January 22, Sylvan lake Alberta, Arashi Do Tournament.
I really enjoy tournaments. One of the most wonderful things to do is to watch other styles of martial arts being preformed. Kung Fu is like a dance, very fluid and connected. In sparring it's mostly defensive. As I watched the Kung Fu student fight, I noticed that he used his hands in continuous circular motions. As a fighter studying an opponent, I found myself distracted by it. I suppose the best way to deal with it would be to draw him out of the defensive position, and then score as he tries to be offensive. Taekwon-do has very fancy foot work. One of my teammates managed to take a flying side kick to the head. The kick, in itself, was simply amazing. Only in my wildest dreams would I be able to get that much air into a kick. My teammates luck in receiving it though, was not so good. I am sure he suffered a small concussion from it. Arashi- do has similar techniques and style as we do. Their kata's are close in comparison but you can definitely tell that we come from different Dojo's.
Sparring in tournaments are a point of frustration for me. I am sure, that as I attend more, I will get used to the points and the judges. I think it really does come down to experience. I find that I still favor certain techniques, especially kicks with my legs. I also seem to forget my combos in a tournament setting. I have started to write combos down and am trying to practice them in hopes that my body will eventually remember them without me having to take the ten seconds to think of them first. As one of my sensei's said, the best way to describe sparring is a physical chess game. You have to measure your opponents skill and find areas where you can score points. One does not simply spread out the chess pieces and rush into battle. Test your opponent, find out what will work and what won't. I have tonnes of time to figure this out, and I am sure I will.
January 30th 2011.
Sick as a dog once again, I went into my belt test. I did pass. My marks were not as high as I hoped they would be, however taking into account that my lungs were spastic and my sinuses full and draining at the same time, I think that I did fine. Things I need to work on: ... nerves. The beginning of my Kata was way too fast. I allowed my nerves to get the better of me and the next thing you know I was speeding through my knife and spear hands, not paying attention to where my thumbs were and voila, marks were being deducted. The other mistakes that cost me were those typical silly mistakes that you make when you aren't coping with your nerves. My roundhouse kicks were moving more like front kick. I didn't punch hard enough on the reverse punches during the traditional techniques . My fighting stance was a little narrower than usual. I can't remember what went wrong on my self defense except that I did have trouble on the cross hand wrist grab. Something funky was going on with my uki's wrist and I couldn't get it in the right position to do it. I had to try it twice before I got it. Despite all of the silly mistakes I am very happy I am now an orange belt. This next year will be full of fun things like flying kicks and jumping kicks and spinning kicks!
Today:
I am preparing for the tournament that could possibly define my whole year. Next weekend is the Can Am Classic in Regina should I take first or second in sparring or Kata I have a chance to represent team Canada in Junes Pan Am Games. I will be there and try my very best. I am at this point trying to keep Heian Nidan the finely honed powerhouse kata that it is, as well as make sure I don't damage myself prior to the tournament. It would also help if my Asthma would stop acting up. This tournament has very important meaning to me as I am doing it in memory of Angela Michael. One of my very best friends lost his mom a few years ago and the tournament falls on the anniversary of her death. She was a wonderful person, and is sorely missed.
Also, two more words: ROAD TRIP! Two other teammates and myself are all traveling together in the AnneMobile! I am sure it will be a blast! Not to mention that I get to see another kindred spirit in Regina. I miss my Kim so much and I can't wait to share a day with her!!
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