Novice tournaments are a fantastic way for new-comers to Taekwondo to ease themselves into the turbulent waters of competition sparring. The atmosphere is friendly, the feeling of anxiety is typically mutual, and fighting is (mostly) fair. There is, however, an element of corruption, even in such a well-intentioned organisation. The problem is the definition of a “novice”. The agonising factor lies in the fact that a novice in Taekwondo can be a black belt in another martial art: i.e. Karate or Kick Boxing - the kind of martial arts that link in rather well with Taekwondo. And so, your white belt novice infact has seventeen years experience in tournaments, and would likely wipe the floor with most Dan grades, let alone fellow novices.
Another slight inconsistency arises when the match-ups take place. For those not in the know, sparring competitions are divided into categories based on weight, grade, and to a lesser extent, age. This works brilliantly regarding National Championships and County Opens where they receive a great umber of applicants to fill out the categories. Novice tournaments, on the other hand, can be a little sparse competitor-wise. And occasionally grade and weight boundaries have to be ignored in order to actually give someone an opponent, as you’ll soon see.
I apologise for the moaning and groaning, but this preamble is just may way of justifying some of the results which don’t look so good when you see them on paper, but completely reflect Portsmouth University’s misfortune regarding the opponents it was drawn against. So, without further ado, let’s get on to the match reports.
First up was Angie, our one and only female competitor (a ratio I would like to improve on next time please ladies!). I don’t feel it’s worth dwelling too much on the details of this encounter. The only girl in Angie’s weight category was a red belt, Angie being a white belt - go figure! Needless to say, a match between someone who’s been training for two months and someone who’s been at it at least three years didn’t provide the fairest of fights, and the result was 7-0 to the red belt. The main problem obviously being experience, and the time it takes to learn different methods of attacking and movement. The red belt was able to gauge Angie’s approach early on in the fight, and simply picked off the points as Angie stepped in to attack. It isn’t worth being too critical at this point as the fight is by no means a fair reflection of either competitors’ ability. Hopefully the next fight will be a little more even, Angie!
Another slight inconsistency arises when the match-ups take place. For those not in the know, sparring competitions are divided into categories based on weight, grade, and to a lesser extent, age. This works brilliantly regarding National Championships and County Opens where they receive a great umber of applicants to fill out the categories. Novice tournaments, on the other hand, can be a little sparse competitor-wise. And occasionally grade and weight boundaries have to be ignored in order to actually give someone an opponent, as you’ll soon see.
I apologise for the moaning and groaning, but this preamble is just may way of justifying some of the results which don’t look so good when you see them on paper, but completely reflect Portsmouth University’s misfortune regarding the opponents it was drawn against. So, without further ado, let’s get on to the match reports.
First up was Angie, our one and only female competitor (a ratio I would like to improve on next time please ladies!). I don’t feel it’s worth dwelling too much on the details of this encounter. The only girl in Angie’s weight category was a red belt, Angie being a white belt - go figure! Needless to say, a match between someone who’s been training for two months and someone who’s been at it at least three years didn’t provide the fairest of fights, and the result was 7-0 to the red belt. The main problem obviously being experience, and the time it takes to learn different methods of attacking and movement. The red belt was able to gauge Angie’s approach early on in the fight, and simply picked off the points as Angie stepped in to attack. It isn’t worth being too critical at this point as the fight is by no means a fair reflection of either competitors’ ability. Hopefully the next fight will be a little more even, Angie!
Angies Fight (Blue)My apologies now to the guys as I can’t quite remember whose fight was first so I’m just gonna do the best I can. I hope you can forgive me!
I’m gonna take a guess and say that Martin was our first male competitor up (after around three hours of hanging around - it was now dark outside!). Yet again, another unfairly matched fight. Correct me if I’m wrong, Martin, but his opponent looks to be a blue belt judging by the video (yes, I’m watching the videos - you expect me to remember everything!?), and Martin a slightly whiter shade of colour. To give him his due, though, Martin was not phased by the more experienced man. He got stuck straight it, and fought his corner valiantly. Yet again, the blue belt was obviously more experienced, and was targeting the openings Martin left when he attacked. Another thing we’re going to need to work on is setting a boundary between being offensive, and just running in. Martin was guilty of a lot of the latter, which was when his opponent was able to pick him off and score with counterattacks. Also, a lot of Martin’s kicks were a little flippant, just flicking his foot up into the air. We need to work on using the hip more, firstly for the extra power, secondly for the extra range, and thirdly for the increased chance of scoring a point with it. The result at the end was 11-4 against Martin, but scoring four points against a blue belt is nothing to be ashamed of. Again, the match isn’t a fair reflection on Martin’s ability, as I’m sure he and all our other fighters would have fared better against an opponent of the same grade and height/weight.
Martins Fight (Blue)I think Dan was up next, or should I call him Clubfoot? I can hear him laughing already. I don’t know about anyone else, but Dan never ceases to surprise me. First impressions present a well-spoken, well-mannered boy from Hamble. How wrong can a first impression be? Put this boy in the ring, and it’s very reminiscent of Ed from a couple of years ago: the transformation from man into beast. On the outset, this fight looked well-matched. Both white belts, both of a similar height. It was looking good. I, however, don’t think that Dan’s opponent, a student of Grand Master Lindsey Lawrence (the greatest fighter Britain has ever produced) was the novice he looked. The high kicks, the footwork, the well-executed back kick…I’m dubious. But whatever, this is the tale of the tape: Dan was kicked in the throat early on, which he protested wasn’t legal, but of course it bloody is - stop whinging, man! Either way, the foot to the throat sparked a change in Dan. It inspired rage, Dan got ANGRY! All technique and tactics went out the window, Dan now had only one goal: to kill his opponent. Needless to say, such an approach is liable to fail. Dan’s knees ceased the act of bending, and every kick was swung in a blurred arc that could be seen coming a mile away. If we can learn to channel the aggression, I think Dan could be a star for the future, but for now, Clubfoot will have to put up with being laughed at. The score in the end was 12-8 against Dan, which is actually very impressive. I think the two headshots his opponent scored turned the tide, as well as Dan’s straight-legged approach, but many things to be proud of.
Clubfoots Fight (Red)I’ll tackle Sean’s fight next; the last of our fighters participating in their first ever tournament. Sean’s opponent was a green tag, but had also done Kick Boxing before, as his sparring approach suggested. Sean got off to a flying start though - literally! His double round house stole a quick point, and a succession of good footwork, subsequent double kicks, and a well-timed sidekick resulted in the score being 4-2 to Sean after only twenty seconds, and had me thinking we were on our way to our first gold. But then fatigue, that old demon, raised its ugly head! The movements soon grew sluggish, and the kicks lowered to about knee height on occasion, earning Sean at least a half point deduction, if not more. It was a real shame, as he started so well. I think if we work on our fitness and conditioning we’ll improve substantially, as the technique and approach is there. Perhaps a more reserved start may also be beneficial, as impressive as it was. 12-7 in the end, but once again, plenty of points scored by our team.
Seans Fight (Blue)Guy next (Blue), one of two not-quite-so-novice-novices, having sparred several times before and actually achieving a gold medal at one tournament. But nevertheless, he made good use of the opportunity to glean a little more experience. Hey, if a Dan grade could partake in the Novice tournament, then why not Guy? This was one of the other fights where the grades of both competitors were the same. The main difference was the other bloke’s height and resulting leg length advantage, which he made the most of with repeated attempts at head shots. I’ve seen Guy fight a few times now, and I must say this is the best performance I’ve seen him put in. His timing and his movement have greatly improved since the last tournament, it’s just unfortunate that his opponent had such a reach advantage. There were moments of greatness from the Portsmouth Uni representative though, a nice two-point combo in which he avoided the counter that came between his two attacks. And also the spectacular way he fell on his arse to avoid a back kick. Watch the video, it’s hilarious! It even had the referee laughing. My main criticism would be that Guy didn’t utilise the fact that he could get in close and cut off his opponent’s attacks, but instead stayed at a distance that put him at a disadvantage. But with Guy getting our highest score of the day with a 12-9 defeat, I can’t complain too much.
Guys Fight (Blue)Lastly to Simon, who has also participated in several previous tournaments, though is still searching for that elusive victory. Simon’s opponent was a green tag, like he, and actually a little shorter too. If anything, I would have said advantage Portsmouth. But, again, his opponent had studied another martial art before; this time Kung Fu. For the most part, the fight was fairly even. Both of them were counter attackers, so there were extended periods of inactivity reminiscent of the bouncing competitions at the Olympics. But I think, on the day, Master Lawrence’s student was the better counter attacker. His timing was sharper and his footwork more precise. Simon had a tendency to over-commit, meaning he was off-balance and pretty much defenceless against the counter attacks. He eventually lost 7-6 but I’m not the only one to say that this is his best performance to date. Once again, a lot of positives to take away, just need more practise!
Simons Fight (Blue)
It sounds good to say we came away with five silver medals, and although they were technically default prizes, I believe that each and every one of our fighters earned them. For the most part we were up against the odds, sparring higher grades and people who had likely been training all through the summer, unlike our lazy lot who’d been lazing around getting fat. What is reassuring though is that we scored lots of points. In terms of offence, we’re sharp and committed. Our faults lie in defence. It’s all well and good getting a point, but if you leave yourself open to a counter attack that point is negated. We need to work further on distancing, movement, and improve the strength of our own counter attacking abilities. The spirit is there, which is fantastic! We’ve got fight in our hearts, now we just need to get fight in our heads: learn to think, to anticipate, teach ourselves to react quickly and precisely. It’s all basic, but it all goes out the window in the ring, as we all know! Our job now is to learn to close that window, and earn ourselves the gold medals that we and Portsmouth University deserve.
Russ
UoP Taekwondo President.
