I need some guidance here ...

My school is sponsoring a tournament in Feb. When I first learned of the tournament, I was quite excited about competing.

Now I'm not so sure.

I initially started training in karate for physical training/sport purposes. Lately, I have really gotten very interested in the "spiritual/philospohical" aspect of it. I have also been studying a lot of the history of it as well.

I find myself torn between competing and not competing.

Why?

It's hard to put this into words, but I don't feel that I will benefit spiritually from the tournament. I do not feel that it follows the true spirit of Karate ...or my own "spirit" just isn't ready for it. Physically, I know that I'd be okay with competeing ....

I also feel a very strong pull to compete because my school is sponsoring it. If I do not compete, I feel that I might be letting my sensei and my fellow students down.

Any ideas?

Well I am all for competeing and I am the first one to say everyone should compete but wheather or not you do you shouldn't feel like you have to because it is your school. Your sensi shouldn't put prussure on you.

Lil' shoto, I went into WTF TKD not intending to compete at any point. I am required to at least participate in two tournaments in forms, but no requirement to spar in tournaments. Follow your heart, it will show you the correct path. We forget that one of the main points of training in MA is to find the path, not be shown the path, we should be given the general direction and look for the path to our own destination. I haven't competitvely sparred and will not. They clean up the judging in WTF and I might consider giving it a try.

IMHO you need to do what's best for you. Be strong and don't be pressured into something that you're not comfortable with, or don't wish to do. If it's not competing than so be it.

Me personally, I get so pumped up when tourney time comes around. I get such a rush and "KICK" when entering and competing in tournaments, but, I also understand that some other MAs might not find this aspect of the martial arts very appealing.

Look, just go ahead and make your decision. If you don't want to compete then don't. One way or another, stand by your decision and don't look back. People at your dojo/dojang may not like it, but, at least they should respect your final choice. This is just my humble take, good luck... :asian:

Ya I go to every tournament that I can afford in grappling and have done Usjjf which is like point sparring and Judo. I love competing.

I feel competing is a good way to learn, u get to know the different types of fighter, some looneys some phychopaths :D I think it's good for experience, you should'nt completely ignore tham by the way. but if u don't want to do it then don't force urself into doing it, all I wanted to say is that it will be a good experience for you.

|Cain|

welcome to the boards cain :)
competition is good to hav fun...but if start taking competition seriously then u hav problems on ur hand...
someone already said "follow ur heart"
-TkdWarrior-

lol well if you are competeing I hope you take it seriously

"My school is sponsoring a tournament in Feb. When I first learned of the tournament, I was quite excited about competing.

Now I'm not so sure."

You ask an excellent question. I'm 54 and have raised 3 children. I don't think your question has anything to do with martial arts. Although I have been fairly successful, I come from a poor family and I made sure my children wanted for nothing. In other words - I spoiled them and they are "soft" people. They all shy away from confrontation because its unpleasant. Unfortunately, life doesn't always allow one to avoid confrontation and some of us have prepared ourselves to be able to successfully deal with whatever comes along by studying martial arts.

Aside from military and martial arts training I have been a practicing lawyer for 30 years. I have spent my life avoiding confrontation. But, when it comes my way I am prepared to do whatever it takes to survive and to advance my clients' interests. I do not lose my head when the world around me is in turmoil. The only way to know how you will react in a crisis - is to have been in one and survived.

If you want to pass on "competition" for philosophical or other good reasons - fine. But, if you want to avoid it because of fear of failure - I would suggest you force yourself to attend and then take a careful personal inventory of your performance. There is immense value to knowing that you measure up in a crisis. And if you don't do as well as you hoped - there is a renewed reason to train harder until you reach the desired result.

Originally posted by TkdWarrior
welcome to the boards cain :)
competition is good to hav fun...but if start taking competition seriously then u hav problems on ur hand...
someone already said "follow ur heart"
-TkdWarrior-

Tkdwarrior????? Are you who I think you are????? :eek: :eek:

By the way nope I am not too heavily into tourneys, I personally take it as a good experience, I don't think I see tourneys as competetions if ya know wat I mean........

|Cain|

Thanks for the responses all.

Like I said, it not a matter of not being physically prepared. I grew up fighting, so the idea of getting kicked in the head the problem. I was also in the Marine Corps for 8 years. If it comes down to where I have to fight, I know I can get this old 6'2" 220 lb frame of mine moving ...it may not be karate though since I'm such a noob at this. :)

My aversion to the tournament is purely philosophical. I am begging to see that karate is not a sport, but a lifestyle....like the dojo kun says, Seek Perfection. Perfection can mean many different things to different people. To some, it may mean being the perfect fighter. To me, it means perecting ones character....

*shrug* confusion confusion :)

u must hav heard this when ppl talk about self defense "the bigger they r the harder they fall" but i think it's not much true
! average bigger person is always powerfull than smaller person...
! average bigger person is always powerfull than little trained smaller person...
! a very good trained smaller person will hav good chance of getting bigger person...

so i think if u wanna enjoy competition then do it so... but remembering that there is big gap divinding the sports n reality...
being a marine guy must be advantage to ur side...
i can understand that "karate is not a sport" but if it's a lifestyle..don't u think u should enjoy to the fullest?...

Tkdwarrior????? Are you who I think you are????? :eek: :eek:
Surprise :) :D
-TkdWarrior-

Originally posted by Little_Shoto


*shrug* confusion confusion :)

I would say it's not the tournament that's the issue here.

It's a question about your frame of mind. Are you going into this thinking about losing or winning? Or are you doing it to learn?
Even if you have fought the whole of your life, this is something you havn't tried, and therefor you just might learn something.

"Karate" is only a sport if your let it be it.

/Yari

Originally posted by Yari
It's a question about your frame of mind. Are you going into this thinking about losing or winning? Or are you doing it to learn?
Even if you have fought the whole of your life, this is something you havn't tried, and therefor you just might learn something.

"Karate" is only a sport if your let it be it.

/Yari

Absolutely I second with that, nice words.

|Cain|

"It's a question about your frame of mind. Are you going into this thinking about losing or winning? Or are you doing it to learn?
Even if you have fought the whole of your life, this is something you havn't tried, and therefor you just might learn something."

I guess my thought process now is that to enter a tournament would trivialize the path that I have chosen.

I'm not saying that I will feel this way next week ...it's just how I am feeling now.

Originally posted by Little_Shoto
I guess my thought process now is that to enter a tournament would trivialize the path that I have chosen.


Your the one with the doubt, so the problem is your thoughts about this. Drop the thoughts, find out what you want and do it.

You might change your mind later, and that's OK. But do what you want.

/Yari

Originally posted by Little_Shoto
..........I initially started training in karate for physical training/sport purposes. Lately, I have really gotten very interested in the "spiritual/philospohical" aspect of it. I have also been studying a lot of the history of it as well.............
It's hard to put this into words, but I don't feel that I will benefit spiritually from the tournament. I do not feel that it follows the true spirit of Karate ...or my own "spirit" just isn't ready for it. Physically, I know that I'd be okay with competeing ....



I say go ahead and compete. Competition is good for several reasons......1) it makes you work under pressure in much the same way a "real" encounter might but to a lesser degree......2) it is something to aim for train for and complete.

However, don't be fooled into thinking tournaments or the techniques used in them are "REAL". Some techniques from sport overlap into the techniques used for "real" situations but not entirely...............some sport techniques I would never do in the real world.

As for the "spiritual/philosophical" aspect of it..........train and you will get all of that with out thinking too much about it.........in fact I wouldn't think too much about. I have noticed folks that dwell too much on that side of their art and the historical stuff tend to lack in the skill department.

Musashi said: "The "Way" is in training"



“we're surrounded….that simplifies our situation”
Lt. Gen. Lewis “Chesty” Puller, USMC

I would follow your heart but think of this




By: Maasaki Hatumi Grandmaster of Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu

If you compete in competitions dose that nessaryily make you strong? And Is winning a good thing?

The point is the true spirit of the art is more important than the competitions or the tropheys its about growing and learning. And Competitions is not "The Way" in true martial arts.

I think you should do it. The more I relieze you should do it. I think you would know if it went agianst what you believe in. I mean if it did you wouldn't have to ask people what to do. Sounds kinda like the jiters.

I must agree with Old Warrior, having spent better than four decades in martial arts.

I understand your hesitation. I would say that you should do it so as to support your school, but be aware that sport karate is not the real thing. However, you will also be afforded the opportunity to meet many new and interesting people. It will also be a good experince for "rounding out" your martial arts education.

I would say compete... here's why -

Realizing that competition is just that - competition - will ensure you don't fall prey to the common misconception that tournament wins equal real martial skill... That isn't to say that a tournament champion is necessarily unskilled in real self defense techniques, just that it doesn't necessarily mean that because he/she wins in the ring that he/she will win on the street.

That having been said, it bears mentioning (however briefly) that MA wasn't really meant to be used against other MAists... Sure, there are some arts (Bagua among them) that were intended, at least in part, to be used against skilled opponents. But the bulk of MAs were intended to provide the needed skills to tip the balance of power in favor of the MAist and away from his unskilled attacker.

Who cares?

Competition is one venue through which you can confront an "attacker" and test your skills against them. Granted, many of the skills you should be training for use in "real" situations are illegal in sport combat, but there are other things that get tested that are equally important - your pucker factor for one!

Competition is a good training experience. View it as such. Do not fall victim to the mentality that winning at a tournament means you know anything at all about fighting. Relish the experience, get to know other people from other schools. Foster friendship between arts. Learn about yourself. Then toss the medals in the closet and get back to training...

Gambarimasu.
:asian:

Competition CAN lead to bad habits and bad attitudes, IF you approach them as a "win at all costs" endeavor.

But, for most people, competition is a personal thing...an attempt to get past fearing the unknown, or fearing getting hit.
Sure, some people are trophy collectors...but they are easy to spot and they only fool the gullible public.

YOU can certainly learn from competing...you must decide what you want to get out of it...maybe you lose the match but WIN that thing you set as a goal.

Personally, I don't know how many times I've competed (plenty) and I'm sure my losses exceed my wins....but I've discarded every trophy or medal, because that was NOT my reason to compete...I got what I wanted out of it...after a time, you may say OK, enough of this...and that's OK, too.

:asian:
chufeng

I think most people who've been around for a while understand that competition is good for some things and not so good for other things. For example it's no good for testing ones 'fighting' ability because it's very much removed from real fighting.
On the other hand it is good for building the confidence of those who may be shy and have found a way to go out and strut their stuff in front of lots of people.
Over all, I think, competitions if viewed in their correct context are good for those new to martial arts as a way of building some confidence and having some fun. The problem is competitions are often built up into something else, and this is their downfall.
Back in the mid-70's I did lots of competitions around England and Europe and had fun travelling and competing, though I never believed I was fighting anyone [you could actually 'hit' the guy back then] there were those who did, and this lead them to think they were better fighters than they were.

I guess everyone has to make a judgement about the value competitions have for them in the context of what it is they're trying to achieve with their involvment in the martial arts?

Happy New Year to everyone,
Mike.

One Should Alwsys Test Them Self