Senior-friendly Mercer County Nationals, March 22nd.

Just a quick reminder to those of you who are looking for a very well run and senior-friendly martial-arts tournament: the 19th annual Mercer County Nationals will be held on March 22nd at Rider University.  According to tournament director Master Ivan Mendez, the event will offer more than 145 divisions to accommodate competitors of all ranks, all ages, and all martial-arts styles.  Last year's tournament attracted 450 competitors and 700 visitors, and this year's version incorporates a number of highly attractive elements.  Among them:
     -- the tournament will take place in two Rider University gyms, not just one, in order to keep things on schedule;
     -- the event will feature several new divisions, including age 50-59 black belts, age 60+ black belts, age16-17 continuous sparring (lightweight and heavyweight), and black belt team sparring (3- or 5-person teams);
      -- and a portion of the tournament's proceeds will be donated to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
   As always, the tournament is open to competitors from anywhere in the U.S. as well as to non-U.S. competitors.  So if you're looking for a way to make some new martial-arts buddies while participating in some senior-friendly competition, this is the way to go.  I can tell you that this is one of my favorite tournaments of the year.
   For more information, click over to the tournament flyer, Mercer County Nationals.
   Whether this will be your first tournament ever or the first one in a long time, I hope to see you there.
                                      All the best.

USA Taekwondo: as senior-friendly as it gets

The Taekwondo tournament season is hitting full stride, and if you're a 50+ athlete who specializes in forms, or poomsae, you should immediately begin looking for the closest USA Taekwondo tournament.  The United States Olympic Committee recognizes USA Taekwondo as the National Governing Body for the sport of Taekwondo in the U.S., but you don't have to be a young Olympian to compete successfully in a state championship near you.
   USA Taekwondo offers a wide range of poomsae age divisions for athletes of all ranks, and to my mind USAT offers the fairest age-friendly rules by far.  While some organizations have a top age group of, let's say, 35-and-over, USAT has multiple categories for older competitors.
   Effective Jan. 1st of this year, USAT offers the following senior divisions in the poomsae category:
      41-50
      51-60
      61-65
      66-and-over
   By competing in a USAT-sanctioned state tournament, you can qualify for the USAT Nationals, to be held this summer in San Jose, CA.  And from there, if you happen to win gold, you might even find yourself competing in the World Poomsae Championships sponsored by the World Taekwondo Federation, the sport's Olympic governing body.  And, yes, the age groups shown above are used in international competition as well.
   Does it make sense to offer four age divisions for athletes over 40?  You bet.  Even though we're talking about forms, not sparring, age makes a huge difference in your ability to execute techniques successfully.  Unless you're a happy exception to the rule, you don't get stronger, faster, or more flexible as you age.  A 67-year-old competitor may know the form cold, but can he or she deliver front kicks and side kicks as well as someone 37?  Not likely.  But in too many tournaments that's just tough luck.
   With USA Taekwondo, on the other hand, you'll find about as level a playing field as you can imagine.  In fact, the newest age group for this year -- 66-and-over -- improves on the former 60+ age group.  Let's face it: at 68 your body isn't quite the same as it was at 62.  The older you get, the faster your performance can drop off.  So splitting the 60+ division into 61-65 and 66+ is a huge deal, and it's a way of recognizing that Taekwondo isn't something just for the millions of kids who study the art here in the U.S.
   Taekwondo is a way of life as well as a competitive sport.  So if you're still living the Taekwondo life at 50, 60, or 70, hook up with USA Taekwondo to find a qualifying tournament near you.  Simply head to the USA Taekwondo website, and search for events in your area.  You'll need to join USAT in order to compete, so don't delay since the tournament season is already upon us.
   You're never too old to begin learning Taekwondo . . . or to come out of "retirement."  The Taekwondo Life awaits you.
    All the best.
 
  

Save the date: 19th Annual Mercer County Nationals, March 22nd, 2014

One of my favorite tournaments of the year is coming up on March 22nd, and if you live in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, or anyplace else on the planet for that matter, you should consider competing.  It's the 19th Annual Mercer County Nationals, to be held once again on the lovely Rider University campus in Lawrenceville, N.J.  The University is just off I-95 and is highly accessible for martial artists throughout the Northeast.
   According to Master Ivan Mendez, the tournament's director, last year's event attracted just over 450 competitors of all ages and representing all martial-arts styles.  Well, the 2014 edition looks even more inviting.  Among the key upgrades for 2014: the tournament will offer two new black-belt divisions -- 50-59 and 60+.  So if you're a senior in the martial arts, here's a rare opportunity to show your stuff against competitors your own age.  And, yes, this is a very big deal.  Most tournaments don't go out of their way to make the events senior-friendly, so if you're 68 like me, you can find yourself competing against people half your age or younger.  Master Mendez has been trying to build interest among seniors for the past several years, and this year he has made the tournament as attractive as possible for us.
   The 2014 Mercer County Nationals will feature 145 separate divisions covering weapons, forms, and sparring in all age groups.  Sounds busy, doesn't it?  That's why the tournament will be held simultaneously in two of the Rider University gyms rather than just one.  The goal is to have all competition end by 4:00 p.m., the same goal that was met in 2013.  If you've ever had the experience of hanging out at a tournament from 8:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. waiting for your event to come up, you'll understand how appealing it is to work with someone like Master Mendez, who has a solid record of keeping his event on track.
   Oh, by the way: you shouldn't focus too much on trophies when you compete, since competing is its own reward.  But something else you'll find at the Mercer County Nationals is really nice trophies.  Just sayin'.
   So you have plenty of time to get ready for this tournament.  Whether you're relatively new to the martial arts or a seasoned veteran, you'll find yourself most welcome at this senior-friendly event.  Please put the date on your calendar now.  Then visit 2014 Mercer County Nationals for more information, including details on how to register.
   Hope to see you on March 22nd.  Come out and enjoy some martial-arts camaraderie.

Bring it on! The new year has begun.

One of the great joys of Taekwondo is that it never stops teaching you.  It continually teaches you more about this ancient art, and it continually helps you learn more about the person you are yet to become.  You never learn all there is to know about Taekwondo, just as you never know all there is to know about who you are, about how you got to where you are, and about the paths that lie ahead.
   I enjoyed some tournament success in 2013, but more than anything I learned.  I learned new techniques and new forms (which in Taekwondo we call poomsae).  And I also learned a great deal about the work I still need to do.  For example, I learned the hard way that muscles I thought were in pretty good shape were actually in pretty poor shape.  So I began working with a personal trainer and now have specific fitness goals for 2014.  I also have a long list of other Taekwondo goals, but that's not the topic of today's post.
   This post is about you . . . and about wishes that I send your way for 2014.

Wish #1 is that you will "unretire" if you have already practiced Taekwondo or some other martial art.  You've been away from it for 20 years, you say?  So what?  The challenge is still there.  The knowledge you built up all those years ago hasn't been lost forever.  And you owe yourself the respect of becoming as fit as you can be.  As I said in an earlier post, count yourself lucky if you're a senior who is capable of training for a sport.  Many millions of people want to but can't, so don't waste God's gift of health as you enter the new year.  Let this be the year of your comeback.  It's never too late.  Just do your best.

Wish #2 is that you will begin learning Taekwondo if you have never studied a martial art before.  Forget the age thing.  See your doctor to get his or her approval.  Then consider working with a physical therapist or personal trainer before you step into the dojang, or training hall.  And then sign up for a senior-friendly martial-arts education.  I'm 67, not 17, so there are things I can no longer do as well as I once could.  So I do them as well as I can.  And let that be your training goal: to do what you can as well as you can.  Who can ask more from you?  Check out a few schools.  Then sign up for the one that seems best equipped to work with senior athletes.

Wish #3 is that you will enter at least one tournament, whether you've come out of retirement or have taken up your martial art for the first time.  There are plenty of tournaments that offer age divisions for competitors over 50 or over 60, and you owe it to yourself to experience the genuine highs and occasional lows of testing your skills in public.  You don't need to win a medal in order to feel great about yourself.  If you finish last in your division, you're still miles ahead of millions of perfectly healthy folks who have opted to sit on the couch and munch potato chips while you've been sweating in the dojang.

If you decide to compete in 2014, here are two great opportunities to consider:

Mercer County Nationals, New Jersey.  This is a large and extremely successful tournament whose director, Master Ivan Mendez, has worked hard to attract senior competitors.  No matter what your age or the color of your belt, you will enjoy the competition and the camaraderie.  The tournament is held each year at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J., and it's within easy reach of competitors who live in New York, Pennsylvania, or New Jersey.  This year's event will be held on March 22nd, and for more information click over to 2014 Mercer County National Karate Tournament.

USA Taekwondo State Championships.  USA Taekwondo is America's official governing body for Olympic Taekwondo, but you don't need to be an Olympian to participate.  Any competitor of any age or rank can compete in qualifying tournaments that lead to the USA Taekwondo National Championships.  And the winners in that major event can represent the U.S. in international competition.  The top age group is 59+, and two Americans won medals in the 2013 World Championships held in Bali, Indonesia.  To learn more about qualifying tournaments in your state, visit USA Taekwondo event calendar.

   Throughout the year there are Taekwondo tournaments in just about every state, and you shouldn't have to look too hard to find something that will fit your schedule.  Since today is January 1st, you probably have a few months to get ready for some friendly competition.  So challenge yourself to make the most of the year and your physical abilities.  Let 2014 be the start of something great.
   Happy New Year to all!  Best wishes for much success.

  

Five fitness lies we tell ourselves

I'm a 67-year veteran of the aging process, and I've spent much of my life around gyms and other athletes.  So I'm reasonably familiar with training myths and, even more, with the outright lies that we often tell ourselves in order to feel better about our fitness programs.  Since we're wrapping up another year, I decided to share my thoughts on five key fitness lies that you might have told yourself in 2013.  Oh, and for the record, I'm guilty of at least three of them.  With some luck and a lot of extra motivation, perhaps you and I can lie to ourselves less often in 2014.
    Since I'm training, I can eat a lot more.  Every year hundreds of thousands -- or perhaps even millions -- of Americans find fitness-center gift certificates under their Christmas trees.  So they amble off to the local gym and begin walking on the treadmill, climbing the stair stepper, and generally becoming more active than they had been.  This is good.  But sometimes you get hungry after you exercise; and sometimes you tell yourself that eating more than you normally do is okay, since you're now on the fitness track.
   Well, here's how it really works.  If you want to gain weight, you need to consume more calories than you burn.  On the other hand, if you want to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume.  So let's use Joe as an example.  Joe weighs 180 pounds, would like to weigh 165 pounds, and has just begun training at the local gym three days a week.  Each time he goes to the gym he walks on the treadmill at three miles per hour for 30 minutes, burning roughly 178 calories in the process [the actual figure will depend upon Joe's age, fitness level, metabolism, and such].  He feels great after each 30-minute walk and treats himself to a healthy snack: a raisin bran muffin.  Raisins are good for you, and so is bran.  But by the time you mix the raisins and bran with other ingredients, you end up with a muffin that contains about 370 calories.
   So let's do some simple math.  It takes Joe 30 minutes to burn 178 calories by walking; it takes Joe about 2 minutes to eat a muffin that contains 370 calories.   In other words, Joe has just consumed about 200 calories more than he burned.  This is not how you lose weight, Joe.  But Joe's problem doesn't end here.  Because he's "in training," his eat-anything philosophy lasts all day every day.  He eats whatever he feels like because he's burning nearly 600 calories per week by walking on the treadmill.  But since he's now consuming an extra -- pick a number -- 5,000 calories per week, Joe will most likely gain weight at an alarming rate. 
    Since I began training a month ago, I've added 8 pounds of muscle.  A 20-year-old who begins a weight-training program and sticks to it fanatically might gain a couple of pounds of muscle mass in a month.  But that would be an exceptional gain.  A senior gaining 8 pounds of muscle in a month?  In a word, no.  You may have gained 8 pounds, but only a fraction of it is muscle.  See lie #1 above.
   But there is certainly a foundation of truth in this particular lie.  Seniors can, in fact, gain muscle mass.  It won't happen as quickly as it does for a 20-year-old, but it can happen at any age.  You need to train and eat properly . . . and then give the process months, not weeks, to kick in.  If you're 70, you don't need to look like Mr. Olympia.  But you can look and feel stronger than you did before you began training seriously.
    Once I'm in good shape, I can back off on the training.  Well, sure, you can always back off on the training.  No one is stopping you.  But if you're implying that you can back off on the training and maintain the same fitness level, then you're in for a rude awakening.  World-class athletes may switch training gears a bit and back off just before a major competition, but even their "light" workouts would hobble most seniors.  If you're 60+, you should probably aim for a training routine that you can maintain throughout the year.  If you push too hard too often, you run the risk of overuse injuries.  But if you never push enough, you'll never reach peak condition.  So aim toward the middle.  Build a challenging and varied routine that you can stick with week after week.  If you're competing in a martial-arts tournament, you may want to back off a bit just before the event.  But we're talking several days, not weeks.
    I don't need a coach.  Professional athletes always have coaches, but you don't need one?  Doubtful.  What I'll agree with is that you don't need a coach every day.  You certainly need a coach, or a personal trainer, when you first build a fitness program.  Too many aspiring athletes perform their exercises improperly, get hurt rather quickly, and then become former athletes.  Let a pro show you how to do each of the exercises in your program.  If you're a martial artist, this isn't a problem, since your master instructor will most likely pounce whenever he or she sees you doing something wrong.  Once you've built a sensible training program, consider using a personal trainer every now and then to make sure you're still executing the techniques properly and to determine whether it's time to change the routine.  If self-motivation isn't your strong suit, then by all means work with a professional all the time.  Personal trainers can get expensive, but the coaching you get from, say, a master Taekwondo instructor is quite affordable, since it's just part of the class fee.
    Aw, hell, I'm too old to get in shape.  This is the most vicious lie of all, because it keeps millions of seniors on the couch and out of the gym.  Here's my take on it.  If your doctor says you're capable of exercising, count your blessings, because there are hundreds of millions of people on this planet who will never be healthy enough to exercise.  So don't waste the gift.  Exercise.  You can benefit from exercise no matter what your age.  And you can take up Taekwondo or some other martial art at any age as long as you shop around for a senior-friendly school.  No matter what your age, you can gain stamina, build strength, improve your flexibility, and maintain a healthy weight.  Your body is a wonderful and phenomenally complex machine, and it works best when it's well tuned. 
   Since we're approaching the season of New Year's resolutions, why don't you and I resolve not to tell ourselves fitness lies in 2014?  Let's face facts, tighten up our training routines, and be the best that we can be.
  

Now this is how a tournament should be run

I've had the experience numerous times, and perhaps you have as well.  You show up at 8:30 a.m. for tournament registration.  The opening ceremony begins an hour late. Then you're pressed into service as a judge, even though you simply want to compete.  So you judge all day, and somewhere around 6:30 p.m. you actually get to do your form, or spar, or demonstrate your weapons technique.  Of course, by then you're tired from all that judging and all the attempts to stretch and stay loose for 10 hours.  All you really want to do is go home and rest.
   Well, on November 16th I had the extremely good fortune of seeing just how well a Taekwondo tournament really can be run, and that's what today's post is all about.  Mr. Michael Crocco, owner and head instructor of the Hamilton, NJ, United TaeKwonDo Academy, directed the TaeKwonDo United Regional Championships in Pennington, NJ.  And I left thinking that I had just experienced the gold standard, perhaps the platinum standard, in martial-arts tournaments.  If a tournament can be run more efficiently than this one was, someone needs to tell me how.
   The tournament hosted more than 200 competitors -- ranging from 4 to 67 -- who represented six NJ schools affiliated with the TaeKwonDo United national organization.  Of special interest to readers of this blog is the fact that Mr. Crocco went out of his way to attract "VIP" competitors -- meaning those of us in the 60+ crowd -- for the tournament's three events: sparring, weapons, and forms.  You need to file that detail away, since you should plan to compete in future TaeKwonDo United tournaments.  If a tournament offers a 60+ age division, we need to support it.
   Okay, let's check off a few of the reasons that the recent NJ Taekwondo United Regional Championships was an A+ event.
        -- All the judges were selected and ready to go before the tournament date.  There was no last-minute scrambling for judges on the day of the event.  No frantic announcements over the loudspeaker: "If we don't get more judges, we can't continue."  If you came to compete, that's all you had to do.
        -- The judges were carefully briefed on tournament rules and ran their rings with great skill.  I found the judging to be objective, fair, and demanding.
        -- The entire day's schedule was published online well in advance of the tournament date.  If you wanted to know what time you would be competing, all you had to do was check the tournament website.
        -- Three days before the event all competitors were told what ring they would be in . . . and at what time.  They were also told to arrive at least 15 minutes before their scheduled time.
        -- Believe it or not, the tournament ran on schedule -- like a fine Swiss watch, in fact.  My 9:00 a.m. event began at 9:00 a.m.  My 9:30 event began at 9:30.  You get the picture.
        -- Since competitors didn't need to arrive until 15 minutes before their scheduled times, the competition hall was not the usual frenzied scene that you find at many tournaments.  Why try to crowd hundreds of people into the space at the same time when only a few of them are competing?  By staggering the times and sticking to the schedule, the tournament directors were able to eliminate chaos and make the experience entirely competitor-friendly.
        -- Immediately following each event the winners were escorted to an Olympic-style podium for an awards ceremony.  Each competitor received his or her medal and was announced over a loudspeaker that could actually be heard clearly.
   Bottom line: this was a friendly, highly competitive, extremely well orchestrated tournament that should serve as the model for all martial-arts tournaments.  According to Mr. Crocco, the format is the result of years of trying different models, always seeking the one that best served the competitors and the fans.  As far as I'm concerned, they've reached the promised land.  It really doesn't get any better than this.
  
  

Why compete in tournaments?

In a few days I'll compete in my seventh and, I think, final martial-arts tournament of 2013.  So this is as good a time as any to pose the question that I'm sure many senior athletes frequently ask themselves: why compete when you're 60, 70, or older? 
   I can get cute and just ask, "Why not?"  Or I can say, with great authority, that most folks 60, 70, or older actually don't compete.  I'm 67 and still young by the way I define old and young, but I can tell you that I'm virtually always the oldest competitor in every tournament I attend.  Sometimes I'm the only 60+ competitor and therefore have to compete against athletes who are 25, 35, or in one recent instance 45 years younger.  This isn't necessarily good, which is why I would love to see more -- make that MANY more -- 50+ athletes competing in martial-arts tournaments.  But I compete just the same.
   Okay, so why bother?  Well, let me offer a few reasons why you should come out of retirement or take up Taekwondo or another martial art at this point in your life.
     1.  Fitness is forever.  The average American adult is destroying his or her health in a variety of ways, generally by eating too much and exercising too little.  So if your doctor clears you to begin a fitness program of gradually increasing intensity, you would be wise to consider Taekwondo or another martial art.  You need to make fitness a permanent part of your life, and doesn't it make sense to choose an activity that also teaches you how to defend yourself from an attack?  Of course.  But at a certain point your training needs to be put to the test, and that's where tournaments come in.  By training with a tournament date in mind, you'll push yourself beyond your usual limits while preparing, and on the day of the tournament you'll give 100%, not 75%, when hundreds of eyes are on you. 
     2.  Charting your progress.  Your success in the training hall may or may not reflect your level of competence.  Whether you specialize in forms, weapons, or sparring, you need to face new competition -- athletes from other schools and perhaps other styles -- in order to get a genuine progress check.  If you're consistently #1 in sparring at your school but consistently #10 in tournaments, allow reality to set in.  The message is clear: you've got ability, but you haven't yet invested the hours that some other athletes have.  Competing in tournaments is an exciting and sometimes humbling experience.  This is good.  Martial artists shouldn't wear rose-colored glasses.  If you want to get better, work harder.
   3.  Because you can.  Call me old-fashioned, but I believe that if you have some talent, you're supposed to use it.  Billions of people on this planet don't have the health or resources to engage in sports, so I believe it's a bit offensive for capable people to behave as though they're incapable.  If you sit on the couch long enough, well, yes, you'll become incapable.  But this is not nearly the same thing as being born physically or mentally challenged.  So it's up to you to push yourself and use what God gave you.
   I compete in martial-arts tournaments for the same reason that many people run marathons, even though they can't possibly win . . . or play golf even though they'll never beat Tiger Woods . . . or shoot hoops at a local gym even though they'll never be drafted by the Miami Heat  . . . or play tennis even though they'll never be invited to Wimbledon.  I do it because I can . . . and because striving is its own reward.
   If you're 50+ and active in the martial arts, sign up for a local tournament.  And if you haven't tried the martial arts yet, remember that age isn't a barrier.  Find a senior-friendly school, and join the family.
   Enjoy yourself.  Compete.