I recently took on some tournament training responsibilities. Although only a minor player in training people for forms competition, I ran a class last night and wanted to put my ideas on paper for people to read after the fact as the class was short and the concepts were large.
I'm going to make an assumption here, and one that is not always true. That assumption is that you train for a tournament and you enter to win. This assumption is not always true and I recognize that. Tournaments can be used to stress test your forms, or could be a way to overcome performance obstacles. In this post though, I'm going to assume the person reading is someone who wants to train hard, and has a goal to place.
I am also assuming you are competing in traditional tournaments, not necessarily in open or sports karate tournaments. Those competitions have rules, but they also have norms that require training well beyond the things I'm focusing on in this post. It is not that these ideas won't help in open or sports karate, but you'll need to do more to succeed at those venues.
Form Selection
First and foremost, you always pick a form that you look good doing. If you compete in the AAU, like we do, you pick a form in your group that you look good doing. If you don't look good doing any form, you should pick a form that you can eventually look good doing. Using myself as an example, with my hips, I'll never look good doing Moon-Moo. As much as I'd like to be able to put my leg out over my head and hold it there, and move it around slow - it's not going to happen, so that is not a form I would ever consider doing in competition. My strength is in upper body techniques so I would pick a form that features a dynamic range of upper body movements.
Your highest form might seem like a great candidate but you should be careful. Your highest form is the form you have done the least amount of times. While that shouldn't necessarily disqualify it from selection, the time you have to train and the time between when you pick the form and when the tournament is, should factor in. Ask yourself if there is enough time to get not only a strong handle on the form, but also to make the refinements that are necessary to win on a form that is relatively new. Finally be true to yourself, what you want isn't as important as what you can realistically accomplish.
The form you pick should also be appropriate for your level. A red belt isn't going to score very high if they trot out Chon-Ji.
Once you have selected a form that you look good doing that is appropriate for your skill level, it is time to begin.
Physical Training Method
I want your training to take on a layered approach. On the macro level, practice the entire form slow or smooth. Concentrate on solidifying the memorization of the movements in general, and focus on where every technique should start and finish. Don't apply a great deal of power at this stage. Focus on the fundamentals. Good timing, and good stance definition are born at this level of training.
After three of four reps of smoothness, begin to work on the micro level of the form. This is by far and away, the most boring aspect to training for a tournament, but also, is the single most effective way to get very precise with execution.
If good foundations of stances and timing are born in the macro level; power, intensity, execution, timing and stances will all come to their own at this micro level. I've heard it called by many names over the years: segments, chunking, parts; it is all the same thing though. Take 4-5 movements of your form, and work on them over and over again. Do not move on, until that segment is perfect, and then do not just pick the next 4-5 moves, but encorporate the previous two or three moves, so your transition in segments is natural.
You may not have to stay on the same segment for too long, or you may find yourself staying on a segment for a very long time. Either way, this method strengthens you in two ways. When you work a full form, you only have one chance to work on the movements you are weakest on once. You do that portion of the form, and you move on. By focusing on a segment that you are weaker at, you get more reps in a row and more chances to fix any issues while they are fresh. You can focus on the issue, clearly identify it, and eliminate it. Segmenting also helps you solidify your strengths or make your strengths even stronger, for the same reason. Simply stated working on a section over and over, outside of the full form gives you more chances to do that segment right.
A major difficulty when doing segment training is walking away from the training too fast. Nothing can feel as tedious as doing the same four moves over and over, and if you aren't that good at the movements, it can test your endurance to frustration as well. In time though, with the dedication and perseverance of a martial artist, this training will often yield great results. I found that all of my forms got better when I focused hard on specific segments. It makes sense, that is the whole purpose of forms in the first place.
Mental Training Method
I find training your mind is just as important as the physical side of your training. My mental training starts with a silent promise I make to myself (or to my instructor). That promise is that I am going to eliminate at least one mistake or shortcoming every time I practice. So, if I have 5-10 real issues in a form, every session I want that number to go down by one. Dedication to this progression of improvement will yield fast results. Once deficiencies are eliminated, you start to pick strengths that you can do even better - applying the same formula to them. Every session, one strength becomes even stronger. It is an easy to understand concept, but can be very difficult to execute.
Another level of mental training is visualization. This comes in two forms for me. First, visualize the tournament itself. As you are preparing to start a form rep, visualize what the floor would look like (not the actual floor mind you, but the tournament "floor"). See the chaos that is X number of rings all going while you are about to compete. If you are a black belt, and the tournament you are preparing for stops for black belt competition, visualize that (sometimes) crushing silence that fills the floor. Savor it in your practice, and make it your friend, so that when you face it for real, it is not the "butterflies in stomach" inducing event that it so often is.
Finally, as you practice your form, visualize how you'd want to execute the form, as you are executing the form! By the time you step to ready on an actual tournament floor, you should know your form so well that you actually can visualize something other than the movement you are actually on. Go one step beyond and see the movement you want to do - not the movement you have to do.
I took 2nd place in a tournament once and all I did was the mental side of preparation I listed above. I cannot stress enough the importance of proper attitude and mental training. It is hard because TKD doesn't routinely lend itself to this type of training. Too often, it is more concerned with the physical how and not the mental how.
On Technique
Of course, all of this is great if your technique execution is already pretty good. If it isn't quite where you want it to be, fear not - segmenting is still the answer. While segmenting is great for refining already good technique, it is an even better way to go from mediocrity to proficiency. It is easy in forms to get lost in the "big picture". Segmenting is a way to take the pressure of the form off your back and allow you to really focus on the individual movements. With good instruction around you it's a highly effective way to bring your basic execution up to par.
If segmenting proves ineffective, just segment some more. You may have to work just two moves, or even just one. Refining it, and then building up. I've been working the reverse crescent kicks from Tong-il, and had to actually break it down to the individual movements. It is ok, sometimes it is a necessary step.
Putting it All Together
Once you have segmented and the form looks the way you want it to in pieces, you start putting it together. You still don't want to go all out though. A very good instructor once told me that you want to spend most of your practice times around 80% full execution. As you approach the tournament you ramp it up until you are practicing for a short period of time at 100%. Right before the tournament you drop it back down even lower, to let your muscles time to heal up which is where strength is developed. This keeps you fresh and ready to achieve maximum performance on the day of your competition. If you are frequently sore after class, this is a highly effective way to be at your best the day of the tournament.
Final Thoughts
I can't take credit for these methods and I certainly didn't invent them. Everything you read here is a combination of things other other martial artists in our school shared with me over time. Although the number of forms competitions I have competed in barely reaches double digits, I placed in every single one of them, and took home my fair share of first place trophies. The people who shared their art with me, well, their lists speak for themselves. Some of the instructors I have borrowed these ideas from have gone years without taking less than 1st place in tournaments. Some went on to compete in world championship level events and others are legends of our school. The bottom line: these methods are highly effective. I look back fondly on my short time as a forms competitor and I have these lessons and the people who shared them with me to thank for that. Train hard, train smart and you will achieve your tournament goals.
