Competition

Many martial artists find that tournaments are a good way to hone their skills, help them to compare and contrast themselves against other martial artists, and to simply make new friends. While all of this sounds good, if you’ve never been to a competition, it can be scary. I would know this first hand, after all, I’m competing in my first tournament this coming Saturday.

While I don’t have any competition experience to share with you (yet), I can tell you what I’ve been doing, and plan on doing so that I do well at the competition.

First off, just remember. A competition is nothing but another training session. When you perform kata, or spar in class, you’re not nervous, because you know it’s a safe environment. Just know that no matter how you do, you haven’t lost anything. Try and blur out the crowd, and it’s just another day of training. Tune everything else out. This is your time. When you’re out there, it’s just you, the mat, and the judges.

Practice. I would think that nothing would kill the experience of competition more than being ill prepared. It would only add to the already high level of stress of performing, and you probably wouldn’t enjoy yourself as much. The only way to get something down is to practice it over and over and over, and then over one more time.

Directly before the competition, make sure you get adequate rest so that you can focus when it comes time for the competition. When you wake up, go through your routine, and eat a good, high energy breakfast. You’ll need this fuel for the taxing competition atmosphere. Also, make sure to hydrate. It will help you to focus better, and not pass out on the mat.

During the competition, stay hydrated. Keep a good attitude towards yourself, and others. Don’t let the stress get to you. Try using calming breathing exercises. Make sure to stretch out well, and make sure you’re adequately warmed up. Watch other people compete. Find what the judges do and don’t like. When it comes right down to it, you have to go out there and give it your best. If you walk in and give 100%, then nobody can take that away from you. If you leave it all on the mat, no matter how you place, you are a winner.