Competing tomorrow

[Kacey]

It sounds like you did very well - congratulations! Your attitude about the sparring match is great - too many people would be moaning and complaining. Losing well is a skill that many lack, and you seem to have mastered. My sahbum often states that there are two losers in any round: the person declared the loser, and the referee(s) who judge the round; people like yourself who truly lose well, and learn from the experience rather than complaining about it, are, in my opinion, those who most deserve respect. :asian:

 

[zDom]

Thanks Exile and Kacey. There is more to be learned by losing than winning, usually, and good sportsmanship is among them.

One of the things I trained while coming up through the ranks was to not let my disappointment about what I thought were "bad calls" show on my face or body language.

Now I hardly even FEEL the disappointment: I just have fun with the competition, win or lose. The only disappointment I REALLY feel nowadays is when I feel I didn't perform as well as I think I can.

Exile: I use ball of the foot for breaking (although I do use instep for sparring).

My focus was actually off a bit for that break: my pinky toe was almost at the top edge of the board, but I had enough "penetration" and power to snap the board anyway. And my "holders" had a nice grip and didn't allow the board to "rotate."

 

[terryl965]

zDom great sound like you had a great time inthe uke you did sound like yu was in a zone and also congrats on being a judge it is so hard to compete and then judge, my hat goes off to you sir.

 

[exile]

Thanks Exile and Kacey. There is more to be learned by losing than winning, usually, and good sportsmanship is among them.

That is a very... intelligent way of looking at it, is the only way I can put it. I hadn't ever quite seen it in that light before. Yeah: when you win, all you do is what you already know and nothing challenges it, so no new information comes in. When you lose, there's a piece of reality that you had overlooked that you now have to absorb. So the real `losers', in effect, are those who are so precoccupied with winning that they never learn anything, past a certain point...

One of the things I trained while coming up through the ranks was to not let my disappointment about what I thought were "bad calls" show on my face or body language.

Now I hardly even FEEL the disappointment: I just have fun with the competition, win or lose. The only disappointment I REALLY feel nowadays is when I feel I didn't perform as well as I think I can.

With an attitude like that, very little is going to be able to defeat you, I'd say.

Exile: I use ball of the foot for breaking (although I do use instep for sparring).

That's the usual division of labour, I suspect---instep for speed, but the ball of the foot as the dense, small-area striking surface for a hard protected impact that you need for breaking. I have seen turning kicks breaking with the instep, but it made me wince... all those small bones crashing in on that very solid board.

My focus was actually off a bit for that break: my pinky toe was almost at the top edge of the board, but I had enough "penetration" and power to snap the board anyway. And my "holders" had a nice grip and didn't allow the board to "rotate."

Ooh yeah, that's when you want good holders, eh?! Good thing you weren't up against one of those `rogue boards', the kind that you can barely break even one of with a hammerfist... every so often when I'm conditioning breaking I get one of those. When you look at them sideways, it's like there's no natural lines of separation in them at all---everything is going every which-way, sort of more like glass than wood. The chief instructor at a TKD dojang near my house, a KKW sixth dan, says that once she and a bunch of other very high-ranking BBs at some clinic encountered a board like that---passed it around, no one could break it---these are people who break five and six boards at a time with front and side kicks---and eventually they took the board outside and gave it an honorable burial, still unbroken. You just hope you're not gonna encounter one of those in a tournament.

Mostly, it sounds like you guys had a rousing good time!

 

[matt.m]

Ok,

It is hard to follow a professional writer but I will do my best. Well, in poomse I took 3rd. Scott is correct, it is was and always will be a very tough division. The middle ranks always are. I was very satisfied with my placing. One of the main instructors, Mr. Evans, at my locale gave me a 6.9 out of possible 7.0. I was told by Mr. Evans, GM Hildebrand and pop that I had won by their score cards. That is all I need, feedback...I don't care if it is positive or negative. Afterall, feedback is how you know if things you are attempting to accomplish is going in a positive or negative manner.

Also just to let you guys know, as soon as my division was done I helped keep score for three other divisions for their poomse. I looked at my divisions score card and saw that the top 3 scores were 20.5, 20.4, and 20.3. Very close and very tough. But fun and rewarding nonetheless. At the draw to conclusion of the tournament a friend and classmate of mine walked up to me and asked what happened to the t-shirts. They were gone, put away or sold out. I gave him mine, I have a ton of organization shirts and couldn't help but give him mine. He has returned from a hiatus and is a good guy.

I, like Scott spent 9/10 of the time helping with the tournament. I was either helping to keep score or time when I wasn't competing. Dad volunteered me during hapkido form and I was found for a 2 hr sparring brackett(s). It was a huge amount of fun. I cannot wait until our winter championship. Hopefully I will be blue belt and Scott will have his dan in hapkido.

I have to brag on my friend, and fellow dan *Side note - I was awarded an honorary dan in Judo a little over a week ago-

Back to Scott....to give an example...when I did poomse my classmates from St.L and dad's hapkido class watched. However, when Scott was doing his breaks, hapkido forms, or sparring a mass of spectators congregated around just to see how he did. The guy is exceptionally talented, humble and considerate. A great martial artist and human being.

I will, as I said....build a website and host tournament pics. I have to get the freebie stuff built up and design it. I am looking at being done no later than Saturday.

Thank you everyone for all the positive feedback in interest that you have shown Mr. Welton and myself for our Saturday endeavor.

 

[terryl965]

Matt great job and as always the perfect gentlemen, way to go and help out all day and you are right the scores was real close.

 

[exile]

Matt---so you also covered yourself with glory, I see! Third place in a tough tournament is a terrific achievement, and you did a lot more there on behalf of the competition itself and the competitors than most of the people attending. Wish it had been in Columbus, I'd love to have seen you guys tear up the place.

Bet you're pretty beat, at this point. Hope you were able to rest up afterwards. My impression is that a lot of people run on adrenaline up to and then shortly after their events and then kind of crash---some of it is fatigue from all the running around and competing, and some from being keyed up for the thing, and then the reaction.

You guys sound like you're on serious winning streaks...

 

[matt.m]

Matt---so you also covered yourself with glory, I see! Third place in a tough tournament is a terrific achievement, and you did a lot more there on behalf of the competition itself and the competitors than most of the people attending. Wish it had been in Columbus, I'd love to have seen you guys tear up the place.

Bet you're pretty beat, at this point. Hope you were able to rest up afterwards. My impression is that a lot of people run on adrenaline up to and then shortly after their events and then kind of crash---some of it is fatigue from all the running around and competing, and some from being keyed up for the thing, and then the reaction.

You guys sound like you're on serious winning streaks...

Actually no, I was fine. I remain for the most part very relaxed. By the way, as I stated before... I am ok, marginally decent to good. Scott is great in his ability. As far as the adrenaline to crash business. Well I don't go through that for whatever reason, I feel that it is all good as long as I am not getting shot at.