Thinking about trying my hand at a "karate" tournament!

[nismophreek]

There is a martial arts tournament coming up soon in my area and I am thinking about entering it just to try my hand at it. I haven't done tournament karate in many years but thought that maybe I would see if I still had it in me. I don't know if I will or not but the thought has crossed my mind. They are going to have kata competition, both open and traditional, as well as point sparring and weapons divisions. I don't think my current training will help with it but I'd like to dust off some of my old TKD stuff. We'll see.

[Jaclyn]

Good luck! I love competing against people who train in other styles/martial arts. It just makes things more interesting. They do katas differently, and it's an extra challenge going up against them in sparring.

[Tang-Soo-Architect]

Do or do not, there is no try.

Seriously though, have a go and enjoy yourself. I'm sure it will all come back to you.

[Adon4Ever]

I've NEVER done any MA competition of ANY kind, and right now I'm training to compete in amateur Muay Thai (full-contact ring fighting). AND I'm 30, to boot. So I say, by all means, go for it. Best of luck to you. I have a feeling you'll be glad you did it - win, lose, or draw.

J/C: It's a bit unclear in your OP. Which exactly are you planning to do at the tournament? Kata competition? Point sparring? Weapons? Or all of them?

Again, best of luck. Let us know how it goes.


Josh

[nismophreek]

J/C: It's a bit unclear in your OP. Which exactly are you planning to do at the tournament? Kata competition? Point sparring? Weapons? Or all of them?

If I enter, I will probably do point sparring and kata. The only thing I'm really concerned with is the point sparring. I've been doing MT for a year now and I am afraid that I will naturally throw a leg kick. I am still pretty good at "pulling" techniques point sparring style, I'm just afraid I'll unleash a thai kick to someones leg.

[TonyU]

If I enter, I will probably do point sparring and kata. The only thing I'm really concerned with is the point sparring. I've been doing MT for a year now and I am afraid that I will naturally throw a leg kick. I am still pretty good at "pulling" techniques point sparring style, I'm just afraid I'll unleash a thai kick to someones leg.

Tha's ok, instead of hitting your opponent then bring the leg back and kick him in the head. In essence a low to high double roundhouse kick. Depending on your opponent it may cause them to bring their hands down on the first kick allowing you to hit them on the second one. Used to be a favorite of mine.

[Adon4Ever]

If I enter, I will probably do point sparring and kata. The only thing I'm really concerned with is the point sparring. I've been doing MT for a year now and I am afraid that I will naturally throw a leg kick. I am still pretty good at "pulling" techniques point sparring style, I'm just afraid I'll unleash a thai kick to someones leg.

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. When I'm doing bag work (at least the all out punching or punching/kicking stuff)... that's EXACTLY what I do. Train all these different combos. With full speed and ALMOST full power (if I actually DO hit it with full power, the bag swings WAYYY too far, and I can't effectively train my combos). But usually when I spar, I'm doing either all-body sparring, or jab-only sparring. And for me that's tough, because whenever I throw the jab, I naturally wanna follow up with a cross, at least. It's practically a reflex. And the first few times I did jab-only sparring, I actually DID it before I caught myself. Needless to say... my sparring partners were not too pleased

But hey, like TonyU said, maybe you could actually turn that tendency into a legal move for the point sparring. I say train up for it. And if you find that it works, then more power to ya!

Once again, best of luck to you. Let us all know how it goes.


Josh

[sooner_sadiq]

Unless they are aware low kicks are illegal in the tournament and are a part of the tournament circuit. That was one of the first combos we learned in TKD was fake low then hit high. Unfortunately that is a common feint and those that do tournaments frequently wouldnt drop their guard because they know its a fake because low kicks arent allowed. Worth a try at least though. Good luck.