Oyama Fighter's Cup 2014

On Sunday, June 1st, five students participated in the Oyama Fighter's Cup. The level of competition at this tournament is higher than most other open tournaments. We went to the tournament with five participants, we came home with five trophies. And I think a few really great lessons were learned.

I participated in both the semi-knockdown and bare knuckle, full knockdown divisions so I got a good five rounds in. I gained a lot from the experience. And I'm not just talking about all the bruises...

Lessons I Learned at Oyama:

1. Cross-training makes a HUGE difference to my martial arts training. HUGE.
   I tell my friends that 2 minutes of sparring is like sprinting up hill while people are punching and kicking you. I'm a distance runner, so I have to be a bit dramatic. Still, I think that's pretty accurate. But the thing I noticed in every single round at Oyama... When the other person started getting tired, I still had wind to keep going. I attribute that to two things: 1 - The way we train at our dojo - hard and continuous sparring. 2 - The amount of running and riding I'm doing for my black belt test.
   
2. I sometimes set my bar too low.
   
   For my second match I fought an experienced black belt from the Oyama school. I did what most people probably do, but shouldn't. I sized her up, made assumptions. Black belt. Bigger than me. Oyama trained. I decided that I would call this match a success if I stood up every time she knocked me down. I told myself that
   
   
   if I just keep standing up for the 2-minute round, no matter what, I'd be happy with myself.
   
   I won that match. I need to set my standards based on me, not others.
   
3. The mutual respect among martial artists is almost tangible, to the point where non-martial artists notice it and wonder.
   
   A friend of mine came out to watch the tournament. At one point she looked at me and said, "You know the amazing thing... You guys are all clearly competitive athletes and you're going at each other but there's so much respect happening everywhere." That's exactly that thing I talk about when I say martial arts is different. It was a gym full of martial artists and people notice the energy and the edge, but they also notice the respect. That's a really awesome thing.

Oyama Fighter's Cup Highlight Video

So, all-in-all it was a great experience. I brought home two trophies, lots of bruises, some good lessons and some new confidence. Not just in myself, also in my training, in my dojo, and in my instructor.