# karate tournament



## solitarymonkey (Feb 15, 2009)

I've been taking Karate lessons for nearly a year now. But on 2 separate occasions, I've had time away from class. once last year for about a month and a bit, and again this year for 3 months. Both times were related to my anxiety/deppression one way or another.

I graded to my first belt a little earlier than guidelined, late last year. and am currently working for my Next grade. can't wait!0n my first lesson back this year, my Sensei mentioned about a tournament early next month, So i said I'd have a think about it. Thinking long and hard, I said to my self that I WON'T think about it I WILL do it. So I'vebeen practicing my Kata almost daily, working really hard to find people to cover my Shift on the day and plan my Journey. 

I've been fine about it until now.the nerves really are starting to Kick in. Probably because I gave in my application form Last week.so it's now more real than ever. Preparation is only going to get me so far. my sensei has a lot faith in me. I know I could do well. I just hope my anxiety doesn't ruin the day for me.


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## Brightpaperwarewolf (Oct 16, 2008)

Just do it, you been training. Don't do it solely to make this great expectation to beat someone, but to get better and apply the teaching of your katas and bunkai. 

That's sick though, what style of Karate do you take?


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## solitarymonkey (Feb 15, 2009)

I study with GKR if you've heard of them? there's a lot of bad stuff about them on the internet, but they are mostly Just pure fighters laughing at the style because of its philosophies etc. but to Someone like me, I couldn't ask for any more from my sensei.

I'm not allowing myself to go in with the mindset to win. I just want to do well, and not pass out lol. I'm doing this tournament for my health, not my ego.

are you a karate-Ka? or do you just know about martial arts?


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## Brightpaperwarewolf (Oct 16, 2008)

Yup, I'm a Karate-Ka. The style I take is Goju Ryu, although I heard of GKR and that you share some of the same katas as us, like Saifa, Seiunchin, Sansauiru, Seipai. I'm currently working on Seiunchin, it's such a beautiful kata, but it's difficult to catch all the finer details which I'm working on and I'm sure for the rest of my life! But that's the attitude you have to have. How about you? 

People that just talk **** on the internet never seen what you can do with Karate. If those pure fighters saw what black belts are capable of, I'm sure they'd be scared ****less. Just attending some of these seminar, it's scary the speed and power that is delivered from a small, yet precise technique and movement. And it what inspires me to train harder. 

But I'm sure you'll get something out of the tournament that'll better your training. It's all for yourself and that's the great thing about Karate, it's not what belt you obtain, but the details in execution and that strive for perfection. It's just so deep, I'm sure you understand what I mean.


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## solitarymonkey (Feb 15, 2009)

i'm working towards performing saifa at the tournament. it's the 3rd kata in gkr, which i wont need for grading till after i get my next belt (i'm yellow belt, next grade orange, then saifa for green belt). don't think i'm doing too badly 

we did seiunchin 2 weeks ago (just went through various kata's that day), so i wish you well on that one 

i agree with the whole black belt thing. but you don't even need to be that highly graded and still have a better attitude than most of those unspirited folk. it's so much more than just fighting....

kaizen.. the quest for constant and never ending improvement

i have class in an hour. cant wait! ^-^


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## Rasputin_1 (Oct 27, 2008)

I did a few BJJ tournaments when I use to roll and its never that bad once you get out there and start doing it. Once the adrenaline kicks in you will be fine!


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## solitarymonkey (Feb 15, 2009)

that's kinda what i'm hoping for  just get stuck in the moment


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## solitarymonkey (Feb 15, 2009)

my Sensei set up a ring to mimic the tournament tonight.long story cut short, he got me to perform a Kata of choosing. so I did saifa. after class, he told me that I performed it better than some of the higher grades in my class! he also got me to Spar with a fellow student in tournament style too! I won with 2 separate punches to the head! go me! and if that wasn't enough, sensei graded me to 7th Kyu-ho (yellow belt with orange tip ). I'm proper chuffed with myself tonight! next week, I'm going to my invitation only open Senior class, where the local Sensei's train!


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## Brightpaperwarewolf (Oct 16, 2008)

Congrats on your progress and getting your orange tip! Saifa is a fun kata to do and the bunkai for Saifa is great too. How long is it until your tournament? I'm sure you'll kick some ***!


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## solitarymonkey (Feb 15, 2009)

Thanks!  the tournament is 2 weeks on saturday. So I don't have long to go to prepare. Think I might try to do some meditating to help keep my mind focused on the task. After talking to my sensei, I really don't want to lose myself under the stress of the day. Lol. He has a lot of faith in me


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## Brightpaperwarewolf (Oct 16, 2008)

How did the tournament go bro? I know you kicked some ***!


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## solitarymonkey (Feb 15, 2009)

i managed to come out with a bronze medal for my kata performance, though i'm sure i did better than that. but hey, i got a medal. sadly, i didnt do so well in my kumite. i've never really sparred with anyone who uses roundhouse kicks, and thats precisely what my partner used a lot of. but i did score several times  i may not have got a medal for it, but i now know my main target of kumite training for the next tournament 
i made both my sensei's proud today. partly with fact that their 3 students that entered today, all got at least one medal each! and it's my first entry! hehe! got a photo that i'll put on later.


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## solitarymonkey (Feb 15, 2009)

here i am  it's a picture of a picture from the event, i just cropped out the frame 










and here be my medal ^_^


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## Brightpaperwarewolf (Oct 16, 2008)

Awesome! Congratulations on the bronze! What kata(s) did you perform? I'm psyched for ya, looking good with that medal. 

Hey you can't expect to win on kumite on the first try, but you got the right attitude to learn from your mistakes and be better for next time, developing some good counters to round-house kicks. Damn I'm just happy for you, karatekas gotta stick together.


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## solitarymonkey (Feb 15, 2009)

that last comment put a much needed smile on my face when i was at work. thank you! ^_^ 

i performed saifa, as i originally planned. had i gone for first or 2nd kata, i probably would have walked out with a gold. no problem. no offense to the other guys, but their stances could have been a LOT longer, deeper and wider. but where would the self challenge have been if i did something i found easy? especially at my first tournament!  

a friend of mine recorded it for me, and i picked up on something that may have cost me gold (and a better kata for self purposes) after the last sumo stance when you step across into a double block and prepare for a kick, my foot shape was wrong. it was drooped down rather than toes pulled back for a kick. which was repeated when i stepped across and did it the other side. the learning never ceases  i will now always ensure proper control in that pose! ^_^

looking forward to class tomorrow


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## Brightpaperwarewolf (Oct 16, 2008)

lol, that's ironic because the toe issue has always been my problem. For me, it's difficult to bend my toes back and hit the kick with the ball of my foot. I keep being dinged for that by my sensai. He gave me some toes exercises to do, been practicing with a punching bag to precisely make sure to hit it exactly in the ball of the foot. It's a pretty good exercise to do to improve your front kick. In the GKR version of saifa, when you go in for the double block, do they perpetuate the move like you are kneeing them followed in with the front kick? 
I watched a video of a GKR version of saifa, it's different, yet the same like in goju ryu. The GKR version the kata seems to be more north-south in terms of movement, like Shotokan. It's pretty damn cool to see how the kata is performed with differences but yet is still the same.

But pretty much as you grow on, you'll realize all the mistakes you were making in the past. It's deep stuff so many details to pay attention to. As you get better, you have to learn a new kata, plus perfect the old ones and as you learn each kata, you'll have those ohhh moments when you look at other katas in comparison. But that's what makes Karate great. 

Hey, I'm glad I put a smile on your face, you are welcome


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## solitarymonkey (Feb 15, 2009)

indeed we do intend on the knee strike before the kick, but i'm just concentrating on my balance for now. i wobble way too much if i emphasize the knee strike too much at the moment. for the foot thing, i try to pretend i'm going for a forward heel stomp, untill i actually perform the kick. it works for now untill my foot flexability improves 

i've watched a vid of the goju ryu style a while back, and yeah, they are totally different things yet so simillar, it's weird! an untrained person wouldnt know the difference though 

my sensei seems pleased with my attitude after the tournament too ^_^ karate is going so good right now. hehe!


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## Brightpaperwarewolf (Oct 16, 2008)

That's a good suggestion for the foot. I tried it and it seems to be better, but I'll have to try it in front of my sensai to see if there's any improvement. I finally got my car so my month hiatus from class is over, woohoo! I been self-training other than going to 1 seminar. 

Let the good vibrations get a lot stronger! Keep it up!


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## solitarymonkey (Feb 15, 2009)

Glad my suggestion seems to have helped. You'll have to let me know what your sensei says! 
There's a seminar or something happening at the end of the month (i think), which is happening over 2 days. Looking at my rota at work, I think i'll be able to go to it, as long as I can get a lift off of someone and finish work about an hour early on the saturday (which is the first of the 2 days). It sounds like a lot of fun. So I really hope I can make it! Won't beat being able to train in japan. But maybe one day I can ^_^


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## Brightpaperwarewolf (Oct 16, 2008)

Ah, you should go. You learn some cool things at your seminars that you don't normally learn in class, plus you see some black belts there do some badass stuff. You should ask your sensei for a ride. That's what I did lol. No shame in showing desire to train. For me, it's a dream to train in Okinawa. I wish I had the time and money, like everything else in life huh? lol.


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## solitarymonkey (Feb 15, 2009)

I managed to get my shifts this week changed so I can go to the seminars without losing any pay! Yay! was supposed to finish at 3 pm on Saturday, but I now finish at 12.so I should have more than enough time to get there! ^_^ fingers crossed, I should be able to pay my fee tonight for all 4 seminar classes and get discount for going to than all! hehe. go to all 4 classes, and you only pay for 3. the last class is a grading assessment thing. which my sensei is very keen on me going to, as he would really like me to get graded 7th Kyu! because officially, when the next grading session comes, I wouldn't have been to enough lessons. But if the regional instructor says I'm ready to grade, then he'll give me a slip to say I can officially go to be graded ^_^ can't wait!


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