Karate Dad said:
I have tennis elbow which sai training isn't helping! I do have a series of exercises that are intended to help strengthen the area but it seems that I am always tweaking the injury. The quick fix is to lighten the weapon.
But what is the long term solution? Perhaps you should continue to work with the regularly weighted weapon, with less crispness and at a slower pace, to help strengthen the muscles, tendons and ligaments rather than rush off to compete...?
This approach is also consistent with with what healthy competitors are doing with their weapons. Competition swords, bo staffs, kamas and 'chuks are exceedingly light (not cheap either). In traditional weapon kata divisions, the weight of the weapon isn't as much of a problem since you are using the weapon in the manner it was intended. In open kata divisions, it tends to be all about "the flash"; the number and types of spins and releases one does with the weapon directly impacts your score. (Assuming that everyone has good basics of course.) In these cases, the lighter the weapon, the easier it is to accomplish more complicated manuevers.
And you reach a crossroads in your training... You said in another thread that you and your daughters were studying martial arts, at least in part, for the self-defense aspect of it. You also lamented saying that their technique appeared satisfactory for such purposes, but they were having difficulty defending themselves in tournaments...
I'm beginning to think you aren't getting your money's worth...
If the instruction your two black belt eligible children and you are receiving is guiding you toward "the flash" of competition, impractical exercises, and an inability to use your skills against a competitor in a safe, rules-heavy environment, I have to question what it is you are really learning.
1) I have never seen a traditional school, with a strong bent toward practical self-defense training, do poorly in competition. Quite the opposite. Crisp, clean, predictable techniques to defend against are far easier to deal with than sloppy, unpredictable "street" methods. The only difficulty I've ever seen from the above mentioned students was a tendency to hit harder than was allowed... Due directly to their regular training to strike and disable an opponent, not just score a point.
2) If you are interested in competition, that's fine, but be very firmly aware that it means absolutely nothing in regards to your ability as a martial artist to successfully deal with an aggressive and persistent attacker.
3) If you are studying a traditional style (I believe you stated you were), then what is the difference between the kata you are learning and performing in the traditional division, and the kata you are performing in the open division? Are you, your daughters, or your teacher "making up" kata for competition?
There are a couple different issues at hand. I'd encourage you to stay the traditional course and avoid "the flash" at all costs. It is purposeless and does nothing more than serve the ego. The development of genuine skill, I find, is far more satisfying than a tournament win (and I used to participate in tournaments, won a few, lost a few, so I'm not speaking as a person who has never competed).
Enjoy.
). What are you folks using? Any ideas on who is selling lightweight, competition sai's?
