Your First Tournament Exp.

[AceHBK]

How did your first tournament go?
What was it like to go for the first time and lace up and eneter the ring?
How did u prepare?
How did it compare in your mind to how it was when you got there?
How did u do?
When you first got hit, did all your training go out the window?
How nervous were you?


I am a blue belt and I have my very first tournament coming I think in April..(Terry you maybe able to tell me if there is one sooner). I am EXTREMELY nervous. I can't really guage myself since I only have white and 1 yellow belt in my class. I do spar my master and I always get my butt handed to me. He tells me I am way better than I think but hard to accept that when you dont have anyone to guage yourself against other than your master. I just want to hear about others and their first times and all.

 

[Marginal]

My first tournament went well enough. I ended up taking first place in my division. (Of three people, and we were all yellowbelts...) Kind of a strange experience. The first match, I went up against a guy who launched a punch at me that carried enough force to knock my guard out of the way. (No score resulted tho since he didn't follow up) I stepped back, and dodged a few more of the wild punches, then I decided to deliberately take one so he'd earn a point deduction. (Light contact continous sparring) He hit me square in the chest, and pushed me back a few steps, and the ref called the minus point. Calmed the guy down, and I started trading with him. Kinda bland from there on out, I took three groin shots before the match ended, and I ended up winning the decision. The point deductions cost him.

Final match, I was matched up against a huge guy. Wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't around 6'5". I pretty much outspeeded him and kept tagging him with side kicks after he'd try a kick. (He would usually end up way off balance after throwing a kick, so I was able to take advantage.)

I wasn't too nervous about it going in. I knew I probably had more experience than the other yellow belts. (I'd had to miss a testing to return to school, so I was more comfy with my techniques, and we'd worked pads and sparred a lot in class to prepare, and I'd been running and working the bag so my stamina etc was good. I was mainly looking forward to sparring new people in a slightly higher stakes environment. Just kept telling myself it didn't matter how I did one way or another.

 

[karatekid1975]

I had a chance to watch a tourny before I did my first one. I saw bad judging in sparring. So in my first tourny, I did breaking and forms. I got third in forms, but it was by default (there was only three people in my division). I started with one form, and I ended with another. I didn't place in breaking (never do except by default ... dang age thing). I hated it.

My first two tournies that I actually earned what I got (went by rank, not age), I was totally siked. This last one, and one about three years ago, I actually beat kids half my age (I'm 31) in forms by pure technique (they were flexible, but no power or "snap"). And I competed against 8 people in the last one, and 10 at the one three years ago. Those tournies mean a lot to me. Specially the last one.

 

[Miles]

I remember my first tournament experience-I was a 12 year old yellow belt. I lost my first match sparring against an older green belt. But, I got 2nd place in beginner forms. Still have the trophy somewhere. I was so nervous that day that I didn't eat. There were no concessions at the tournament so afterward my folks took me to a Dairy Queen where I got a hamburger. I was still so nervous I puked it up. Yuck!

We did not have any preparation, we just showed up and competed.

My last tournament I competed at was 2002 USTU Nationals in Detroit. I took 2nd place in 4th dan poomsae for older folks (up to 39). Not nearly as nervous as that first tournament.

My preparation for that one was a bit more intense. I ran, lifted weights, performed my poomsae every day at least 10 times since winning at MI State Championship.

Miles

 

[terryl965]

My first tournament was in 1972 and we had no hogu or all the padding, I finished second in poomse and first in fighting back then it was point sparring and it was the greatest time of my life.
terry

 

[Kacey]

I went to my first tournament as a white belt in a white and yellow belt division. The woman I fought in my first (and only, at that event) round had good aim, but no control. This was back in 1987, when hand and foot pads were pretty new; being in the ITF at the time, there were no other pads - so when this woman hit me in the head, no headgear, and pads were thinner then. She knocked me in the head so hard I got dizzy... including one time when she hit me through my own hand, by knocking my blocking hand into my head. I told the center she was hitting me too hard, and his response was "I don't see any bruises - do you want to go on or quit?"... in a very condenscending tone that basically said "are that much of a wuss, that you can't take a couple of punches to the head?". Well, I finished the match... lost, of course... nearly quit, but I had paid for patterns as well, and it was a lot of money for me at that time in my life. I didn't place in patterns, but I did win my first couple of rounds - one of them against the woman I'd sparred with. That was 19 years ago. I don't really remember what I did to prep, except that I was scared silly.

 

[Laborn]

I just had a tournament last night lol. Im ALWAYS nervous before i fight, but as soon as the ref says go, im home. It's good to be nervous tho, keeps you on your toes, just remember your nervous cause your thinking what could happen, future events appearing real-fear. So dont let your self be TOO nervous, lol...dont worry it's not as hard as you'd think it is.

Last night a 19 year old second dan had no one to fight, so they asked me if i would fight him, im 1st dan and 15, i said i would. LOL then everyone kept comming up to me giving me pointers and telling me he kicks extremely hard, again tho i was nervous as CRAP but once you get on the mat and feel the other fighter out...your home baby lol.

Hope i helped lol.

Laborm.