I am opening up this thread in order do that those of you with experience in competing can provide some of your best tips for those day long tournies/competitions. Here are some tips: 1. You can eat small snacks throughout the day to help keep your energy up. Secondly, any drink (or food) which contains caffeine, such as soda, coffee, tea and chocolate, draws water out of the muscles and dumps it into your stomach.... plus you'll be visiting the bathroom way too much !(this is due to the caffeine) 2. The most important thing to have is lot of plain water, even if you do not feel thirsty. By the time you feel thirsty, your body is already dehydrated. cold water is usually easier to drink and digest than tap water. Fill your water bottles up, and keep drinking a lot of cold, plain water all day. The better your body is hydrated, the better you and your muscles feel and the less likely you are to injure your muscles. Remember, drink so much water that your urine is clear. 3. Injuries, including bruises, should be iced immediately after a match for 20 minutes (NEVER ANY MORE THAN 20 MINUTES!), The ice won't make you stiff. What makes you stiff is the swelling which occurs from a bruise or injury. You should also tape or wrap your injuries after icing, to keep swelling down and to support your injury. Do not use any heat rub or spray on a new injury - it will only make it swell more! Heat rubs and sprays are only to be used for stiff muscles, NOT NEW INJURIES. All injuries should be iced for 20 minutes, 3 or 4 times per day, for at least 72 hours following an injury. Make sure to only ice an injury once every 60 minutes, in order to give the muscle a chance to return to normal room temperature. Never ice an injury over 30 minutes, because the ice will then have the opposite effect and cause blood to rush into the area to warm it. 4. You may find that your legs are tired or noodle-like after a match. If your legs feel this way, and you have more fights to go, simply put your legs up a wall and "hang them". This help keep the blood from flooding them, preventing that heavy feeling. While you are laying there with your legs up on the wall, drink plenty of water and sports drinks. 5. If you get a headache from dehydration (you didn't drink your water shame shame!), take acetaminophen (Tylenol) instead of an anti-inflammatory (such as Advil, Nuprin, Aspirin or Aleve). If you get a headache from a kick to the head ONLY TAKE ACETAMINOPHEN (Tylenol). DO NOT EVER TAKE AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY (Advil, Nuprin, Aspirin or Aleve), as these products can increase the effects and the possibility of internal bleeding in the skull. If pain continues for more than 24 hours, you need to be seen by a doctor!. Anti-inflammatory medications are to be used for injuries in which there is possible pain and swelling, except of the head. 6. Spend at least 10-15 minutes stretching out all your muscles ... do not neglect anything! Stretching should be done prior to each match and following the completion of each match. If you do this, your muscles are less likely to become sore or injured throughout the day. Remember to that you need to be mentally prepared for the day also!
1) Get yourself a coach for the day, one of your team mates who has finshed competing. Get them to listen for your category and insure you are at the right ring and know when you are sparring. Stretching is important but some light drills should be worked through to prepare the body for what it's about to go through. 2) Remember and bring a towel, water spray and/or fan to ring side. Things can get pretty hot, you should take advantage of all breaks you get. Your "coach" comes in handy while your sparring gear is on. 3) Ensure you have all the neccesary equipment. Nothing worse than having to run off at the last minute. 4) Make sure you know ALL the rules of the competition you enter. This also means procedures for disputes, some comps will require deposits in order to lodge complaints. Make sure you know what the referees are looking for in order to decide winners. No use thinking you won, it's the ref that gives the decision. 5) Remember the official is always right (during the match anyway) disputes can be sorted at the end.... concentrate on showing all referrees present your point-scoring/ clean techniques. 6) Get some support! Nothing better than your team mates cheering you on, nothing worse than a hostile crowd. 7) Take some entertainment........ you could be there a long time.... personal stereo, uplighting reading material.... something to keep you from wanting it to be all over..... otherwise it may end quicker than you want. 8) Learn from defeats. Get people to record what you were scored against with what you score most with.. next time you'll be able to answer where it all went wrong/right. Even better video your performance and get your instructors/coach's opinion. Last but not least.... Pack toilet roll and imodium. Sounds silly but trust me, if you don't need it you'll soon become the most popular person there Thats it for now.....will think of/remember more though!
Get a sports massage the day before.... I had a proper massage the day before my last tournament, taking out all the knots in my legs......I've never felt so loose and confident in my kicks, unfortunately i bent my leg the wrong way and completely messed my knee up....but...before that it was great!
you guys probly said everything already. but there is couple more things: 1) Practice your techniques before the match, practice them slowly and then a little bit faster -- this will loosen you up, so you can be fast during the match 2) Know what you're going to do before the match, run the techniques through your head 3) And last but not least, apply your techniques in the match!
there are so many good tips here, so i won't repeat them. i would just like to stress the importance of being mentally fit. u have to enter the ring that way and stay focused throughout the fight(s). if u think that the ref wasn't fair and that u should have gotten a point, DON'T FREAK OUT! u'll lose the match. there are ways and rules according to which u can complain or do this or that (so get all the info, as someone here has already mentioned), but don't get upset. it will mess up ur concentration and ur fighting skills as well. if u r mentally better prepared u can win an opponent who is maybe physically a bit better prepared. i have seen some instructors with weird training plans as well. instructors, there is no use to 'kill' ur competitors two days before the competition itself with some stupid exercises. there has to be a training plan. students who compete can't train in the same way the others (non-competitors) do. there is a phase when u spar, spar and spar, but as the competition approaches things have to change. u can't go to a competition if u got bruised in heavy sparring 2 days before the competition. and don't start warming up 5 minutes before ur fight!!! good thread Kickchick!!!
