Thank you very much for the amazing advice!
I spoke to my sensei about it and he said that he'd definitely take me to an open tournament sometime in 2012. I have a good 6 months to train and get ready for it.
I completely understand that competitions and tournaments aren't the goal at the end of my training. I think that tournaments, for me personally, will help motivate me to get better as a karate-ka as I will be able to evaluate my fighting style as a whole and also assess my knowledge so far and then improve as I see others that will, most likely, be doing better than I am.
People have warned me about the fact that people do anything possible to win and even when the ref's/judges would be biased towards an opponent.
My (acquaintances) have all had some kind of experience in the karate tournament and competition field, so I hope I'd be able to go to them for any advice and for any encouragement on the training and on the practices leading towards the time.
My (coach) also recommended me trying to build my stamina up by doing things like running etc. as exercise and warm-ups. Would having a lot of stamina help me at tournaments and, if so, how much difference would it make?
Thank you so much for your time to give me very strong advice and hints in preparation.

Apologies for the late reply.

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Hello again, yes, we are all very busy, and it is not often that we have time to sit down and write. It was good hearing from you, and I'm glad that you seem to have the support you will need through your training.

To your question, I am a huge advocate of being physically in top shape when you enter a competition. There are several things to consider when you are going to enter a Karate tournament. First of all, conditioning is essential. Not important... I mean essential, if you are not in top condition and your opponent is, you have no chance. In the past, I have competed while not in my best physical condition, but usually against lower skilled opponents and I can still win easily. However I would never dream to engage a similarly skilled or superior opponent in less than my optimal shape. If you do that, you are setting yourself up for failure already.

If you are in great shape, you can execute to the best of your abilities the entire match, every match. If you are not, you will execute really well, maybe for the first minute, then your performance will drop, and the last minute or 30 seconds will be grueling. I have seen folks be so tired after 2 minutes, that they are unable to block anything coming at them, let alone attack successfully, if at all; losing an easy fight because their conditioning is sub-par.

Second, and this goes with conditioning, choose your ideal weight. I've been on both sides of the spectrum. I have cut down weight so much, that I had nothing left to go on, all my strength went with the weight. On the other hand, being heavier will slow you down, and will pair you up with taller opponents with longer reach. You will know in what weight you feel the best. As a young athlete, hopefully, maintaining an optimal weight is not too difficult. When you get older (like me... 38), weight is a bit more tricky to manage, but it is none-the-less, very important to keep under control.

Another point is PROPER conditioning training. You must be in excellent KARATE SHAPE. That is much different than simply being "in shape". I could very well be able to run a marathon, or do a triathlon, and at the same time, be dying after a 3 minute Karate match or just one Kata. Differentiate between aerobic and anaerobic training. Both are important, but know that Karate is more anaerobic than aerobic. Short bursts of high energy at short intervals (anerobic: e.g. Karate, Tennis, Football), rather than a sustained evenly spread effort over a longer period of time (aerobic: Long distance Running, Cycling, Basketball, Soccer).

You can search the web/youtube for different types of anaerobic training exercises to compliment your Karate training. I like the "beep test" you may want to look that up.

Finally, get experience. You must test yourself in a setting such as you would face in real competition. At my dojo we are hosting monthly shiais for folks to simulate real competitions. That way they experience the real thing without the pressure of a tournament. If they lose, they are not eliminated. Each person gets to fight between 3-5 times (win or lose). Doing such a thing helps in many ways. Learn to manage the clock, manage the area of competition, learn to abide by and use the rules to your advantage. Pace yourself, setting strategies, responding to diverse circumstances: e.g. how do you act when you are down by X points with X time left. How do you fight from the corner, from the center, how do you move your opponent to the corner, how do you keep him/her there, how do you capitalize from that? How / when do I apply pressure. How do I fight when I'm ahead by X points. Do I even change anything? How do you react to bad calls? What is considered a point? What is a penalty? How much contact is OK or not enough? and I'm sure many more questions that you can come up with on your own.

These are things that you cannot easily answer during regular training. You can train for them, but your mind needs to adjust to this quickly within the match. For this, only experience will do. Even more so, at times the answer will be different from one time to the next, based on the type of opponent, the kind of ref, the tournament, your state of mind or body (fighting injured for example), etc.

I wish you the best in your training, and if I can be of further assistance, please let me know.

Kind regards,

Sensei Willy Strohmeier

Do you want to improve your overall wellness? Lose weight? Get in better shape? Well, there is no easy answer, magic pill, or miracle diet that will do this for you. As I often tell my students, anything that they may wish to accomplish takes work and dedication. Too many people fail in route to their goal(s) because they lack enough resolve, motivation, and the perseverance necessary to succeed.

Because of our busy life style, it is too easy to abandon things that may not seem of immediate importance, like exercising, practicing a Kata, or sticking to a diet. Therefore it is important to plan well for the future in order to maximize our chances of success.

To get started follow these few steps:

A.- Set realistic measurable goals. For example, instead of setting a vague goal of "lose weight", a measurable goal would be "lose 10 lbs by May 15th".

B.- Draft a good-specific roadmap (Vague: exercise more often / Specific: Exercise Mon,Wed,Fri, 1 hr)

C.- Most important of all, stick to the plan.

If you are serious about your goal, it is also important to find a sponsor, a buddy, or a coach, someone who will encourage you and hold you accountable to make steady progress.

Finally, please remember to keep your present health in mind before starting an exercise regime or diet. You may wish to consult a physician, and/or a dietitian for professional advise.

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On my part, in an effort to help our students reach their goals I went on the web, and found a few FREE software applications that may help you better track your progress.

Here is the list and the links to the sites where you can download the software.

I hope you find them helpful:

1. Weight Tracker:

The Weight Tracker simplifies weight data logging. The software automatically saves weight, relationship to the meal, time of the measurement, and general state of health.
Download

2. EvenFit:
A very complete wellness management application and good on-line documentation.
Download

3. zCoach
This is a small tracking application that will help you keep a close look at essential factors that will determine your success in achieving better fitness. Dieting, workout, morale, water. Keeping track of just a few determining factors on a daily basis works better than counting calories or, at the other end of the scale, going out for a run three times a year because it represents a small but persistent effort that quickly turns into good habits.
Download


If any of these links become outdated at some point, please send me a note through our contact page.

Thanks,

Sensei

A few months ago I had a conversation through the Colorado Karate Club's Youtube Channel with a fellow Karate-ka. I do not know who he is or where this fellow Karate-ka is from; however he simply asked me for advice about Karate Competitions and training, and I was happy to help. After replying a couple of times to his inquiries, I thought that this would be good information for me to share with our students and web visitors.

I have removed personal details but kept the relevant information:

(Karate-ka):

Hey, I need some advice on going into tournaments for Karate.
I have been doing Shotokan Karate since I was 5 years old and now I am (youth-age). I have gotten my 2nd Dan back on (recent date)  and I think I'm ready to take it to the next step.
Do you have any information or tips etc. that could help me?
-Thank you.

(Sensei W. Strohmeier)

Hello fellow Karate-ka,

The first thing to understand is that tournaments are not the ultimate goal of your training. If you understand this, you will be ahead of everyone else as an individual and a Martial Artist.
Tournaments are fun, exciting, and can be a very rewarding experience.

However, you will also find that there are folks that will do anything to win (or make their students win), setting aside any Karate-do principles of faithfulness, respect, and honesty. Be prepared for when you encounter this, because you will, from referees and opponents. Folks that give up their integrity to win a tournament have wasted their time training Karate-do. That perfection of character has eluded them completely. Make sure not to fall into that trap.

When going to compete; train to win, train to be the best out there, and to overcome every opponent... not by a little, but train to be completely superior to everyone else, so that there is no question who is the best. Some people train simply to enter the competition and do well. In their mind, there is no way they can win... so they don't.
You will be successful if you set your mind to be the best and work towards it faithfully.

Know that you will lose, either because you were unprepared, your opponent was superior, luck, bad refereeing, etc. Be at peace with the fact that you will lose some times (don't lose heart), but know that each defeat carries a lesson from which you MUST learn. Even if the loss was due to external factors (e.g. bad judges, or incorrect calls), you must see, what YOU can do to avoid that in the future; maybe making your points so obvious that no doubt remains, and the ref is obligated to award you the point.

Train, practice your basic, then drills, combinations, etc. Try your drills and new techniques at the Dojo when sparring, attempt those things that may not be quite perfect first on folks of lower skill, then as you become more comfortable, attempt them on individuals of greater speed and skill. Once you are comfortable with those techniques you can apply them in actual competition. Develop a 2 -3 techniques that you are excellent at. Then about 4 or 5 that you are good at. those 2 or 3 will be your bread and butter. That's how you usually win (say a reverse punch, a counter attack, etc.) The other 4 or 5 you will use once or twice in a fight, or when you are in need of something special (a hook kick to the head, a sweep with a follow up score on the floor, etc.) Watch elite competitors and you will notice this. The more tools you have to work with, the better off you will be.

Finally, you must learn the rules, how they are applied, and how to work them to your advantage. For example, you must know the area of competition, how do you fight from the center of the ring, or from a corner. How do you use the clock, how do you fight when you are ahead and there's a lot of time left, or from behind, with little time. How do you overcome biased referees, or fighting someone who has the support of the crowd. If you have been penalized what should you avoid so you don't lose by penalties, etc, etc, etc.

There is a lot to learn, and much of it you will learn by experience. Surround yourself with good Karate-ka that know the art, and the sport. They will help you move forward. But above all, be always true to yourself, and never lose sight of the ultimate aim of your training, which is to perfect yourself.

Good luck in your training and future competitions.

Regards,

Willy Strohmeier Sensei

Just back from the latest tournament, I wanted to write a small piece about them in general to give my personal perspective, which I hope will help students, parents, and the general public to understand them better, or in a different light.

My Sensei , Luis Chiock, back in Peru, was not too enthusiastic about tournaments, and all the weight and fuss that people put and made about them. He always reminded us that the main objective of Karate is not to go get a medal, or a trophy. That is not to say that he discouraged us from competing, on the contrary, he was very supportive and guided us appropriately. He even coached the Peruvian National Team for several years in the 1980's; but he wanted us to keep our priorities in order.

Through the years my brothers and I, (and some other of his pupils) have competed at the highest levels of Karate very successfully; we've won, and of course we've lost, but we've always kept a good perspective on the "DO" part of Karate-do. The Way, the path of Karate should ultimately lead us not to a medal (nothing wrong with medals), but to the continual improvement of each one of us as a person. If we miss that, we missed the best part of our Karate formation.

I believe that competitions are a great way to measure one's own progress, to go meet with friends from other schools, make new friends, and especially, have fun.  It also may be a roadmap to excel as an athlete, and vie for a place in the US National Karate Team, and represent our country in international competitions. However, too often folks get too wrapped up on the tournaments and just winning as the ultimate goal. Children may feel pressured by their parents or instructors to win, which sours the whole experience. Other times, tournament organizers, or Instructors who wish to have their school be above the rest, arrange divisions so that their students have a better chance of winning. And even worse, referees consciously or uncounsciously give preference to a competitor of their school, state, or country to help them win.  All of this is a sad degeneration of the true spirit of Karate, which should regard winning as a lesser good, after honesty, respect, and honor (to name a few).

Having said all of that, I should emphasize that if I compete, I compete to win, I train to win, and I instruct and cheer all my students on to get first place. I encourage every one to excel and to do their best. To ask anything less, I think, would be detrimental. Whether we win or lose, though, is many times out of our hands, but the amount of effort we place in our training and how we conduct ourselves means much more than any award ever can.

While I am very proud to have our students take back several medals and trophies at each tournament, there is no comparison to the pride I feel when other sensei's come to me and say: "You have outstanding students".  That, to me, is the best prize any Sensei may ever get.