A Educational Shiai Full of Self-Realizations🤓

A Educational Match Full of Self-Realizations Many aspects in competition are judged too lightly, especially when it’s not about a clear Ippon. Only when you are „personally affected“ do you truly understand them and start to reflect seriously on certain situations. That is exactly why it is essential to compete yourself. Only then is it actually possible to understand the internal state of a competitor – something that is often expected by sensei. A shiai is usually built like this: when your opponent is not significantly weaker than you, it becomes about gradually making them feel psychologically uncertain. This leads them to attack in situations that are actually disadvantageous for them – which in turn makes it possible or easier for you to catch the debana, respond, and counter. That is precisely why every decision made by the referees on the court must be taken seriously. Situations need to be assessed correctly and judged properly. Every decision can create advantages or disadvantages for the competitors and can also shape the referees’ perception of the fighters, which may influence their judgment. I learned several things from this tournament: 1. To be in your best possible condition, you must take care of yourself and not assume that your partner or anyone else will help you or make it possible for you. 2. No matter what happens during the match, you must focus only on the essentials: semeru – kuzusu – kimeru. If I cannot fully focus on that and allow unnecessary thoughts to enter my mind, I perform significantly worse😆 3. As a referee, you must always judge situations fairly and correctly according to the principles of kendo and not allow yourself to be easily influenced. 4. If someone tries to avoid a men attack by pulling their head back and the mengane is hit, it should be considered a valid men ippon. If a Jodan fighter repeatedly pulls their hand away from the shinai during a kote attack, it is firstly migurushii kooi, and secondly, if they are still struck, it should be awarded as an ippon—just like in the case of men. I believe that if a Jodan fighter tries to protect their do with their arm due to a lack of proper technique and gets injured in the process, it is entirely their own fault. They should not be allowed to call “time” in close distance during shiai without being penalized. Unfortunately, everyone present fell for it. When someone screams in pain like that, it’s easy to get startled. When she then shortly after asked for ice spray and showed her red and blue bruised upper arm, I was truly shocked and disturbed. In that moment, I honestly thought I had caused that injury—and I assume the other referees felt the same. Already in that moment, I thought she was acting very strategically clever. It puts her in a better position, and referees are then more likely to make things harder for me. I had at least two actions where I was quite certain I should have been awarded an ippon—but I didn’t get them. And when I started thinking again about how easily less experienced referees can be psychologically influenced, she more or less scored an ippon on me in that exact moment—and the match was over…