Tournament in 2 months -help!!!?

Question

Hi I've got a martial art tournament next month which I'm looking forward - I'll be taking part in formations, throwing techniques/locks and staf spinning. The only problem is I really want to do the sparring as well and due to the fact I'm 16 now I could easily be up against 30 year old men! I'm not very strong and really don't fancy coming back with black eyes (sure there's gloves and head padding but that could easily happen still).

Has anybody got any tips/ training ideas that could be useful in 2 months time??? thanks for the help. Bumble

Answer 1

What Martial Art is it that has a tournament with no weight divisions and no sex divisions?

Are you sure that the sparring portion doesn't break it down by weight and sex? (Most all of them do, and you should get matched with people your weight, your sex, and around your skill level).

As far as training tips, the best way to prepare is to start sparring now. Get used to moving, finding timing, and get used to what it feels like to get hit, so that you aren't scared of it, and you will have confidence in the protective equipment.

I could give you all kinds of tips, but I actually it would help to know what kind of sparring and what art it is, then I can really tell you a bit more about how to prepare.

One thing is for sure, you need to work cardio, and you need to spar as much as possible now.

Good luck, feel free to message me for more information!

Answer 2

I have to agree with the others-no tournament should be allowing you to compete against others over 17 years of age in fighting and most of the time there are separate divisions for teenage females for fighting. Kata and weapons are sometimes combined but almost never fighting. I have seen some small tournaments where sometimes there are not so many divisions and where boys fight girls at 9 or 10 but not teens. If you have to worry about getting hurt by some testosterone male for a little trophy or ribbon something is wrong with the people putting this on and with your instructor for being a party to it.

I am not chastising you but I really think you need to investigate this further and see what or if this is what is expected of you. Safety of those competing should always be the first and primary concern and you fighting adult males who may or may not have good control and the proper attitude is just asking for someone like you to get hurt. If this is correct then you need to really consider another school and instructor. You can e-mail me through this site if you like for some training tips and I will be happy to give you several but you need to check this out more and my recommendation would be that it should not be taking place for your safety or any of the other young students that may be fighting-female or male.

Answer 3

My first tip would be to skip sparring this time and spar next year (or whenever the next tourney is). If I read your question correctly it looks like you will be participating in 3 different events. I assume you would like to win 1st place in these events, or at least place 2nd, 3rd, or 4th. If you truly want to win then you need to dedicate your time to training/practicing for these events that you are already signed up for. If you throw sparring training on top of what you have already I would bet money that you will not place above 5th in any of your categories. I go to a lot of tournaments for all different kinds of martial arts and it is an extremely rare sight to see a person place in sparring along with any other category. usually, the guys who place high in sparring are not enrolled in any other event.
Aside from this advice, however, you asked for tips on sparring training. The very first thing you need to train for is stamina, though the rounds are usually pretty short, there isn't usually a long wait between fights either. Which means very little time to rest and catch your breath before your on the way to the next bout. To train stamina is easy: buy a jump rope. Jump rope everyday for 5 minutes straight as fast as you possibly can, when you can do 5 minutes with little difficulty and not trip on the rope once move up to 10 minutes, and so on. In 1 to 2 months you will spin that jumprope with blinding speed and be able to spar for hours without rest, literally. The next most important thing is speed: fast footwork, fast arms, and fast legs. This is done easily by practicing your blocks, punches, kicks, and movements over and over again. A good regimen is to do 100 of each everyday: 100 blocks, 100 punches, etc. Do the 100 consecutively without stop for each arm/leg, that means do 100 non-stop punches as fast as you can with each arm EVERYDAY. You don't have to do the same punch everyday however. Today do the hook punch, tomorrow do the uppercut, etc. Very important for this speed drill is to do your footwork maneuvers and blocks 100 times as well, this will make you light on your feet, able to dodge attacks, and you will swat away attacks like flies. This will prevent your "black eye" that you fear. If you find that you are already pretty fast you can add resistance to your drills by wearing weighted wrist/ankle straps for attacks/blocks or a backpack during maneuvering. Lastly, after you have trained this way for at least 2 weeks you are ready to practice sparring against a live opponent. Try to spar at least twice a week for at least a 1/2 hour each time. This will hone your utilization of the skills you've been practicing as well as help you develp battle strategies. To recap, train in 3 areas: stamina, speed, and sparring practice. Good luck whatever your decision and Happy Training.

Answer 4

Every tournament I've been in sparring and there were weight classes, rank, and male vs. male and females vs. females. And I wouldn't worry too much on black eyes because the sparring should be controlled by refs watching so either one of you don't get hurt they don't want any law suits on their hands. But as far as your tourney goes just relax and do your very best.

Good Luck

Answer 5

if you are concerned with black eyes then you might not want to spar. Its impossible to say whether or not you are going to catch a nice strike to the face or not. If its something that really bothers you i would suggest not participating in the sparring portion of the event. Black eyes and bruises are a sign of a tough fight. I personally wouldn't worry about it.

Answer 6

Train harder and defeat fear, the more you worry in the time that should be spent training. Especially, I recommend just having two or three combinations and work them to death. I recommend that for both ju-jitsu or sparring. Then your mind can be totally on strategy instead of on tactics, because you'll have worked them to death; Remember.

Answer 7

It's $80 period not late fees. Sponsorship? Are you nuts look to Mom and Dad. Or cough up the $80 on your own. Go to the NAGA sight some time and look around. Or talk to your instructor he should be able to help set you straight.

Answer 8

i agree with judomofo, here in the state of texas department of licensing and regulation for combat sports they have weight classes and classes based on gender. otherwords if you are 120lbs girl you cant fight a 220lbs guy. and usually they put yall in divisions based on skill level to the best of their abilities, sometimes you might fight someone a lil higher or lower in ranking. people want to see a good match not a slaughter. and they are especially going to look out for the novice competitors

i say fine tune your skills ask your instructor what you should work on and do it. if you are doing striking i'd work on my footwork and movement alot, good movement can get you out of a lot of bad situations and can create angles for you to attack at. also conditioning, do some running and jump roping to help with cardio and sit ups push ups etc...to work on musclar endurance. you really dont want to gas while competing no matter how much skill you have if you are too tired to use those skills you're pretty screwed(trust me its happen to me)

Answer 9

your division should actually be 16-18.
your school may have you mixed in with adults but tournaments should be 18+adult, 17down kids.

Answer 10

i know krav maga and ill help
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