IMA North Fork Championships

Okay, today is Saturday October 24th it's 9:32 am and I am currently sitting in staging waiting for opening ceremony to start. This is the first competition of the season so it's time to get the gears moving. I honestly abhor opening ceremony, they force you to stand in line and not move or talk while they go through all the names of the officials and such. I get that they want to thank everyone and all that but honestly it's boring, also they do the color guard and someone sings the national anthem which is pretty cool.

Now it is 10:56 and I'm watching the tournament waiting for my staging call. Since this is a small tournament there might only be one or two other girls in my division. I've already seen a girl from last year who is currently on the USA National Team. She will be going to Indonesia to compete in the World Junior Championships later in November. The first year I competed against her she destroyed me, literally. But... The second year I went against her I beat her in Kata but lost 1-0 in Kumite. This will be my third year going against her. The pressure is on. 

The tournament is over and I finished with two silver medals. I'm not totally thrilled with the results but I know I did my best. In Kata I lost, the vote was 3-2 a split decision that could have gone either way. In Kumite though I lost 3-1, in the last ten seconds she had three type two penalities. She went out of bounds again which meant she should have been disqualified but the judges apparently didn't notice... My coaches and spectators looked like they were going to start a rebellion. They know and I know she was out of bounds but I'm not going to dwell on it and let it bother me. Even though I was pissed I took a deep breath and went up to her after our match and congratulated her and wished her good luck in Indonesia. After all, good competitors like her can only make me better, she just better look out for our next match. 

Now all that's left to do is take a shower get some food and head back to Utah. I'm glad the first tournament is out of the way and now I can train harder for the rest of the season. 

Why We Bow

We bow out of respect and to give thanks, you bow to your sensei to thank them for teaching you, you bow to your teammates to thank them for training with you, and you bow to your opponent to thank them for competing against you and making you a better fighter. Bowing is an ancient tradition that comes from Japan. Bows can range from shallow nods to kneeling bows where one's head touches the floor. 

A traditional Takushu Rei bow. Picture curtesy of Blogger

Bowing can also show that you respect the person you are bowing to. Obviously you would respect your sensei, but also your training parters. Before we do any drill in the dojo we must first bow to our partners, this means that you will not harm them and will practice within a safe and secure environment. This is why we bow. 

What to do to get Ready for a Tournament

The week before a tournament can be rough, no dangerous activities, no junk food, drink gallons of water, and in bed by nine. But by doing those things you are guaranteed to bring your A game. Here is a list of the things Park City Karate has to do in order to perform our very best in a tournament. 


1. Get lots of rest: start going to bed early the week before not just the night before the tournament, you want to get in the habit because if you say up till midnight the whole week then all the sudden you want to go to bed at eight you'll have a hard time

2. Load up on carbs: I suggest pasta for dinner the night before, the carbs will help you to not be so hungry and have extra energy. Carbs provide minerals and vitamins that only your brain utilizes keeping you sharp and aware

3. Eat a good breakfast: you can be at a tournament for up to 12 hours it's super important to have a good breakfast that will help you last as long as possible. I usually eat eggs and toast, or a bagel and yogurt, also I make sure to grab a piece of fruit on the way out

3. Stay hydrated: drink a lot of water it will help your body a ton, try to drink at least 3-4 water bottles throughout the day and you will be prime

4. Bring good snacks: my go to tournament snacks are granola bars, Gatorade chews, apples/oranges, goldfish, pretzels, nuts, and of course some snickers bars. You never want to let yourself get hungry so it's a good idea to keep snacking and drinking water the whole day 

5. Wear comfortable clothes: while you're waiting for your division to start you will mostly be sitting around and cheering for your team. I usually wear athletic sweats, t-shirt, and comfy running shoes. 

6. Be organized: Before a tournament make sure you have all of your gear, mitts, mouthguard, Gi, belts, snacks, everything. It's the worst feeling in the world to show up to a tournament and be told you can't compete because you're missing something (trust me I know) so double and triple check your bag 


6. Be on time: prepare yourself, being late to a tournament can cause stress and make it harder for you to focus on competing

7. Make yourself comfortable: I never go to a tournament with my headphones I would die without them, some people bring pillows, blankets, they draw, play video games, whatever relaxes you do it no one will be judging 

Follow these steps so you can kick butt like this guy. 

Kata and Kumite

In Karate there are two main events. They are called Kata and Kumite (koo-me-te). There's also weapon events but we won't get into that. Kumite is probably what you think of first when Karate comes to mind its the fighting. 

Kumite is one on one, you can punch, kick, sweep, and do takedowns. The matches range from 1-3 minutes depending on your age and division. You receive points from the judges. There are 5 judges per ring, 4 sit around the corners and the fifth is the head judge who stands. The four judges that sit around the ring have a red and blue flag that match the red and blue belts of the competitors. The maximum amount of points you can score in a math is 8. Once you have 8 points the match is over. Aside from points in Kumite there are also penalties. Class 1 penalties are physical penalties (hitting too hard, faking an injury etc). A Class 2 penalty is everything else (running away, disrespecting the referees, stepping out of bounds). If you receive 3 of either type of penalty you are disqualified from the match and automatically lose. 

Kata is a little harder to explain, it is a series of movements to demonstrate techniques. So like a dance? No, rule number one Kata is not a dance. I like to think of Kata like ghost fighting, it uses the exact same skills as Kumite except that no one is there. When you compete in Kata you go against one person, you both walk out onto the mat and perform your Kata the judges then decide which was better based on your speed, technique, focus, and power. If you win the match you go on and compete with the other people in your division. 

I hope this was helpful to anyone confused about the events in Karate and the rules. 

This is what a karate mat looks like. Picture curtsy of http://www.kenzensportskarate.com/ap

Karate Wasn't What I Expected

Be honest, you probably think that karate is all about ninjas and breaking boards and beating people up. But in reality it’s not, Karate is so much more. To me Karate is about respect, hard work, and dedication. My name is Tiana, I’ve been training in Karate for the past six years, in those years I have won the Junior Olympics 3 times, USA open 2 times and Nationals 4 times. I have traveled all over the United States competing and met some amazing people along the way. 

I first started Karate when I was around 9, a friend of my sister was really into Karate and he was always trying to get my sister and I to come. At first I was like most people who think Karate is only in movies where they do backflips and beat up bad guys with one hand. My sister was all for it, “Now I’ll finally be able to beat up Tiana” was what she said. I couldn't have my little sister beating up on me so of course I had to go too. 

We went into the dojo which was small with two training rooms, the walls covered in mirrors. The first thought that ran through my head as I looked at all the people in weird white outfits was “Please don’t kill me.” A man with white hair and wisdom in his eyes came in and told the class to line up. He yelled something in Japanese and all the students bowed, I bowed too but I had no idea why. He yelled something again in Japanese and we all bowed again. Already I was feeling nervous, then he told us all to get a partner so we could practice techniques. I turned to my sister but she was with her friend I turned back around to see a tall muscular girl who was at least 3 years older standing in from of me. My heart was beating rapidly ‘Oh great now I’m really dead’ I closed my eyes and flexed up my body waiting to be hit. All the sudden I felt a light tap hit my stomach. That’s it? This girl who looked like she could knock me out with one hit simply tapped me. I was really surprised on how much control everyone had, no one got hurt no one died. After the class was over the man with wisdom in his eyes came over to me and asked me what I thought about the class. I shrugged, it was defiantly different from any other sport I’ve played. “Keep trying” he told me, “I can see you're a fighter.” From that moment on I knew that this was what I wanted to do. 

This is me at one of my very first tournaments.

 "PARK CITY KARATE BOOSTER CLUB." <i>Live PC Give PC</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2015.