On Saturday, March 5, Maine Traditional Karate of Orrington will host their 6th annual Karate and Kobudo Tournament. We have been invited to attend and I'd like to get a sense of how many students might like participate.
Clearly, the focus of our practice is not on competition. Some students have no desire to compete or perform in public - and that is fine! However, participating in a tournament can provide students with a chance to meet and practice with students from other schools and styles and can provide them with some external motivation to continue to practice more on their own. Even though I no longer compete, when I was in my teens and early twenties I competed frequently and enjoyed it.
Those students (and their parents who will have to schlep them around) who would like to try martial arts competition might find that this tournament is a good place to start. Maine is the site of a few large competitions and a number of medium sized tournaments every year. However, they are rarely held in our area and can be very expensive in terms of registration fees, travel costs and expenses. This tournament, though, is relatively small, it is local and it is pretty inexpensive. If we pre-register by February 19 we can get an even further reduction in registration fees.
If you would like more information, please email me directly or contact me via the Orono Community Martial Arts Facebook group ASAP. I'd like to hold one or two extra practice sessions (at no cost) for competitors before the tournament and I'll have to schedule those with Parks and Rec. So the sooner I know that we have competitors the better.
Clearly, the focus of our practice is not on competition. Some students have no desire to compete or perform in public - and that is fine! However, participating in a tournament can provide students with a chance to meet and practice with students from other schools and styles and can provide them with some external motivation to continue to practice more on their own. Even though I no longer compete, when I was in my teens and early twenties I competed frequently and enjoyed it.
Those students (and their parents who will have to schlep them around) who would like to try martial arts competition might find that this tournament is a good place to start. Maine is the site of a few large competitions and a number of medium sized tournaments every year. However, they are rarely held in our area and can be very expensive in terms of registration fees, travel costs and expenses. This tournament, though, is relatively small, it is local and it is pretty inexpensive. If we pre-register by February 19 we can get an even further reduction in registration fees.
If you would like more information, please email me directly or contact me via the Orono Community Martial Arts Facebook group ASAP. I'd like to hold one or two extra practice sessions (at no cost) for competitors before the tournament and I'll have to schedule those with Parks and Rec. So the sooner I know that we have competitors the better.