The warmth oozed over my lips and chin and continued down my neck. I knew something was wrong, but my adrenaline kept me focused. My opponent took two steps back and signaled the referee to address the massive amount of blood that was spilling from my nose and down my chest.
Competition is something that has never been new to me. I've competed in Taekwondo competition, both point style and full contact. I've won several championships. In fact, I just won the State Championship in full contact, Olympic style Taekwondo sparring, about 2 months prior to my bloody match described above.
It was only my third or fourth tournament with WTF (World Taekwondo Federation) rules. Early on, I identified my opponent across the crowded gymnasium. Inconspicuously, I watched him warm up and work the paddles. I watched him exercise with some hogu drills. I watched him dance around a little executing techniques here and there. "EASY..." Those were the words that kept going through my mind. He was skinny and weak looking. He moved so awkwardly, that I thought to myself that if I'm not careful, I could hurt this poor kid.
I'm not sure if knowing this gangly looking kid was a former National Champion would have helped me or hurt me more. Either way, my immediate thought to some of my teammates, was, "now you tell me!" I'm not sure if my nose was broken that day, but it did leave a nice knot on the side of my nose for about a month. I sported butterfly stitches for a few days above my eye as well.
So what the heck happened. Here I am, a successful point style fighter and then getting absolutely creamed. Well, as unfortunate at the time it may have seemed... it was probably one of the best things that ever happened to me in competition. Two words consumed my thoughts during my training sessions for years to come- Never Again!
At this point, I took it upon myself to really examine my Taekwondo training. Since this day, I've incorporated this training methodology for preparation to all competition as well as having all my students follow it.
People will sometimes ask, what does it take to become successful at sparring. The answer is quite simple- it's drive. Drive from the inside. Don't get me wrong... physical training is important, and we'll get to it. But, if you don't have drive, you don't have a chance. Boxers often refer to this drive as heart. In some instances, boxers are fighting something much greater and stronger than their opponent across the ring. They're real opponent is within. I only bring up boxers because many of our great professionals have historically come from abusive households, the ghetto's, the projects, the barrio, and developed a fighting heart the moment they were brought into this world.
Okay, so you're not a boxer and you didn't grow up in the roughest part of town. How do you get that fighting spirit? You develop it. You cultivate it, and then you nurture it. First, you must ask yourself, why do you want to win? If you want to be competitive in Taekwondo, you must have a reason. If you want to spar recreationally in tournaments, then your desire to win is to fulfill some competitive spirit you may have.
If your goal is to go to the National Qualifiers, place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, then go onto Nationals, then your desire must be focused on something much greater than what is taking place at the local tournament. Here are some steps outlined below that will help you prepare.
1. Goal-- Why do you want to win? What is your ultimate goal?
2. Spirit-- Each tournament, each training session, every repetition, every drop of sweat must be thought of as a means to bring you one step closer to your goal. This is the beginning of your fighting spirit or your drive.
3. Remember-- Not a moment goes by with your mind not consumed with your goal, during your training. This goal is being nurtured right here. When you continue to nurture your goal, you will build up that fighting spirit. You'll train harder, you'll get stronger, and your will to win will become more ingrained.
4. Prepare-- Unfortunately, drive or heart is not enough to win a National Title. You need to prepare. The National Champions have both- Preparation & Drive.
Don't hit the road running for miles or doing tons of weight lifting. Often times, we may distract ourselves with senseless training because we don't know what to do or we want to think we're doing something of value. Convert your tournament experience into a training session. See below on how to prepare physically.
Duplicate your competition experience. Take the length of your round- 2 or 3 minutes and use exercises that challenge you for that time length. For example-
Double kick continuously on a bag for 1 minute at a time. Then move for 15 seconds while you catch your breathe, and start again.
Alternate between speed jump roping and push ups (1 minute each).
Choose plyometric exercises that develop strength and speed in the legs (1 minute each).
Perform timing drills with hogus, paddles or shields.
Lastly, ensure you spar, and you spar a lot, preferably with many different people. Practice situational sparring. For example, imagine you're down 2 points and the match has 10 seconds left. If it were competition, would you change your strategy? Hopefully you said, "you bet!" What if you were ahead 2 points with 10 seconds left? How would that change things? Begin sparring backed all the way against the boundary. Think of as many scenarios as you can. Don't get too caught up standing around thinking about stuff, which is easy to do. Just get sparring!
I wish you the best in your Taekwondo competition experience.
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