First off what a great event! The quality of the event would not have been there but for the efforts of Master Brinker, Sifu Wonziak for all of her work organizing the event and all of the other Sifu's for judging the competitors. The I Ho Chuan team must be commended for all of thier efforts as well with the organizing of the event as well as the set up and tear down. With out all of these great people this tournament would not have been the success that it was and will continue to be in the future.
Here I am right now contemplating how the tournament went for me personally and
what I really got of it. The tourney was
a success in that I competed and won the adult grand champion trophy. Having a goal of winning helped me focus my time and attention on improving my forms both hand and weapon. I must admit that this was a personal goal of
mine as soon as I heard that there was going to be a tournament this year. I feel that I competed well and I did about
as best as I could have expected. Of the
five events that I entered I came away with four gold medals and a 6th
place. I am a little disappointed that I
froze up during Lau Gar but this just tells me I need better focus and to work
on clearing my mind and letting the form flow like I know it can.
However I can’t shake this feeling that I have been having since I won the trophy.
I think it comes down to one moment in the tournament when I
was point sparing. It was against a girl
that is significantly younger and smaller than me. I won the match but I didn’t feel good about
it and it has been bothering me ever since.
When we squared off against each other I went into my competitive mode. I competed the way I was taught and the way I
have been training. I came out fast as
the objective in point sparring is to score the first strike to earn the point
then reset and go again. The competitor
who gets to 5 points wins and moves on.
After the match I took stock of what just happened. I won and this young girl was (looked to me) devastated. I can imagine how I must have looked like
coming at her. I am much older, much
bigger and much stronger. I must have looked extremely intimidating to her. Should I have allowed the match to drag out
and allow her to score some points? In retrospect
that is something I think I would do in the future, but at the time all I could
think about was winning the match and moving on. After
all this was a tournament not regular class right? Let me be clear on the fact that I didn’t hit
her hard when I did make contact and I was especially careful with my strikes
in that I was in control. However when a
punch comes at your face and it gets pulled at the last minute, it can be scary
regardless if it doesn’t make contact.
I did go and discuss how I felt with the young girl’s mother
who assured me that everything was OK and that her daughter was fine. She said that they discussed that this was a
tournament and this was may happen.
I did feel a little better but still it bothered me. I made a point of talking to the young girl
about an hour after and asked her if she was OK? She was, she smiled and said everything was
good and appreciated me asking.
Upon a significant amount of reflection over the past couple of days since the tournament I have come to realize that winning should not have been my ultimate goal. It should have been a by product of the experience. I look back and realize that the tournament was an opportunity to grow as a martial artists in more ways than just winning. It was an opportunity to build self confidence in my abilities by being able to perform in front of my peers and our Sifu's. It was an opportunity to grow together with my fellow competitors that were experiencing the same fears and the same anxiety that I was feeling.
One of the most rewarding things in my life is to being able to call my self a martial artist. I continue on the path to becoming and growing into the best martial artist that I can be. Opportunities like the tiger challenge are stepping stones on that path. What I have learned upon reflection will help me become that martial artist that I so desire to become.
Ian Repay
Student of Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, Alberta
