after-movements.

 

Competitor should demonstrate proper breathing: do not use upper body to breath, do not raise shoulders, and do not make loud unnecessary noises. Know when breathing should be audible and when it should not.

 

Competitor should understanding the application of a stable stance: hip level down, shoulders down, elbows in and armpits closed, and proper foot position with proper weight distribution on the feet. Power and control is demonstrated with the ability to transfer body weight smoothly and evenly. Rising up or settling after foot placement is a gross error and diminishes greatly the level of difficulty.

 

 

 

Each judge is different therefore each has their own personal..... whether they be "karate" or not.

[Tobias_Reece]

Don't wear anything but a black belt - especially in a comps with judges from different styles. When a judge doesn't know what to think/doesn't know anything (which happens all the time), they will simply say to themselves "well, hes a black belt, so he must be good".

 

This is especially true in weapons catagories - I did a nunchaku kata, and I was told that my stances weren't deep enough for a japanese martial art. I pointed out that I was not doing a japanese art, but instead an okinawan art. A few red faces there then.

 

I don't like these mixed MA kata comps. Stupid, very stupid.

[Pacificshore]

That's the gamble you take when you compete in open tournaments. You have such a great mixture of martial artists and judges that you literally have to be on top of your game. But you can either be the type of person that is there strictly for the competion and winning, or the type of person that is there to challenge themselves.

 

Traditionalist say that they dislike open tounaments and Non-traditonalist say they dislike the tradtional tournaments. It's all a matter of preference. When I competed in one tournament several years ago, I did Gojushiho-sho and actually won first place. The panel of judges to my knowledge were not all traditionalist martial artist, in fact I believe many had Kenpo backgrounds.

 

Another year, I competed at the same tournament and did Nijushiho, and took 4th place. The judging panel was a mix of tradtional and non-traditional martial artist. So who knows how it's gonna turn out. In any event, I had one of the judges come up to me afterwards and say that he liked the way I performed Nijushiho. In the end after being told that by one of the judges to me was most gratifying than placing whether 1st or 4th place.

[hobbitbob]

Don't wear anything but a black belt

That would certainly lead to being noticed!

[Withers M.A.A.]

You need to be focused and confident. When you walk into that ring you need to control it. When you do your intro don't yell at the judges yet don't be to meek. You want to be strong and firm but you don't want to be yelling at them. As for yelling, I don't recommend it. Making noises will help your form in an open division. just don't get carried away. Yelling is useless in a form and can usually hurt your scores and not help them.