Need good advice

[Drunken_Boxer]

Hiho guys!
I started with tae kwon do a half year ago,and Im very good,normaly I trained in the past karate,when I got time I practice drunken boxing style and the eagle claw,but...
My first turnir or championship in my country starting 10.03.2007 man Im a lil bit scared,I mean,its my first time,I got a yellow belt,need 5 cm to perform a spagat,but Im afraid of that I will got again a kick in my ribs...my Master gave me a dwi chagi kick in my ribs (when I had sparring with him),so that I was out of my breath,and it was a horrible feeling since I got that kick.
So I need a goooood advice to get prepare for that championship.Thanks!
=)

 

[Laurentkd]

Hiho guys!
I started with tae kwon do a half year ago,and Im very good,normaly I trained in the past karate,when I got time I practice drunken boxing style and the eagle claw,but...
My first turnir or championship in my country starting 10.03.2007 man Im a lil bit scared,I mean,its my first time,I got a yellow belt,need 5 cm to perform a spagat,but Im afraid of that I will got again a kick in my ribs...my Master gave me a dwi chagi kick in my ribs (when I had sparring with him),so that I was out of my breath,and it was a horrible feeling since I got that kick.
So I need a goooood advice to get prepare for that championship.Thanks!
=)

Hi and welcome.

Could you tell us what you m ean by a "5 cm to perform a spagat"?

Otherwise, just relax and do your best. I always tell students to not expect anything great out of yourself at your first tournament. Its good to go just to experience it, see how it works, understand how the nerves effect you, learn to listen for your division being called (this is a big one!), etc. Then, once you have seen how it works once you'll be able to prepare better for the next one. And so on and so on, getting better and better eachtime.

So just prepare the best you can. Practice your form until you can do it without thinking (nerves can really hurt your performance). Work on endurance for sparring- this is something easily improved and always helpful. It sounds like you have a long time to prepare, so I am sure your master will be giving you lots of good advice and training.


Good luck, let us know how it goes!

 

[andyjeffries]

Spagat is the Danish word for - doing the splits - apparently (and it makes sense in context, that he's 5cm away from doing the splits).

http://spagats.blogspot.com/ (not my blog, I just found it by googling for spagat).

 

[Kacey]

Hiho guys!
I started with tae kwon do a half year ago,and Im very good,normaly I trained in the past karate,when I got time I practice drunken boxing style and the eagle claw,but...
My first turnir or championship in my country starting 10.03.2007 man Im a lil bit scared,I mean,its my first time,I got a yellow belt,need 5 cm to perform a spagat,but Im afraid of that I will got again a kick in my ribs...my Master gave me a dwi chagi kick in my ribs (when I had sparring with him),so that I was out of my breath,and it was a horrible feeling since I got that kick.
So I need a goooood advice to get prepare for that championship.Thanks!
=)

Well, first, I'm guessing that you're using European dating, and this tournament is on March 10 - not October 3 - so you only have a couple of weeks to get ready. The best way to prepare for tournament sparring is sparring - find some people in your class and practice a few rounds after class, if you can.

Also, one of the biggest problems people have is maintaining their energy level through the entire round - so when you're practicing, do longer rounds than the tournament requirement; for example, if your tournament is 2 minute rounds, practice sparring for 3 minutes at a time. Another to practice (with a parnter or alone) that will keep you moving the right amount of time is to practice to music - this works for patterns/tuls/poomsae/forms/whatever you call them as well as sparring - find a song you like that's longer than your sparring match, and practice to it - keep moving as long as the song is going. For patterns practice, match your pattern to the beat of the music, and repeat it over and over until the song ends - which can also help you to remember your pattern when you're nervous; just play the song in your memory, and it will help you remember.

As far as your instructor kicking you, well, it's going to happen - and better with your instructor, who you know and (hopefully) trust, than someone your own rank who (presumably) has much worse focus. If it happens in sparring, it happens - that's the way it goes; if you can't get hurt, then what's the point of sparring? The rules exist to keep you from getting hurt too badly, but if you don't have to block (which requires a lot more practice than striking) then sparring loses all of its' training benefits in terms of self-defense.

I wouldn't worry about the spagat - if it really is splits, it's not going to help you that much - so you can kick over your opponent's head, what good is that going to do? It's cool to see - and I know someone who dropped into full splits at a tournament and totally freaked out his opponent... unfortunately, he also partially ripped his hamstring, and almost couldn't compete. Be careful with the stretching.

Good luck to you, and let us know how it goes!

 

[andyjeffries]

I wouldn't worry about the spagat - if it really is splits, it's not going to help you that much - so you can kick over your opponent's head, what good is that going to do?

I agree with you when you say don't worry about it (particularly with regards to the upcoming tournament, it's too close to do much about it anyway).

However, I disagree with your logic and your point. The point of increased/maximum flexibility is not that you can kick at 8 foot in the air, but that the comfort level and power you can put in to a kick at 6 foot is dramatically increased.

I think 5cm in the case of the OP will make negligible difference, but I hear the argument all the time "don't worry about being able to kick high, no-one's that tall" and it's a fallacy. Maybe you didn't mean your post in those strong a terms, but I tend to bite when I hear some standard arguments ("Olympic Taekwondo fighters wouldn't be able to defend themselves in a street fight", "kicks to the head are slow", etc, etc).

 

[Kacey]

I agree with you when you say don't worry about it (particularly with regards to the upcoming tournament, it's too close to do much about it anyway).

However, I disagree with your logic and your point. The point of increased/maximum flexibility is not that you can kick at 8 foot in the air, but that the comfort level and power you can put in to a kick at 6 foot is dramatically increased.

I think 5cm in the case of the OP will make negligible difference, but I hear the argument all the time "don't worry about being able to kick high, no-one's that tall" and it's a fallacy. Maybe you didn't mean your post in those strong a terms, but I tend to bite when I hear some standard arguments ("Olympic Taekwondo fighters wouldn't be able to defend themselves in a street fight", "kicks to the head are slow", etc, etc).

I agree that 5 cm isn't going to make much of a difference - and as far as being able to kick that high goes, yes, it can be an advantage - to a point. I watched a man warm up one day by kicking the net on a standard basketball hoop... then I watched him lose fight after fight because that was the only height he could kick; he couldn't kick low enough to hit people in the head, never mind anywhere else. So yes, I do have a problem with flexibility for the sake of flexibility - especially if you sacrifice all else to the question of flexibility, as with the person I described earlier - so concerned with his flexibility and using it to impress people that he injured himself to the point he almost couldn't compete... and that was mild; another practitioner I know was asked how he kicked that high and with such control - it seems he had tied his foot to the top of a door and then jumped to deliberately rip the hamstring... several times... on each leg... until he had the effect he wanted. Of course, some years later, he has permanent damage, and difficulty walking - but hey, he was really flexible. Stories like this (and the visible proof of the damage such activities cause) do make me somewhat concerned about people who want flexibility over all else, and thus, yes, I am somewhat cautious about flexibility for it's own sake - but not for flexibility as adjunct to general fitness and ability.

As an aid to strength, I have no problem with it at all... and I'm not in an Olympic TKD style; I practice Ch'ang H'on TKD, where the assumptions are somewhat different - as we do kick to the head; one my instructor's best weapons is hook kicking people in the back of the head, while standing in front of his opponent. But it is by no means his only weapon, nor even his primary weapon... as much fun as it is to watch.

 

[Drunken_Boxer]

Guys I really dont know what to say...thank you all,thx... =)
Take care all of you!!

 

[zDom]

... one my instructor's best weapons is hook kicking people in the back of the head, while standing in front of his opponent. ...

I used to do that a lot, too Lotsa fun and they are always so surprised by it

 

[matt.m]

good luck my friend and welcome. nice and slow coupled by steady and relaxed will be the course of this ship.

 

[tellner]

Good advice? Hokay.

Your thumb on the blade and strike upwards.