I have mixed feelings about creative forms that are, uh, very creative in that way. I'm glad to see people engaging with what they've learned in an original way and using their athletic and creative abilities to the fullest, but at the same time they don't always have a lot to do with martial arts and can be pretty cheesy. I remember seeing one that was at least 50% breakdancing at the last tournament I was at. Either way, they definitely shouldn't be competing against people doing traditional forms - I'd be cranky if I saw that. Creative and traditional forms should be seperate events.
Many times creative and Traditional forms are seperate, but sometimes what sets them apart is only if their is music involved. If it's a music form then it's "Specialty Division" but because it is an "open" tournament it could be anything without music in say empty hand kata division. Because when anything goes then therein lies the issue for me, how can a person really be judged correctly?
At the tournament I mentioned before one of my students was doing the ITF Brown Belt kata Hwa Rang, she slipped on the mat as she was stepping forward to punch. She misjudged her footing and she got a real low score as she should have, or well at least lower than any body who made it through their kata without a mistake. She and her dad were fine with that. However another competitor comes in with his made up gymnastic routine and misjudges where he started his kata and ends up going clearly outside of the ring, stops and marches back to the center of the ring assumes his stance and continues his made up kata. He placed I think 3rd? WHAAAAAT?
As we were watching my student's division, I heard a student approach his instructor behind me and tell him he wasn't going to compete and his instructor tell him to "Don't worry about it, make something up, do your back flip and no one will know the difference" or something like that. I was livid hearing that.
My student lost her footing and everyone knew because of her kata, but if somebody makes up a kata then who knows if they forget a move or not, and to have an instructor tell his student to do just that in order to try and win a piece of plastic and stone urrgh
Not a big fan of spectator fees either, but there are costs associated with hosting a tournament, so I don't have a problem with there being entrance fees for competitors. I've been looking into hosting a tournament recently, and IIRC the insurance alone was $150-300 per 50 participants. Add in the cost of renting out a rec center or school gym for a day, and if you're bringing in mats, computerized scoring systems, trophies, etc.... it must add up. (We're planning on doing it at our school and having manual scoring, so the costs shouldn't be too high, but it's not gonna be free.)
I'm in agreement on covering costs, I'm not against making a profit either, but their comes a point when it starts to cross over the line. However than can be just me too, since I don't place that much value on the tournaments in the first place. I've been to big tournaments where around each ring their were seats so spectators could sit and watch. I've been in other places where is it a gym floor and they are charging for spectators but not providing any seating. If you're going to charge for spectators they need to get something in return, like a seat, rather than just holding a family hostage and price gouging them so they can watch little Johnny fight one match, maybe do a kata and then go home.
Say a family has a little Yellow or beginning belt child and it's their first tournament; so the family loads up in the car, drives an hour, parks (might even have to pay for parking) goes to the tournament and pays $40.00 for the entrance fee, then $10.00 a head to watch and the kid gets up and does his kata, 1/2 and hour later does his kata and doesn't win. Maybe he gets a participation medal or a sticker and the family gets to shell out $60.00 for about what an hour. Oh and they had to stand around for that hour as well.
Likewise if that child goes and gets scared because of all of the chaos, all of the loud music, all of the yelling, and disrespect being shown by people outside of the ring etc. etc. what message or impression of the martial arts do the parents leave it? Hey maybe enrolling little Johnny back into soccer is a good idea?
Yikes. That's terrible. I mean, tournaments I've been to allow coaches, but you don't question the refs or yell during the match (beyond maybe "you can do it!", "light on your feet!" kinda stuff). You have to be professional. And fighting in the crowd, wow. I wouldn't go back to that.
I didn't witness the fight, we left before that however I was told later by the head of our association who was there as well that a fight broke out in the BB sparring ring. But I was hearing the same types of things at the under BB sparring rings, the coaching and the yelling at the refs, which is why we cruised when everyone had sparred who wanted to, we took off, we left the circus.
As I prepare our students for these two upcoming tournaments (or any tournament we go to for that matter), they and the parents get mini instructions (mini lectures) on proper behavior, both for the competitors and for the parents as well. It's not the trophy that counts it is effort getting ready, it is the courage that it takes to step out of your comfort zone and compete, it is being a good sport and being honorable and controlling one self even when the call is against you etc. etc. that is what is important not the piece of plastic and stone that gathers dust in a few months on the shelf.
