April 22, 2010
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HUGE weekend coming up!!!!

We’re very proud of all the boys and girls fighting this weekend!   Darsheka, Luci, Chris & Josh in Tokyo, Jamie in Wanganui, Thelvin, Zeke, Anna, Rob, Tom, Bert, Victoria and Martin in Auckland!  What a fantastic team!

Watching the little kids sparring in class today I was frustrated watching kids refuse to be outdone by their opponent, going a bit too hard, too fast, too gumby or sneaking in a head shot if they couldn’t score any other way.  What they haven’t figured out yet is Kyokushin is a team sport!  The first time I heard fighting referred to as a team sport was at a seminar Aussie’s first female MMA champ, Mandy Stewart gave in Auckland.  One of her ‘team’ was with her and both of them kept referring to this team thing.  Mandy simply had no sense she was alone when she steps in the ring or the cage.  It was almost like she is just a representation of the guys and girls she trains with, travels with and who coach her from ringside.

This is what we seem to have going on right now at Poneke and it’s a beautiful thing!  I told a couple of kids today “Don’t fight each other!  Train each other!”  Ha ha – they had no idea what I was on about.  My BJJ coach, Geoff Grant, used to push the idea, if you are sparring in the dojo and if you find you can pull something off over & over, don’t hold onto that!  Tell your opponent how you are doing it or what they are doing that is allowing you to do that!  They will get better and consequently will force YOU to get better!  That’s team work!   It’s also the way to foster an amazing supportive culture in your club and breed continual improvement!

In Kyokushin being a team also means making yourself available for sparring sometimes, knowing you’ll get rings run around you and that you’ll take  a pounding.  Fortunately for the fighters this weekend they’ve been surrounded by a wider team who aren’t fighting this time but who have fronted up and coached or simply helped them work out.  Not altogether altruistically!  Everyone learns heaps from the fighters and what could be more fun?  However it is impressive how the ‘extended team’ look after the fighters as they start to peak.

It’s hard that we can’t all be at every event but I hope every fighter this weekend steps on the mat with a sense their dojo team are with them.  I know I’ll be building muscle just thinking about all the fights!!!  Gambatte guys!  Just do what we do and have a great time!