A Little Old Man Kicked My Butt at a Tournament
A little old man kicked my butt at a tournament in Keokuk, Iowa in 2000, and it is one of my favorite memories from my years competing in martial arts tournaments.
It was a hot, August day in a gymnasium that was not air-conditioned. I had been out-pointed by a black belt from Georgia in a match for first place, so I was next paired with a nice old guy to fight for the third place trophy.
My opponent was short, feeble, very slow, left himself open, had slow reaction time, and could hardly get a kick above his own waist. He wore hearing aids in both ears.
I had seen him perform at the tournament at least two other times, but he never went home with a trophy. He didn't even come close. It was a fluke that we were put in the ring to fight for some hardware.
The center ref told us to bow to each other, then bow to him. He signaled us to begin.
In that moment, I felt a connection to my aging opponent. In other tournaments, I had encouraged him to stay with it, even though he competed a...
Are You Getting This Important Benefit from Your Qigong Practice?
I stepped into the ring, holding my broadsword and feeling butterflies in my stomach. I wanted to do well in my first tournament performance as a black belt.
It was February, 1998 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and at 45 years old, I had studied different martial arts for 25 years, had been in the internal arts for more than 10 years, and had practiced qigong diligently for more than a decade.
"Just get into the zone," I told myself as I calmed down and prepared to do my broadsword form.
God, there are a lot of people, I thought.
"Settle down," my inner voice said. "Detach. Rise above the pressure."
It was the worst advice I could have given myself.
A few movements into the form, I turned to my right to do a sweeping cut and noticed a young boy was walking across the ring, just a few feet from me.
Within another movement or two, I completely spaced out and forgot where I was in my form. For a flash of a second, I was mentally paralyzed, then I made up some movements, wrapped up the for...
The Eye of the Tiger -- Spirit is the Beginning of It All
Did you ever find yourself in a situation where a bigger bully attacked you and it was clear that you didn't have a chance? Have you ever been frightened and covered up to protect yourself?
Here is another question. Have you ever found yourself in a position when you had to defend yourself and you were determined to win?
There is a big difference between those two situations, and the difference is Spirit.
In the internal arts, Spirit is called "Shen." It is the "emotional mind."
The Three Internal Harmonies begin with Spirit. The state of your emotional mind combines with your Mind/Intent ("Yi" -- pronounced Yee). Shen is often called the "emotional mind" while Yi is sometimes called the "wisdom mind."
Think of one of the greatest fighters in history -- Muhammad Ali. Think of his attitude when he entered a fight. Confident, bold, smart, ready and willing to rumble.
Then think of a time when you were sparring -- or perhaps in a fight in school or on the street -- and you were not...
Congratulations to Student Kim Kruse
Kim Kruse showed a bit of spunk this weekend when she was the only one of our little core group to travel South to Keokuk, Iowa, for a great annual tournament that attracts martial artists from several states -- Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Georgia, and more. It's always a great tournament with a lot of talent, and it's hosted by my friend Frank Pennington.
Kim has a blue sash in our system, and she won first place in empty-hand forms with a Hsing-I form called "Five Element Mountain Storm." She also won first place in weapons with a tai chi form. She competed against karate and TKD folks. She also won 3rd place in sparring.
Kim started in 2006 when Nancy and I had our school in Bettendorf. We closed it in 2007 to move to Tampa but Kim and a few other students kept practicing and improving. She's living proof that if you have a passion for these arts and keep advancing forward, step by step, you can begin developing a reputation for your skill.
Congratulations, Kim. Hopefully, I'll be...
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Karate Tournament
Back in the late Nineties and the first couple of years of this century, I competed in several Gen-Ki tournaments in Chicago. They were big affairs, with hundreds of competitors. It was fun to go up against mainly karate people and win first place. My students and I brought home quite a few 6-foot trophies.
At that time, there were several really great tournaments in Chicago. One was a huge open tournament with internal arts divisions that attracted Hsing-I, Tai Chi, and Bagua competitors.
Gen-Ki was mostly devoted to karate but at the time, I was building a winning track record was felt that I needed to compete and win. One of the great things about Chicago tournaments is the contact that is required in sparring. In brown and black belt competition, you can't score a point unless you hit or kick your opponent. It isn't a game of "tag," like critics call tournament sparring. It gets rough and it's fun.
For the second time this year, I had a completely different reaction when I wen...
A Good Day at an Illinois Martial Arts Tournament
Four students and I attended a tournament in Moline, Illinois, yesterday, hosted by my friend John Morrow. I hadn't competed in over a year-and-a-half, and after two heart surgeries this summer, decided to just enter for forms and weapons and wait a little longer, maybe next spring, to enter sparring competition. Photo at left shows me, Chris Miller (standing), his daughter Roewyn, and Colin Frye. Kneeling are Kim Schaber and Kim Miller.
We had a good day. Chris Miller won first place in the brown belt empty-hand forms competition, second in sparring (he was a much better fighter but didn't get the calls), and third place in weapons. He ran a bagua form in empty-hand forms and ran the Chen straight sword in weapons.
Kim Miller won 1st place in women's sparring (under black belt) and 2nd place in brown belt forms. Kim ran the Chen 38 form.
Kim Schaber won 1st place in empty-hand forms and 1st place in weapons. She performed Hsing-I in both competitions.
Colin Frye won 1st place i...
I'm Throwing Away All My Martial Arts Trophies
I'm throwing my trophies away. I've been carrying trophies around everywhere I've moved since 1974. This past move, from the Quad Cities to Tampa, included several boxes, some of them quite large, of trophies from martial arts tournaments. Some of the trophies are as tall as I am. Some are taller.
It's with mixed feelings that I do this. The trophies represent many years of hard work, realized by putting my skills on the line in front of a jury of black belts.
Although I competed in tournaments as far back as 1974, I didn't really get into the scene until 1988, and then I really began competing in earnest around 1996. Around the Midwest circuit at that time, no one knew who I was. First place wins were scarce. The longer I competed and the harder I practiced, the first place trophies began piling up.
My favorite accomplishments came in Chicago, where the competition was very tough. A lot of talented people in forms, and in black belt sparring injury was common and you couldn't even ...
Author - Instructor
Ken Gullette
I have practiced martial arts since 1973 and began studying the internal arts in 1987. My goal is to cut years off your development time by coaching you in the real skills for high-quality Tai Chi, Xingyi, Bagua. To see more about my bio, click the "About Ken" link on the menu at the top of this page.
Stay connected with news and updates!
Recent Posts
Categories
All Categorieschen taiji fighting applications
chen xiaowang straight sword form
critical thinking in martial arts
full contact vs point sparring
how to succeed in martial arts
how to use chi kung in daily life
how to use qigong in daily life
internal fighting arts podcast
ken gullette on kung fu conversations podcast
mindset of successful martial artist
principles of body mechanics in martial arts
what is body method in tai chi