Sparring as an older athlete: trying to learn new tricks

Last weekend I participated in my first tournament since I became a yellow belt. I remember back then just standing in the ring getting kicked and having no idea what to do. I am now a blue belt, and while I still have a LOT to learn, I have come a long way.

I have been training with the competition team in our dojang since last fall; however, I rarely get the opportunity to spar “freely.” The reason being that most of the athletes that are within my size range are young black belts who can put me down without breaking a sweat. To be honest, most of the smaller (usually younger) athletes could easily beat me as well; however, they still have to be careful (since I’m old), and I still have to be careful (since they are smaller). All of that is to say—I had no idea what to expect at this tournament.

Bracketing

I was bracketed with two 15-year-old girls about my size who were also blue belts. I anxiously watched them practicing spinning hook kicks in the holding area and wondered if I had completely lost my mind. During the training sessions at our dojang, it is well understood that I am, well… old. Everyone who trains with me knows the level I am at, and that I have physical limitations they, as “young” people, don’t have to worry about yet. Watching those young girls warm up made me realize that it might come down to survival. Perhaps my only hope was to give it everything I had. So, I decided to just leave it all on the mat. After that monumental decision, there was a whole lot of that infamous “hurry up and wait” for my turn to fight.

When they finally took us out to our ring, the judges and referees promptly took a lunch break. I can’t fault them for that. They were working hard and donating their time; so, they deserved a nice long lunch. I sure wanted them to hurry up, though. Besides nerves, I knew that I couldn’t let my body cool off too much. These days, unlike in my younger years, I must be very intentional about warming up and stretching because nothing works if I fail at that simple task. Finally, the judges and referees returned. They decided to stagger the fights in my bracket with a younger group, so back to waiting I went.

Finally, let’s go

I don’t remember much to be honest. I remember throwing what seemed in my head to be a beautiful crescent kick—that missed by a mile. It sure was pretty, though (I think). A few times I know that I did (actually) get in a head kick. I remember because my foot sort of became stuck up there, and I almost landed on my back side. I remember getting punched a lot, which I decided was unpleasant. I’m still waiting for my husband to get me the video so I can see if my memory serves me well. I’m skeptical the images in my head will look anything like the actual footage. Even so, I won that round, and the next.

Fight number two

Winning my first fight was such a great feeling… that is until I realized that I still had another fight, and that banana I had for breakfast was long gone. I had been running on one banana, nerves, and a lot of adrenaline. Thankfully, I had the calm voice of Ms. W. coaching me and reminding me of the defensive things I could do that required less energy. I did win the first round, and I was up in points in the second round when the girl decided to bow out because of an asthma attack. There were 11 seconds left to go, and I would be lying if I did not admit that I was glad to not have to fight them. First place!

Lessons learned

The state championships are coming up, so I will (hopefully) get the chance to do this again. I plan to be smarter next time. I hope to fight smarter so that I can physically endure for a longer time. I also intend to do some research on how to fuel my body beforehand (after listening to the seasoned advice of more experienced fighters on our team). I’ll share what I find out and let you know if I’ve learned anything (and more importantly if it helps during my next fights). Wish me luck.