Competing? Online? Seriously?

Did you know that several of our students recently competed in two online Poomsae Tournaments? One, the Summer of Poomsae, was hosted by USA Taekwondo. The other was an international tournament hosted by the California Unified Taekwondo Association (CUTA). There were hundreds of competitors from over 15 countries! Many of our students medaled!! They worked just as hard as they would have to prepare for an in-person tournament. Well done Coach Shiba and to our competitors!

How exactly do you compete in Poomsae online? Well, your coach videos you while you perform your designated forms. Then, you send the video to the tournament organizers. On tournament day, your forms are judged by National and International Referees and the scores are tabulated just like an in-person tournament. The top 4 in your division earn medals, again, just like an in-person tournament. You and your friends and family can even watch you and your division as both online tournaments were streamed live! The attached video of one of our competitors, Maggie, is taken from the live stream complete with live commentary!

Each competitor still paid a registration fee, but the tournament experience was far less of an expense than usual as there were no travel expenses. In fact, there were several other advantages to competing online during this time when there are no other options.

We found that our students improved JUST as much as they prepared for these online tournaments as they do when they prepare for an in-person tournament! Master Shiba has always said, “preparing for one tournament is equal to 6 months of classes in terms of a student’s improvement”. Now we know this also rings true for online tournaments!

As martial artists we never want to stagnate. We are always moving forward no matter the what! You must move forward regardless of COVID, or an injury, or being faced with something that is really, really hard to overcome. As martial artists it’s our job to persevere!

Master Shiba chose to have her competition team and others compete in these tournaments because she knows that her students need goals to work towards. If you train to compete, it’s easy to slowly but steadily lose steam if you don’t have a competition to work towards. She hasn’t let anything hold back her school and her students’ progression yet, and she certainly isn’t going to now! From her, we all benefit and learn to live out that same resilient attitude!

Thank you, also, to the tournament organizers for their own resilience and perseverance to find another way! Shiba Taekwondo benefitted in many ways!