On April 22, Action Karate Plymouth will hold our semi-annual Action Invitational Karate Tournament.
For many people out there, the word “tournament” instills a sense of anxiety, stress, or outright dread. A collection of negative thoughts immediately cross our minds:
“How fierce will the competition be?”
“What if I mess up?”
“How many people will be there?”
“What if I’m just not good enough?”
We encourage all students to participate in this awesome competition, regardless of age, experience, confidence level, or physical abilities. Sure, it’s fun to compete and win big trophies and earn the accolades of all of your peers. However, this isn’t the main goal we seek to instill when preparing for the Invitational, or any competition.
At Action Karate Plymouth, our karate goals are threefold, and these goals should be carried from the classroom and on to every tournament and competition that our students participate in.
Goal #1: Self-Confidence
Did you know that the #1 fear in the world is public speaking? Well…do you know that #6 is? It’s death.
That means that most adults would rather die than have to give a presentation at work or speak to any group in a public setting.
What if I told you that karate competitions are the best way to overcome a fear of public speaking?
Our athletes prepare for a competition by training in front of their peers and are ready to face a large audience when the big day arrives.
Think about it: the children in our classes are preparing for a big karate tournament. They perform their forms in front of small groups of classmates and parents, and practice as often as possible in front of their families at home. By the time the tournament rolls around, they are fully prepared to perform the very same routine in front of a large audience.
We know you went through the same thing as a child yourself. How is this any different than preparing to “perform” your public speaking “routine”?
Preparing for a competition is the perfect way to build the self-confidence required to conquer your biggest public performance fears. As we like to say, you’re never too old to learn a new skill! This is why we encourage students of all ages to compete in our semi-annual Invitational: young students build the self-confidence they need to succeed in the future, and our older students remind themselves that they have nothing to fear when it comes to being in front of an audience!
Get more information on our upcoming karate classes!
Goal #2: Grit
This is one four letter word that we LOVE hearing in our dojo!
According to psychologist Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth, the most important ingredient in success for any child is grit. Grit, or perseverance with passion, is instilled by competing and learning that you can’t win them all.
Winning feels good. And sure, sometimes you’ll win. But the truth of life is that many pursuits end in loss. This lesson is particularly important for children to learn. When our youngest students experience loss, they have the chance to focus on the lessons learned instead of the negative feelings involved, and to learn how to grow from that experience. It is with this new knowledge that they can face their next hardship, and continue to grow from there.
This is where success comes from; the greatest entrepreneurs had to face countless people saying “no” before they met that one person who said “yes,” and changed their lives forever! It is in these experiences that we learn what grit really means.
Here is Dr. Duckworth’s excellent TED Talk on GRIT:
Goal #3: Major, Measurable, Leaps In Martial Arts Skill Level
Competing in a tournament requires a student to train and prepare martial arts techniques and forms, which oftentimes means practices involving hundreds or thousands of repetitions of the same movements.
The benefits of these practices are obvious, especially to our students and fellow instructors. Action Karate Plymouth students that regularly perform in tournaments stand out amongst their peers as a cut above, simply because of all the extra time and repetitions put it in their skills.
This is why we encourage even the youngest of athletes to register! It doesn’t matter if your little one is shy, uncoordinated, or inexperienced. The Action Invitational Karate Tournament exists to encourage growth in all of our athletes. Everyone will walk away feeling challenged, accomplished, and very proud of their achievements!
Don’t miss out on this excellent opportunity to compete in our semi-annual tournament. This is a life-changing event, and we can’t wait to see all of you there performing at your very best!
Registration forms are due by April 15th for the Action Invitational Karate Tournament. Click here to register for the tournament.
Are you ready to commit to a sport that is guaranteed to change your life? Consider signing up for karate classes at Action Karate Plymouth!
