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Taekwondo
Replies
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Just some incoherent rambling.
Someone took my red belt by accident last tuesday so I haven't had it all week. I've had to wear my purple belt. Feels bad....
I did the math, and looked on the calendar, it looks like I'll be getting my black belt the week of my 38th birthday. What a great gift to give myself.
Our intramural championship is coming up. I always lose and come in last place. I'm convinced the judges from other schools either dislike me or just rate their students higher (each ring has 1 judge from each school). So usually I only spar. However, since I'm a red belt now I qualify to compete for "grand champion", so if I manage to take first in all three events I get an enormous trophy and some photo ops. I just know that if I go for grand champion, and the tournament goes like it always does, I"m going to be a little heart broken. At least with sparring I get to kick someone in the head, literally.
That's the funny thing with sparring. I always lose, I have NEVER come in first in a division (best I've gotten is 2nd), but I always have fun, because... I'm hitting people. lol. No other situation allows me to do that.1 -
Geocitiesuser wrote: »Just some incoherent rambling.
Someone took my red belt by accident last tuesday so I haven't had it all week. I've had to wear my purple belt. Feels bad....
I did the math, and looked on the calendar, it looks like I'll be getting my black belt the week of my 38th birthday. What a great gift to give myself.
Our intramural championship is coming up. I always lose and come in last place. I'm convinced the judges from other schools either dislike me or just rate their students higher (each ring has 1 judge from each school). So usually I only spar. However, since I'm a red belt now I qualify to compete for "grand champion", so if I manage to take first in all three events I get an enormous trophy and some photo ops. I just know that if I go for grand champion, and the tournament goes like it always does, I"m going to be a little heart broken. At least with sparring I get to kick someone in the head, literally.
That's the funny thing with sparring. I always lose, I have NEVER come in first in a division (best I've gotten is 2nd), but I always have fun, because... I'm hitting people. lol. No other situation allows me to do that.
That would be a great gift to yourself!! That is an experience like no other.
A few comments on tournaments...
1 - You don't lose at tournaments. You either Win, or you Learn.
2 - I got knocked out of a LOT of tournaments as a colored belt... it happens. I eventually learned that the real victory to be had at tournaments was in how it made me strive to become a better martial artist - to be the best that I can be. The trophies are just icing on the cake... eventually perseverance won through. I later was very successful at tournaments as a 1st and 2nd dan.1 -
That would be a great gift to yourself!! That is an experience like no other.
A few comments on tournaments...
1 - You don't lose at tournaments. You either Win, or you Learn.
2 - I got knocked out of a LOT of tournaments as a colored belt... it happens. I eventually learned that the real victory to be had at tournaments was in how it made me strive to become a better martial artist - to be the best that I can be. The trophies are just icing on the cake... eventually perseverance won through. I later was very successful at tournaments as a 1st and 2nd dan.
thank you for that bwmalone. i think that is definitely the point - to be the best you can be and keep pushing. i find that attitude very inspiring and it makes me happy to hear it.
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In theory yes, in practice, I get really upset. The past few intramural tournaments I leave there depressed out of my mind. I train really hard and really consistently. I make a lot of big demands of myself. I already lose at a lot of things in life, so I'm trying to make TKD something I can win at.
Like, I should probably have some plans after the tournament just to keep my spirits up lol, cos last time I think I went home and dove into a pizza.
And this is only the intramurals for some reason. I'm okay with losing at states and governor's cup for some reason.0 -
Geo, do you ever bring a friend with you to your tournaments as your cheerleader? Maybe making plans with them for afterward to "celebrate" the event will make you feel not so bad. To me, being brave enough to put yourself out there like that is a huge thing! Another thing that may help is seeing yourself spar. Sometimes, like professional athletes, seeing a video of themselves in action helps them see things they can't see while they're in the thick of it.
As I mentioned before I haven't sparred much, let alone be in a tournament so maybe none of these are helpful, but maybe they would be.1 -
All of my friends are there sparring too lol
Afterwards though everyone goes back to their own friends/family, and I go back home to my empty house of video games :P So I'm sort of left alone with my thoughts. 0 -
Geocitiesuser wrote: »In theory yes, in practice, I get really upset. The past few intramural tournaments I leave there depressed out of my mind. I train really hard and really consistently. I make a lot of big demands of myself. I already lose at a lot of things in life, so I'm trying to make TKD something I can win at.
Like, I should probably have some plans after the tournament just to keep my spirits up lol, cos last time I think I went home and dove into a pizza.
And this is only the intramurals for some reason. I'm okay with losing at states and governor's cup for some reason.
I understand completely. There was one tournament I went to 3-4 times as a colored belt... a regional that I had to travel for about 2 hours to get to. It was one of the larger tournaments in the state at the time, and hosted by my school's top rival school... so competing in this was a pretty big deal to my instructor, and we always took quite a few people to this one.
I NEVER did well in that tournament... and it sucked... I think part of it had to do with the tournament hosts selecting a large number of judges from their own schools, as I remember walking away many times thinking "Why is it when I hit them my points aren't called, but they touch me and theirs are?" - It's been years now so I don't remember any specific calls, but I remember the feelings of being treated unfairly quite clearly.
It was going to that specific tournament that forced me to grow beyond just wanting to win.... and ironically, once my goal for going to tournaments shifted to self improvement, was when I started winning.0 -
Geocitiesuser wrote: »All of my friends are there sparring too lol Afterwards though everyone goes back to their own friends/family, and I go back home to my empty house of video games :P So I'm sort of left alone with my thoughts.
We used to organize a party for after every testing or tournament.. usually pizza, but could be anything. The idea was to celebrate going to the event, and it was good times. Maybe you could organize something like that?0 -
"Why is it when I hit them my points aren't called, but they touch me and theirs are?"
It bothers me greatly that judges will award points when I have clearly blocked the strike and they never touched my hogu. I look forward to the more fair scoring of e-hogus when I hit black belt.
At my intramurals it's a game of "Who can wildly throw the most kicks".
At governor's cup it's at least a bit more fair, and there is a viewable scoreboard. At intramurals ... it's all secret. No score board. No way to tell how the match is going. And since our instructors are judging other rings, we don't get coaches.
What burns me most? (lol) Forms and breaking. Because if you do all your moves, or break all your boards, it is 100% opinion based.1 -
Geocitiesuser wrote: »"Why is it when I hit them my points aren't called, but they touch me and theirs are?"
It bothers me greatly that judges will award points when I have clearly blocked the strike and they never touched my hogu. I look forward to the more fair scoring of e-hogus when I hit black belt.
At my intramurals it's a game of "Who can wildly throw the most kicks".
At governor's cup it's at least a bit more fair, and there is a viewable scoreboard. At intramurals ... it's all secret. No score board. No way to tell how the match is going. And since our instructors are judging other rings, we don't get coaches.
What burns me most? (lol) Forms and breaking. Because if you do all your moves, or break all your boards, it is 100% opinion based.
Bias in judging is a real thing, and when I am asked to judge, the responsibility to be as unbiased as I can be is one that I take Very seriously.
Forms is a tough to compete in, because it is completely subjective to the judge's view of "what is good" - and a lot of times they may see stylistic differences on minor execution differences between schools as "wrong" because things are done differently in their school, causing an unintentionally bias toward the technique variants that are more familiar (i.e. students from their own school).
This is what I look for, and what I coach people who want to compete in forms to focus on:
Correct execution of technique (this is where most bias comes in for different judges)
Blocks and strikes
- Definitive start and ending position
- Execute through the motion correctly (i.e. straight moves are straight with no curve, circular moves complete a circle with limb extended, not cut short)
Kicks
- Chambered well
- Have a distinct chamber, execution, re-chamber, and controlled set down.
- Do not cause the performer to lose balance
Stances
- All stances need to be squared away, (tip: bend your knees 2x what you think you need to)
Power
- Movements are fast from starting position to ending position
- Movements come from full speed to a sudden stop and look crisp - not "mushy"
Fluidity
- Combinations have a distinct start and end, while moves within the combination tend to flow together
- Movement from stance to stance is graceful and controlled.
- No stomping into stances *unless explicitly required*
Targeting
- Eye position (looks same direction of move)
- Target should always assume same size/position of performer (i.e. a punch to face should be at same height as face of performer)
- Target assumes center mass, or specific angle that is clearly displayed for that movement- and is consistent.
- All kicks are head level or above (unless explicitly targeting lower)
Artistic
- Slow movements are executed with tension in the muscles, and show perfection of technique
- Performer approaches the form, especially the first move with 100% intensity, 100% power like that first move is going to break 100 boards.
- At the end of the form, be still.
- Performer goes beyond just executing moves... bring them together into something that is more than just moves in a sequence... just as a song is more than just notes put together, or a story is more than just words on a page.
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Geocitiesuser wrote: »Sounds like it might be ITF, but you should definitely ask which form of TKD you're learning.
Geo, I stopped at my class today on the way to physical therapy to update my teacher on my knee and asked which form TKD we do. He said ITF. You were right.0 -
I need to get something off my chest.
TKD class has been a lot less fun lately. We have many new "special needs" students, and many new foreign low belts. Most of our classes lately have been either white belt basics, or getting in trouble b/c of the special needs kids. I feel held back because we are not practicing more advanced kicks or techniques, and some nights the exercise intensity has really fallen short.
I am glad to see all the new students, and I am sure these classes are beneficial to all of them, but I can't help but feel a bit flighty. I'm considering hitting up one of the other schools in our dojang family, but at the same time I don't want to abandoned "my" dojang and instructor. Tough situation. Hoping it gets better.
And to be clear, I don't dislike anyone, I just feel my training is being held back and I'm finding class to be a lot less fun over all.0 -
Can you make a suggestion about splitting up the class into two sections so the higher belts stay challenged while the lower belts learn basics?
When they do that in my class I appreciate it and also get to appreciate seeing what the higher belts are doing in their section - knowing that's what I'm supposed to be striving towards.0 -
There's no real opportunity to do that currently.0
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Is there a way your instructor tells the advanced class to do xyz n helps the other ones. later he can check the status of your self practice. I have mostly trained in mixed groups and with only one trainer n it has worked that the training was challenging for everyone. maybe you can talk to your trainer so that he or she can make adjustment to the sessions?0
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as probably one of those beginners in class - i can see how this might get frustrating for advanced students. a good teacher though, spends time with students equally. and even as a business, he or she shouldn't favor advanced student or beginner students even though we all know it happens sometimes. if you aren't getting what you want out of class you may have to ask for it or let them know that you're interested in working on something specific.2
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Geocitiesuser wrote: »I need to get something off my chest.
TKD class has been a lot less fun lately. We have many new "special needs" students, and many new foreign low belts. Most of our classes lately have been either white belt basics, or getting in trouble b/c of the special needs kids. I feel held back because we are not practicing more advanced kicks or techniques, and some nights the exercise intensity has really fallen short.
I am glad to see all the new students, and I am sure these classes are beneficial to all of them, but I can't help but feel a bit flighty. I'm considering hitting up one of the other schools in our dojang family, but at the same time I don't want to abandoned "my" dojang and instructor. Tough situation. Hoping it gets better.
And to be clear, I don't dislike anyone, I just feel my training is being held back and I'm finding class to be a lot less fun over all.
Another option is to take advantage of the situation and really drill the basics hard along with the new students. It has been my experience that the people who have the hardest time with advanced techniques (especially kicks) usually have issues in their basic techniques.... and the better someone is at basics, the better they perform at high levels.
Not saying you have any issues with your basics, but there is no such thing as being too good at basics.
Also, you might want to mention this to your instructor.. If he isn't getting feedback, he might not be aware of the frustration... and it's likely that other students are feeling it too.3 -
Also, you might want to mention this to your instructor.. If he isn't getting feedback, he might not be aware of the frustration... and it's likely that other students are feeling it too.
This exactly! Volunteer to teach some of the intermediate skill if there is a group in that category. I learn so much more when I teach.
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My school had several class every evening. Times varied each day so that one could find a class time that suited their schedule.
Low colored belts - White through Purple
Upper colored belts - Red through Brown
Black belts
Kids only (usually on Saturday)
Adults only
Open Sparring
Anyone could go to classes at their rank or lower. Lower belts had to have permission from the school owner to attend a class above their rank.
I'd usually teach a couple of low belt classes and then stay for the upper classes.1
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