Tournaments and Competitions

The Club is an opportunity to dig deeper into your training as a martial artist and explore topics that will help you grow in areas not limited to competition, as it is important to note that competing is NOT a requirement of being in The Club. Our goals for The Club are to help students grow as martial artists, provide additional time for sparring and forms practice, and provide a forum to explore parts of our training that we don’t normally have time to work through in group class. 

The Club will be led by Mr. Stringer and Ms. Paquette along with guest instructors, and will meet once a month on Saturdays from 1-3pm with a focus on one-on-one and small group practice.

For many years Junidan Shover and her brother Judan Cousino have put together competition teams to experience tournaments and enhance the journey of the sport martial artist. Post covid we have rebuilt our competition team and took the team to many events bringing home record numbers of medals, trophies, and titles.

With so many new students joining us it is our goal to help develop this side of your art so you can add new excitement and fun memories. For those that want to be a part of it and not compete we have many other opportunities such as judging, score keeping, and many other team support functions. It is always fun to be a part of something and feel like you are contributing so join us and get involved. The Team and Club compliment each other whereas The Club goes year-round so you can practice during the off-season, then be prepared for team practices in the winter/spring.

Each spring, we participate in various open tournaments statewide, offering students a chance to test their skills against diverse competitors. These events promote camaraderie and sportsmanship while providing competitive experience. Leading up to the tournaments, we emphasize training in technique, strategy, and mental readiness, helping participants adapt to different fighting styles. We prioritize respect and discipline, encouraging students to support one another regardless of match outcomes.

Alongside attending open tournaments, each spring we host our own in-school held tournament open to all students in our dojo (and satellites).

Our annual in-school tournament will be held on Saturday, May 2nd starting at 9am. Registration closes Monday April 20th.

Due to a low enrollment for this event we expect that we will finish earlier than expected. We are eliminating the pre-event speeches and, instead, have included all the information below. We will still be having our student recognitions.

Here is what to expect on May 2nd:

· All officials need to be here by 8am

· All competitors need to arrive by 8:30am

· Event starts at 9am

· We will start with the youngest & lowest rankForms/Patterns division and work up through the oldest & highest ranks.

· When finished we will then repeat the same sequence youngest to oldest by rank in sparring.

· This is a double elimination sparring event.

Double elimination sparring is a tournament format where a competitor must lose two matches before they are completely eliminated. Unlike single elimination ("one-and-done"), this format is designed to give competitors a second chance, making it fairer and providing more experience for competitors.

Here is a detailed explanation

1. The Two-Chance Rule

The Concept: Everyone starts with a clean slate. A student can lose their first match and still win the entire tournament.

Elimination: You are only out if you lose two separate matches.

2. The Two Brackets (Winner vs. Loser)

Winners Bracket (Upper Bracket): If a student wins, they stay in this bracket and move forward toward the gold medal.

Losers Bracket (Lower/Consolation Bracket): If a student loses a match, they move to this bracket. They can still win 3rd place (Bronze) or work their way back up to compete for 2nd or 1st place.

3. The Grand Finals ("Resetting the Bracket")

The final match is between the winner of the Winners Bracket (0 losses) and the winner of the Losers Bracket (1 loss).

The Twist: Because the student from the winners bracket hasn't lost yet, they must be beaten twice to lose the tournament.

If the student from the losers bracket wins the first final match, a second "sudden death" match is played to decide the champion.

4. Key Takeaways for Parents

More Sparring Time: Athletes get to play at least two games/matches, maximizing their tournament experience.

Reduced Stress: A bad first match doesn't mean the end of the day.

Fairer Results: It better identifies the top competitors by allowing for a "second chance" redemption story.

· We also use a bye system to balance the rings when we have an odd number of competitors. A bye in competition sparring is an automatic advancement to the next round without having to fight in the current round. It is not a "goodbye" or a sign of failure, but rather a structural necessity in single-elimination tournaments when there is an uneven number of competitors (not a perfect power of two, such as 4, 8, 16, or 32).

Here is an explanation:

1. It’s a "Free Pass" to the Next Round: A bye means your child skips the first match and automatically moves to the second round.

2. Why It Happens (Odd Numbers): If there are, for example, 7 competitors in a division, it is impossible to have 4, 8, or 16. Therefore, one person gets a bye, and the remaining 6 fight, leading to 3 winners plus the 1 person with the bye (making 4 competitors for the next round).

3. It’s Often Random or Seeded: Byes are usually assigned by random draw

4. It’s Not a Loss: The participant with the bye is still in the tournament and in the same position as someone who won their first match.

· All family is welcome to come watch and cheer. We expect fun & supportive cheering coaching and sideline behavior.

· Parents with children not competing are expected to keep them organized and please do not leave them unattended.

· We will start at 9am and should be done between 11am and noon.