When getting
ready for a big tournament like Montreal, I had to step up my
training. I went to Karate on Wednesdays (I could not attend
Mondays due to school) and Sundays. I also went to fight
classes on the Thursday and Saturday. I went to cross-fit a
few times on the Saturdays with Sempai Michi, Kris, Pasha and
Dan. I did some training on my own as well, running on
Tuesdays and going to the gym on Mondays and Wednesdays.
The regular
classes reinforced my kihon and basic movements. They
prevented my techniques from getting sloppy or lazy, and kept
them well-integrated with weight movements and stance shifts.
In addition Sensei also did fighting combos, sparring, and
conditioning during those classes. A very helpful thing Sensei
had me do every Sunday, is to kick a condensed sand bag to
strengthen my shins, as they were not as strong as they should
be during my fights in LA. The fighting classes really worked
on fight conditioning as well as sparring techniques. There
was a lot of work on stances, and a move was concentrated on
every week (one week was mai garis, another was explosive
chudan mawashi garis). The running helped improve my cardio,
so that I would be able to fight hard if I received any
extensions, and the gym worked on improving muscles for
explosive power.
I woke up
the day of my flight feeling excited about the tournament.
After a good breakfast, I flew to Montreal with Sensei, Tomomi
and Kris. We arrived with enough time to check in at the dojo,
then go back to the hotel for a strategy session. In the
morning Sensei went to help out at the tournament, while the
rest of us ate a feast and napped in the prep room.
For my first
opponent, I had a large black belt. I went in a bit
aggressively and was soon taking out his legs and stomach with
gaedan mawashi garis and punches. Unfortunately, my opponent
was not very disciplined and gave very direct punches to my
head. I continued to push the fight hard, and won both through
him receiving genten *sp?) ni, and through my solid win of the
fight. For the second fight I was against Matth Payne. I again
went in aggresively, but Matth absorbed my rush and was soon
pushing me back with solid, well-timed kicks and punches.
Pretty early on, he caught me with a stomach punch that left
me momentarily winded, earning the wazari. After another
while, Matth completely took out my left leg, earning him the
ippon and the win.
Talking to
everyone afterwards and watching the videos gave me insight
into flaws in my stance and movement, which Matth capitalized
on. The third fight was my win due to the opponents forfeit
due to medical reasons, giving me the third place. The other
fights were very exciting to watch, especially Kris' knockout
jodan heza gari, and Sempai Michi's battle to first place.
Afterwards
Shihan André-Gilbert hosted an excellent sayonara party with
tons of delicious food. We celebrated until late, then
returned to the hotel where we again watched the videos,
congratulated Sempai Michi on his success, and looked where to
improve all the performances. I had a lot of fun, since I had
worked hard to be there, and was proud of my performance.
This
competition gave me valuable experience and confidence for my
next tournaments. I am looking forward to training hard for
the Canadians, then fighting in New York in September.
I would like
to thank Sensei Tats, Sempai Michi, Sempai Kris, Tomomi and
all the members and fighters of VKK for their help in training
and support. I would like to thank Shihan Gilbert for an
excellent tournament and for being a very gracious host.
Thank you
all.
Osu!
Mark Berg
Vancouver Kyokushin Karate
Results:
Tomomi Inoue (Women Lightweight): 4th Place
Michi Nagase (Men Middleweight): 1st Place
Kris Erickson (Men Heavyweight): 3rd Place
Mark Berg (Men Super Heavyweight): 3rd Place
