My school recently finished a round of tournament competitions and I’ve found myself distracted by it. I did not compete this year and instead helped coach and train the participants. Now that they are all finished, I am extremely motivated to start preparing for next year immediately. I would like to put together a compelling form and tune my fighting to a level I’ve never achieved before. This is the first time that I’ve felt this way and I’m excited that even after 10 years, my Martial Arts can still excite me. This is a testament to my instructor’s teaching and patience. I am so glad that I took the time to pick the right school. It really paid off!
Tag Archive: competition
My school is currently involved in a mini tournament circuit. We have participants competing in Florida at the time of this post. I personally do not prefer doing tournaments over fighting but my instructor’s outlook about them makes sense. While tournaments are by no means a large focus of our studio, my sensei’s reasoning for them is sound:
- The spirit of competition is healthy
- Being able to perform under pressure/stress is very beneficial to self-defense situations
- Persevering despite making mistakes builds character
- Being courageous is not the absence of fear, but the act of continuing despite it
- Sets a specific goal/time-line to be worked towards.Builds focus
- Sparring. Helps overcome the fear of pain, (getting struck)
- There is much to be learned from losing. Develops good attitude
- Preserves the basics
- Just plain fun!