Preparation for Competition

[Just4Kicks]

I've got a big competion in Sept and I'm trying to get a lot better before then, I'll be going up against people from all around the country. Its called Uni Games and every uni in Australia has reps that go and this is my first tournament.

I want to be able to go through the rounds without getting exhausted and slowing down, and I need to improve me speed in general. Tips and tricks would be helpful for conditioning and agility.

I'm currently training thrice weekly with only one class a week focused on sparring and I'm considering taking a private sparring class once a week for $140 a month. Do you think this is a good deal?

 

[bluekey88]

If you can do more sparringh...that'll help. I'd also focus on your GPP (General Physical Prep)...doing lots of jum rope, wind sprints, some weight work. Also watch your diet. Doing these things will help get you ito good physical shape in time for the tourney.

Peace,
Erik

 

[troubleenuf]

Our team does distance run 2/3 miles, twice a week, and 1 mile run, sprints and stairs three times a week. Stairs are the ticket to GREAT conditioning for TKD. They also work great for speed drills if done right.

 

[igillman]

Do not over-train. Don't go more than a couple of times a week otherwise you run the risk of injury and exhaustion. The more sparring you can do during your training time the better. Find out how long each round is and how many rounds there are to a match for this competition (e.g. 3, 2 minute rounds with 1 minutes rest between rounds). Then, when you are sparring, add 30 seconds to the length of each round. If you can train using 3, 2.5 minute rounds with 1 minutes rest between them then you will be fine doing 2 minute rounds.

Don't just pick one or two partners to spar with, try everybody at all belt levels, white belts will surprise you. Try people of different builds, heights etc... If you have an idea for a combination or two then the time to try them out is while you are training. It is better to lose during training than in the competition and you learn a lot every time you do something wrong.

Enjoy yourself while training. Keep it in perspective, it is a competition with a silly trophy for the winner, it is not a fight to the death, honour or dishonour or anything else.

 

[ATC]

I teach our competition team and I can tell you that this type of training is not like any other training we do in class. If no tournaments are coming up this class does tons and tons of conditioning first. So by the time a tournament comes around they are already in shape. The competition members are always in tip top shape year around.

Keep in mind that we will do some local matches to keep sharp as well. We use the local matchs for our color belts as well. Only black belts go to national events

We tend to know what tournaments we are going to so we have a set schedule already in place. 3 months before a big tournament we change the training from conditioning to muscle memory training. This means drills specific to techniques that will be used in the ring. Lots of focus pad drills and line drills. We do this daily if we can. So team members must train on their own as well as in the dojang. These drills also include foot work drills as well as partner drills. If you are not in shape or well conditioned then you will not be able to keep the pace of the drilling.

With about 2 months to go we add to the muscle memory drills by adding in some light sparring and partner drills. The sparring is not you just do what you want but specific sparring attacking and countering drills. So for example we will have members partner up and one will attack with a specific attack while the other will counter with specific counters. This is also creating muscle memory and reflex time. As the attacker knows what counter is going to be performed he has to be that much faster to make his attack count. He also must faint or check to create the opening. As for the counter attacker he must learn to react to the attack and see it coming.

With about 1 month to go we will concentrate on full contact sparring. We will continue to do conditioning and drills as well but after each conditioning and drill session we will gear up and spar when tired. Best way to not tire in the ring is to already be tired when sparring during training. We will have other students from the dojang help at time by sparring our tired member. We also match light and heavy students to help work on speed and power. If you are light and spar a heavy student then you work on your speed and your power. If you are heavy and you spar a light student then you work on your speed.

With only a week left before the match we stop all sparring and only work light partner drills to stay sharp.

My son and daughter are both on the competition team and they are only 9 and 11, some of the younger members. I tell you this because they can beat any student not on the competition team in our dojang from 9 - 15 years old. It was quite the eye opener for a few older students that sparred them that do not take this class. My daughter at the time was 10 and weighed 65 pounds, she sparred a black belt not on the team that was 15 and weighed 104 pounds. The 15 year old never touched my daughter and vomited when hit with a back kick. She now wants to join the competition team.

Take a look at the vids in my signature to see how they fight. I only have up my sons fights as my daughter does not want her fights posted for some reason.

Hope this helps and good luck in your upcoming matches.

 

[chrispillertkd]

I've got a big competion in Sept and I'm trying to get a lot better before then, I'll be going up against people from all around the country. Its called Uni Games and every uni in Australia has reps that go and this is my first tournament.

For a first tournament that sounds like it's going to be a big one! Most important thing to do when going to any competition is to focus on having an enjoyable time and makming it a learning experience.

I want to be able to go through the rounds without getting exhausted and slowing down, and I need to improve me speed in general. Tips and tricks would be helpful for conditioning and agility.

Building endurance can be tedious, at best. Best way to do it, imo, is running. Get a good pair of shoes and alternate between distance running and sprints. If you concentrate too much on just distance you run the risk of developing a plodding pace instead of developing speed. Sprints help to develop your reaction time.

Running can be high impact, however, so if you have troubles with shin splints or your feet you might want to consider cycling or swimming if you have access to a pool. Both are much lower impact than running and swimming can really provide an all over work out.

Lastly, you might want to take up skipping rope. Low investment and excellent for building endurance, I have found. Do rounds of skipping equivalent to the amount of time a round in the ring is for your tournament. Go non-stop for that amount of time then take a break for 60 second. Make sure you go at a good rate. You want to use this to develop the ability to basically alternate between sprint and brief periods of rest for a somewhat extended period.

Remember to keep hydrated!

I'm currently training thrice weekly with only one class a week focused on sparring and I'm considering taking a private sparring class once a week for $140 a month. Do you think this is a good deal?

I don't know the $AUS to $US conversion off hand by my instructor, who is a 7th dan charges $30US for a one hour private lesson. Economics aside, if you're worried about sparring you might want to get one of two private lessons before the event. It is your first and you have plenty of time to compete if that's what interests you.

Hope you find some of this helpful.

Pax,

Chris

 

[searcher]

Pretty good advice so far.

I would add taking 1 or 2 techniques and working them to death. Make them your go-to techniques. Then add some more slowly until you have a handful that you know you can count on. This will also give you the reps you need to get faster and get better conditioned. JMO.

 

[Flying Crane]

You could increase your conditioning by practicing your martial art more and/or at a higher intensity.

Why spend precious time away from your art, if your art is what you want to do? Train in a way that conditioning is a natural benefit of the practice itself.

Work your forms at high intensity, over and over. Just don't let your technique in your forms suffer. If you get sloppy, you are probably trying to be too fast. Don't go any faster than you can while keeping good, clean technique. But keep the intensity up, don't rest in between repetitions, stuff like that.

Work your techs full power on the heavy bag. Again, minimize rest in between. This can lead to great cardio conditioning. Working with focus mits and striking pads can also be done this way.

Work your basic techs and combos quickly, with speed, power and precision, and over and over.

Once your workout is done, if you feel you haven't been working hard enough, do it again. I'd suggest going that route, rather than spending time outside the art doing other things to supplement your training. If you have extra time to go running or do other cardio, then use that time to train your art more intensly, instead.

 

[terryl965]

Amp up your reps and also increase your intensity while training, this will help fill and gaps before a major competition. Best of Luck.