Hello Everyone! Tournament itch needed scratching, so it got itched at the 2013 Battle of Baltimore at CCBC Essex yesterday. Results: third place weapons and second place kata. See video of kata (Gojushiho), and a few (attempts at) awesome poses with trophies. I know where I goofed in the kata, but the judges don't.... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QrdT_NLxew"]Gojushiho - YouTube[/ame]
I think you'd rather win one of these (first gets a belt in this tournament)(pic is several years old) (don't mind the kid knocked out on the floor...): I've also got a 4 foot trophy in the dojo that I won at a tournament when I was a green belt....
The upside to open tournaments. Most of the judges at this tournament were TKD, Kempo, and 'American' Karate stylists. Not a whole lot of Japanese/Okinawan Karate there, much less Shorin Ryu (there was one other Shorin group there, but not in my divisions or judging).
How come they were allowed to judge then? Surely, the point of having judges is that they know what they are looking at and can make an informed decision!? I'd be mighty peeved if I paid my entry fee, only to find the judges didn't have a scooby. How are you ever going to improve? Gary
The downside of open tournaments my friend. They have certain criteria they are told to look for in the forms, but, some tournaments around here style bias kicks in real hard. There is a severe lacking of Japanese karate schools for that to be possible. In the Baltimore-DC area, I know of two Shotokan schools, four Shorin Ryu schools (three of ours, one under Iha), and one Goju group (at University of MD, College Park). I think there are two Seido karate schools that are fairly new, but I know nothing about them. Of the four Shorin schools, I am the only person interested in tournaments. I have seen one of the Shotokan schools at tournaments, but no adult competitors. Thus the ideal environment doesn't exist. This area is flooded with WTF TKD, Kempo karate, and 'American' karate. Grappling schools (BJJ and *similar*) and MMA are becoming popular due to, well, the popularity of MMA in the media. Since I can't directly compare myself to most of the other competitors, I leave the criticisms to my friends, instructors, and to you guys here.
Neat kata! /jealous Wish I knew that one. I only know kihons. (and some kung fu forms from my previous school) Since I don't know how that kata is supposed to look, I can only say that the movements should be snappier and more "crisp" IMO. I have no detailed criticisms to offer. :/ Keep up the good work, mate.
You're going to have to elaborate on that one my friend. Sounds like a rather generic remark to me (one of those 'it could always be more...' type)
For the record, I enjoyed watching your performance. It made a nice change to the "Shotokan-esque" tournament kata you see in most comps around the world today (no offence meant to the Shoto-boys, but they know what I mean ). In all honestly though, I have to ask - why bother? With the greatest respect to the gentlemen that were shown in the footage (as the so called judges), well, I’m not sure they'd be capable of even walking through the Kata without having a major coronary - let alone having the first clue about the principles and nuances behind it! Sorry to sound harsh, but I also noticed your opponent was wearing Hakama…wtf! Gary
Damn it! You know... you can go off people!? That said, my bet it is wasn't Seishan the fella did!!!!
Hmm... I don't think I have the proper karate terminology to describe it yet. :/ Let me try to illustrate...when my Shihan does kata, all the motions are quick, deliberate, and precise. I think that's the best I can explain it right now. :bang: Sorry.
I step away from this thread for a few hours to go to the dojo and have a drink, and look what happens! And no, the fellow in the hakama did not do Siesan. You're going to laugh - his form looked very Chinese. First place went to a Tang So Do competitor (see the video for the 1st-3rd) [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hcMGyyuOmw"]Trophey awarding - YouTube[/ame]
Why bother? Because I enjoy it. I need the ego inflating sometimes....(I've got a whole collection of trophies, I should be able to open up a McDojo and retire soon (learn from a PROVEN krattey champion!....lol). You see plenty of interesting uniforms at these tournaments. Some you know are just the school's 'competition' uniform, but sometimes you wonder. I've seen people in black gi's with ninja masks on, saw a guy one year in a camo gi with a yellow belt, and have seen several red, white, and blue ones too (something like this).... For the record, I can wear any color gi I want, as long as it's white.
