I have blogged about performance training before, but I don’t think I’ve shared my thoughts on tournaments. I don’t like tournaments!  Ok, that’s not completely true.  If anyone has ever been to a kung fu tournament, they know it is nothing like the last scene out of the original Karate Kid, where Cobrai Kai is yelling, “Sweep the leg Johnny!”

First, it’s not all about fighting.  Second, it is much more chaotic.  I still have never seen a traditional kung fu tournament held in the USA like the one Wah Lum hosted in 2000.  We had a true 1000 competitors, 26 rings, and it was a solid 2 days.  I vowed never to do that again.

Nowadays, there are usually between 500-800 competitors, and the tournaments run ‘fairly’ smoothly considering most events rely upon instructors and volunteer staff willing to dedicate countless hours towards the tournament.

Our school doesn’t attend tournaments very often. Since 2013, we’ve only competed in: United States Kuoshu Federation in Baltimore (2013), Legends of Kung fu in Dallas (2016), and just this past weekend we went to ICMAC in Orlando for the first time in several years.

Many people congratulate our team’s “success” when we compete.  If you consider success as winning medals, then I guess we are successful.  I was complimented this past weekend by a fellow Sifu of another style.  He told me they tell their students Wah Lum is their benchmark. I was honored by these comments.

It is nice to win medals, however, I have a different definition of tournament success.  I consider it to be a successful tournament if my competitors make new friends and demonstrate martial arts fellowship.  Most importantly, I want their kung fu to improve.

I encourage students to compete because I know it gives them a short term goal to focus on, and I see an increase in their motivation for training.  Performing in front of people is also terrifying for some, and I think sometimes a dose of terror is healthy!

Ahem, back in my day as a competitor…Most events ran 2 days with the ‘Masters Demo’ on Saturday night, and at that time only Masters performed (like this guy).  Competition was also different. When I started competing I was a bit older. (late teens)  Male and female competitors were mixed.  The last couple of years I competed as an adult, they finally started having female divisions.

I enjoyed the training, and the adrenalin from competing, but I always preferred performing.  It’s just a personal preference.  I can proudly say I retired undefeated in my kung fu events, but sometimes think I would be able to be a better coach if I could share experiences as an underdog.

However, in some ways, I felt like an underdog: always trying to prove myself to male competitors, and finally coming around to taking kung fu seriously as I got older. I always felt like I had a lot of catching up to do…and perhaps still do.

So, I put in my time.  I came to kung fu and trained on my own over the summer. I started waking up at 5:00am to go to kung fu before school.  I did my 10,000 butterfly kicks, to try and perfect the move I could NEVER do as a child.

As I think about my wrap up meeting with the students, I always ask the same thing: did you improve? I reflect on how to keep them motivated. Winning or losing can have the same effect.

Some students get motivated by winning, but others feel they are too good now and get lazy.  Some students get motivated to work harder by losing, others get discouraged and quit.  It’s tough to find a balance.

However, the best advice I give for successful tournament training is that it doesn’t just start a few months before the tournament.  It starts now.

If you are not giving 100% during the basics classes, if you don’t show up to class consistently, you will never reach the level of training that you hope to achieve.  If your goal is to ‘beat’ your competitor from the previous year, then you had better start your training now.

Improvement doesn’t happen a few months before the tournament. Progress happens during off-season training.  The times when you are doing countless horse stances and bai fut sow during class. The times when you feel bored because all you have been doing is basics. That is when improvement happens.

My kung fu as a child was ‘cute’.  I had a red uniform with a bunny on it, and I had pigtails.  My kung fu as a young teen was terrible. I disliked it and trained out of obligation.  (Watch this Film )

I used to feel like I woke up one day and my kung fu had improved suddenly.  However, thinking back, I distinctly remember when, and how I improved.  I spent an entire summer training ONLY basics.

There is no secret to good kung fu.  There is only hard work.

Although the main goal is improvement, I am unbelievably proud of all of my students that won medals in the tournament.  Medals can be encouraging, and sometimes we can all use a bit of encouragement.

Congrats to all Wah Lum members who competed at ICMAC. Well done.  A special congrats to my student Alexia Hop for winning her first Grand Championship!  #girlpower #wahlumwomen

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