Tournament in Quebec

For anybody that is interested, there is a tournament in Quebec on the weekend of May 1st. As some may remember, we competed in the tournament when it was in Ottawa in 2006 with great results. The details for the tournament (World Kobudo Championships) can be viewed on the CCKSF website.

Flashy Forms vs. Regular Forms

As I teach Fut Gar Kung Fu I am often reminded that there are much flashier forms in other styles than the ones we use. Even with that disadvantage our students continue to command attention and be complimented as we perform or compete. How is this possible? The answer is simple. We look for precision of execution which can be a thing of beauty to the eyes of the trained martial artist. Yes, I teach some flashier forms but encourage the students to use the true forms of our style when competing. I believe that achieving a good result with a normal traditional form is a true measure of a student's kung fu skills. Those that have taken Fut Gar Kung Fu and complained about how it looks compared to some other styles have simply not studied the style long enough to perform the techniques in a manner that looks good. I have unfortunately seen schools that seem compelled to add some flashy forms to help their performers/competitors and have even seen schools that have fabricated forms to give their students a flashier look. I think it is ridiculous that schools create forms instead of perfecting the ones they know to the point of looking great. I would like to encourage the traditional schools to stick with your forms and train harder to perfect them.

Announce Yourself

As a judge in tournaments for many years, I have seen many students come up to perform. I have seen many ways of announcing their forms and have formed some preferences. Here are some tips for those that intend to compete in forms/kata competition:

1. Always bow - show your respect for the judges.
   
2. Speak in a loud clear voice. If I can't hear you, there is no point to speaking to me. Remember the tournament is a noisy place.
3. Announce your name
4. Announce your school and/or instructor
5. Announce your form

10 Thoughts About Tournament Competition

Many students of Martial Arts will become involved in tournaments at some point in their training career. I have competed quite a bit and trained many competitors over the years. I think it is important to understand some important things about tournaments as you enter into competition:

1. Tournaments are a great way to see other styles and schools as a comparison to your school. Tournaments are not an absolute indication of how good schools are but are a good way to see what techniques are done by other styles and enjoy the differences in forms.
2. Winning a tournament is something to be proud of because it is an indication that within the rules of the tournament, you were the top performer. You are also representing your instructor and school successfully.
   
3. Losing a tournament is not the end of the world. Remember that tournaments are designed with a set of rules and therefore there are some judgments used to determine winners. Do not be discouraged if you do not do well within the defined set of rules.
   
4. Go to tournaments with the goal of experiencing the atmosphere. Tournaments should be more about the experience and less about the result.
5. Try to make friends. As you compete you will start to recognize other regular competitors. Martial Artists are all practicing for similar reasons. You will likely find others that are like minded at tournaments.
6. Cheer for your classmates. Attendance at tournaments is also a way to support other students from your school that are in the tournament.
7. Gain experience performing in front of a crowd. Tournaments are a great way to get used to the fear of performing in front of an audience. This confidence can carry on into your everyday lives.
8. Gain experience performing under the pressure of being judged. Once again, this can carry on into your everyday lives.
9. Gain experience fighting with unfamiliar partners. As you practice fighting, you will become comfortable with the techniques used in your style as well as the fighting styles of your classmates. Tournaments are a good way to practice fighting in situations where you do not know what techniques to expect.
10. Gauge your performance. You have an opportunity to analyze your performance after a tournament to determine if you know your forms well (did you freeze or perform without hesitation), how comfortable you are with your techniques (did you throw a variety of techniques during fighting or rely on a few techniques) and how comfortable you were walking up and executing in front of a group of judges.

I believe that every student should compete at some point in their training career for the experience. This should be done with the clear understanding that you do not need to win to be proud of yourself.