Tournaments should be a good thing,and may be getting better.Judging is the weak point.Some of the new circuits are changing this by requiring judges to be tested and certified.I judged many years ago and enjoyed doing so till I realised I was not qualified to judge such a diverse group of styles.I could do a decent job with the styles more similar to my own(Shito ryu)like Shotokan and other Japanese styles but when it comes to TKD or Wushu or even some of the Americanised systems of Kempo etc.I did not feel properly trained to effeciently or fairly judge these events.But if you can find events such as those put on by AAU or USANKF,I am sure there are others,please support there efforts to fix this situation.If you go to a tournament and they are getting their judges by grabbing any available black belts from the stands or spectators ereas I would recommend saving your entry funds for an event with better odds of being scored fairly by unbiased judges that are properly trained to look at a wider variety of styles and judge them all on the same scale. I would not want the judge I was judging the martial artist I am. Thomas Hodges Gambatte