The Way to Go
Amateur Tournaments can be very controversial when compared to Full Contact events such as Kickboxing, Full Contact Karate and Ground Fighting. The reason for this might be because anything less than full contact can be difficult to gauge making it controversial whether a penalty should be given or not. I am not advocating everybody should do full contact but people should be aware of the shortcomings and perhaps give tournament promoters and their judges of these tournaments a fair go. If you don’t like it then perhaps it’s time to move into the bigger arena.
I really got a surprise when I first entered a full contact tournament (1986)! However, I made my debut with a knockout kick to my opponent (see photos). However, I did also compete in many of the lesser type of contact style tournaments and also did very well. Overall, tournament participation is a great way to check yourself along the way to assess your ability and progress. Also, opportunities present themselves to meet new people or even make a name for yourself on the tournament scene. It’s a great feeling. I believe tournaments give the martial artist a more meaningful purpose for their martial arts and continue training. Whilst, self defence, may be one of the main reasons for taking martial arts, it should not be the only reason. If you want some challenge without getting into trouble then the tournament scene has got to be the way to go.
There are many events in which people can enter so if full contact is not your cup of tea, there is plenty to choose from:
- Points Sparring (non contact)
- Continuous Freestyle (light contact)
- Full Contact Knockdown (bare knuckle full contact)
- Ground Fighting
Others events include:
- Kata
- Self Defence
Good night. I am going to bed right now to rest my poor body after 10 rounds of wrestling with my BJJ Coach, Steve Perceval. He is a pain in the neck (he choked me out at least 3 times, to say the least). I think this is retribution of what I did to others in the early days.
GA