Competitive tournament sparring

[jfarnsworth]

Originally posted by cdhall
For forms the major benefit is whether or not you can perform in a strange place under pressure (assuming your someone excited/agitated about being there like you might be in a test) and also to a lesser degree whether your form is good enough that someone from another system can/will admit it. Assuming that they are watching and they have a clue.

I agree with you here. I would also promote various types of sparring as well not just strictly point sparring.

p.s. Doug I answered your question on the leaping crane thread.

 

[cdhall]

Originally posted by jfarnsworth
I agree with you here. I would also promote various types of sparring as well not just strictly point sparring.

p.s. Doug I answered your question on the leaping crane thread.

I agree with you. I think Bruce Lee said something like "get a lot of experience." So I'm with you.

And I'll go check that other thread. I must be subscribed to it.

 

[ikenpo]

Originally posted by cdhall
to a lesser degree whether your form is good enough that someone from another system can/will admit it. Assuming that they are watching and they have a clue.

Too a much lessor degree. I've always just tried to do my best. If your in Texas the judges don't know what they are looking at (you personally have experienced this I'm sure). So feel good within yourself that you did your best and then go kick some butt in sparring..lol.

jb:asian:

 

[molson]

Any good tournaments in the Texas/Dallas area?

 

[JDenz]

RC that was before the days of fixing things. though I did win in the end with a pipe

 

[jleonardusa]

The first major tournament I went to (aside from the small inter-studio tourneys our instructors used to organize) was the Irish nationals back in '87 some time I think when I was a yellow belt.

I was about 12 years old and was up against a kid about fourteen, and a few inches taller than I was (and I was a tall kid back then!). I remember being nervous and getting in a fighting stance, and when the ref said go, just hanging for a second to see what the other kid would do. He threw a kick or two at me and when he landed, his guard was completely open. I popped a right front kick at him, caught him right under his chin, and the poor kid was lifted off the ground, landing on the floor out cold!

I turned around and knelt down and waited for what seemed an age until the ref called me up and disqualified me. I felt really bad for having hurt him, but I also felt like "hey it wasnt my fault he dropped his guard!".

Another time I was in an open regional tournament and got to the semi-finals. I was sparring a muay thai guy (I think) who blocked me with his elbow when I threw a right roundhouse at his head with about 30 seconds to go. I felt a shooting pain in by my instep and thought it was just badly bruised. Unbeknownst to me however, he had just fractured my foot in a couple of places. I won the fight and tried to tape it up for the final. I felt like Danny Laruso in the Karate kid and could barely walk on it, but was too stubborn to concede. I probably screwed it up even more from that. Lost the fight of course, and didnt end up going to the hospital 'till a week later when it gave way when I was jumping for joy after the last test of my 1st year college exams. That sucked.

It also kept me out of training for almost 18 months. Thats a tough break to come back from.

Moral of the story for me? Always listen to my body when its telling me its hurt ! ! ! !

(Man, the more I think of it, the more stories I can think of from my time on the tournament circuit !)

Hey, who knows, maybe well have more stories to share from Franks tournament next month ! ! !

James Leonard