TMA Competition

[Sensei Tom OBrien]

My students & I went to an AAU pre-state champioship event last week. I like the AAU competitions because they are traditional & very well organized. The officials are tested & ranked. The competitors have to qualify in local, state & regional events before going to the nationals. I competed in kata & kobudo. I am in the 'old geezer's' division (45+). I am 61. There weren't enough 'old geezers' there so they combined the 35+ division with us. I came in fourth in both events. Two of my guys, a shodan & a white belt won bronze medals in kumite.
It was slim pickin in the kumite competition. It seems like no one wants to fight anymore. Anybody else notice this?

Thanks,
Tom

[TKD&JKD]

Originally Posted by Sensei Tom OBrien

My students & I went to an AAU pre-state champioship event last week. I like the AAU competitions because they are traditional & very well organized. The officials are tested & ranked. The competitors have to qualify in local, state & regional events before going to the nationals. I competed in kata & kobudo. I am in the 'old geezer's' division (45+). I am 61. There weren't enough 'old geezers' there so they combined the 35+ division with us. I came in fourth in both events. Two of my guys, a shodan & a white belt won bronze medals in kumite.
It was slim pickin in the kumite competition. It seems like no one wants to fight anymore. Anybody else notice this?

Thanks,
Tom

It's usually pretty slim pickens in the adult heavyweight division for me. Now that I'm in the BB division though there are more competitors. Before I was in the BB division I usually only had one fight against a higher rank.