LCMA School Tournament
Sunday, November 15th
Norwood Civic Center
Doors open at 11:30
Tournament begins at 12 Noon
Location
The Tournament will be held at the Norwood Civic Center on Nahatan Street in Norwood Center. There is plenty of street parking, facility parking, and free public parking across the street.
Participation
The key to making this event successful, is full participation. We put a lot of work into planning and preparing the students. This is healthy competition allowing students to try their skills with their peers. White Belts all the way through Brown Belts will be prepared for the Tournament. All instructors that are available should attend to support the students and judge their skills.
Sign Up/ Registration
There will be a registration form sent out within the next couple weeks. These forms should be completed and returned as soon as possible to allow us to better plan the divisions and the tournament set up. This year all divisions will be set in advance so that the head instructors Sensei John and Sensei Cody can best determine groups for fairness and competition.
Events
Forms- These are the katas/ routines that the students practice each class. One example is Heian 1 for white belts. Students can choose from their favorite, their best, or their most challenging
Weapons Forms- These are for Purple Belts and higher to perform with their choice of weapon. (ex. Bo 1, Combat Bo, Kama Kata, etc.)
Sparring- For Yellow Belts and higher ranks. This is point sparring with full equipment needed to participate.
Noodle Sparring- For White Belts. This event is for white belts to practice targeting with soft foam noodles.
Grappling- This event is ground wrestling "Sumo Style." Students will be required to use technique and body skills to move opponent out of ring.
Self Defense- This event is for all students to showcase their self defense techniques (ex. Wrist Grabs, Kumites, Grappling, etc.)
Board Breaking- This event is for all students to break practice boards. This event is divided by age (and size).
Practice Routine
Students need to practice presenting their forms and self defense routines. This is important as it teaches the kids to stand up and speak for themselves in a large group. There is no standard way in which the students present themselves but I will give a few examples and the kids can develop their own"
Young Kids/ Tiny Tigers (simple)
"Judges, My name is (insert name). I will be performing Heian 1. May I please step back and begin?"
or
"Judges, My name is (insert name). I will be performing 5 Self Defense moves. My Uke's name is (insert name). May I please step back and begin?"
Older Kids
"Judges, My name is (insert name). I represent the Learning Center for Martial Arts under Sensei (insert name) and Sensei (insert name). I will be performing (insert form or self defense). May I please step back and begin?"
Again, we ask you to practice with the kids at home and have them present and perform for parents, friends, and family. Like many of you, I was once afraid to stand in a group and speak. These skills are so important for school projects, recitals, and later in business. Karate helped me to overcome those fears by practicing in front of people. Thanks for any help and support.