Today's Taekwondo competition training was only an hour so we had to jam!
Remember, we decided at the last minute to do this competition. Our athletes are always in great shape and we're never completely "not ready" for competition. We have a very unique curriculum, in which students learn above and beyond what Taekwondo has to offer, such as- grappling, boxing, and real self defense. When a student is not in full blown competition training, they are learning these other disciplines.
The first item we worked on after warming up and light stretching, was recognition drills (hogu drills with attack and counters). These drills are so important and most be engrained in the mind so that the response mechanism is extremely fast and automatic. Pure sparring takes too long to develop these skills. Every workout, our athletes must do anywhere from 25 to 100 counter attacks with one specific technique, depending upon what else we are focusing on.
The second item were shield drills. We did this to allow each athlete to attack freely, and repetitively with power. The shields mimic more of a real body as opposed to paddles. One could kick paddles, hard, for an hour straight. Working the shield for an hour straight, the right way, will leave you with your lungs wanting to climb out your throat. With only an hour, I chose the shields because I want my athletes to keep their endurance strong for this Saturday.
For the last 10 minutes, we sparred at 100% intensity, but with 50% contact. We rotated so you fought two 1 minute rounds (5 second rest), then out for a 1 minute round. 100% intensity means the action must be non-stop. If you clinch, you must break and fight out immediately. 50% contact means we pull our techniques to avoid bumps and bruises. There is still time to heal, but a severe bump or bruise can affect the quality of ones training from here to the tournament. Staying healthy is my number 1 priority.
Respectfully,
Master Richardson
