David Taylor- David Taylor
Tournament Time!
As a personal endeavour, traditional Taekwondo training has a lot to offer, with a very strong focus on fitness, hard work, and skill. However, for many students (especially those who enjoy sports like soccer, athletics, and more), they might feel it lacks team camaraderie and a competitive aspect. This is where tournaments fit perfectly!
Starting this year we increased our focus on this competitive sport side of Taekwondo.
We run a regular tournament training class every Saturday, 9:45-10:45am.
We have been invited to Red Dragon Taekwondo's Beginner's Tournaments.
We have been invited to Red Dragon Taekwondo's Open Mat events.
We have our eyes on other tournaments later this year and even more for next year.
We are working on organising seminars in WT and ISKA sparring.
This coming July there is another Open Mat event and another Beginner's Tournament. We would love for more students to start attending our tournament training classes and to take this opportunity to enter their first tournament. The Beginner's Tournament is the best place to start and, as they say in Adventure Time, you might discover you "suck at being non-violent"...
And, if you're still not convinced, I've also listed some benefits of tournaments at the very bottom of this post.
Tournament Training
Our tournament training classes are every Saturday, 9:45-10:45am. You will learn the rules, increase your fitness, and work on drills to attack, score, and to counter a competitor's attacks.
Here are some recent shots of Jamie and Zac in action, putting some front-leg reaction drills into action.
For students who aren't sure and want to give it a trial, look on the wall in the background... we have some spare equipment we can share for those wishing to try it out. If you then catch the tournament bug like Zac, Jamie, and others have, we have tournament equipment available for purchase in our online store.
Red Dragon Open Mat
Red Dragon Taekwondo are hosting an Open Mat for students wishing to compete at their upcoming tournament. The Open Mat will be held at Red Dragon Taekwondo's Guildford Dojang, Saturday July 6th, 2:30-5:30pm.
What this offers:
Train with other clubs
Learn the rules
Learn effective strategies
Experience with the Daedo electronic scoring equipment
Feedback from coaches
Discount on your entry to the Red Dragon Beginner's Tournament
Attendance is limited to 35 so book fast or miss out!
Red Dragon Beginner's Tournament
The second Red Dragon Beginner's Tournament of 2019 will be held on Sunday, July 28th at the Australian College of Physical Education at Sydney Olympic Park. Red Dragon put on a fantastic beginner's tournament that gets better and better every year!
Here are a few photos from the previous tournament and there's a post in our blog for those who want to read more about it.
Click here for the event details on our Facebook page.
Tournaments... WHY?!?!?!
Still need convincing? Here are the reasons I think tournaments are fantastic, even if you prefer traditional Taekwondo training.
Test Yourself
You've been working on your kicks, combinations, footwork, and physical fitness. A tournament is the perfect opportunity to put that work to the test. Find out what is working and what still needs work.
Push Yourself
In class you can always choose to back off as soon as you get out of breath. When you face a competitor or you perform in front of others, you will step outside your comfort zone and push yourself harder. It's exhilarating when you push beyond your own limits.
Challenge Yourself
Every week you see the same sparring partners again and again in class and can get into a rut. When you face an unknown competitor you will have to deal with uncertainty and adapt quickly.
Overcome Yourself
You're in a supportive environment, with your instructor coaching you, and your friends and family cheering you on. Despite that, the competitive element will make many of you nervous. Facing that and overcoming it in that exciting first round is empowering.
Build Yourself
Winning and losing is part of any competition, and healthy competition is good for you. Win or lose, you will gain a combination of humility and confidence from competitive sport that will carry over into other areas of your life. Tournaments give you the opportunity to test your skills, recognise your weaknesses, congratulate others for their successes, regardless of how you place.
Enjoy Yourself
This is the best reason!
You'll get to hang out with teammates, make new friends from other clubs, and watch some exciting matches while out on an adventure for the day.
Tournaments are fun… and you might just win a medal!