The Week Leading up to the TKD Eastern Canadian Championships

Everyone prepares for competition in their own ways  We all have our little routines and rituals.  Since the Canadian Easterns (Provinces from Ontario to the East Coast) are this weekend I had my last hard training last weekend.  This is not the week to get injured by over-doing something. I will definitely be hydrating!  Since the weigh-ins are on Friday night I am leaving for Montreal in the afternoon.  I am so fortunate that I never have to worry about cutting weight since I’m in the hyper-weight division.  I see how stressed my friends get when they have to cut a lot of weight in order to be able to compete.  I can only imagine how hard it is on their bodies let alone the psychological aspect of it.  There is such a science on how to cut weight safely and still have the optimum strength to compete but it takes so much discipline.  I will make sure that I have my cooler of food with me that I know works well with my body.  I’ve been ‘Eating Clean’ and loving it.  Proper nutrition is so important, especially this week.  It will be extremely important on competition day since I have little meals every three hours.  You never really know what time you’re competing so it’s hard to know when and what to eat so you aren’t competing either too hungry or full and sluggish.  It’s also a challenge when you are also a judge since you can’t just stop to eat when you want or need to.

This will be a very light week of training for me:

Monday 

• Easter Monday (everything was closed)
• No TKD or Shot Put or Discus

Tuesday

• 2 hours light sparring and patterns at the dojang
• No javelin or weight training this week.  I have to finish homework for the week.

Wednesday

• 1 hour school track practice in the morning before school (circuit fitness training)
• Stretching at night

Thursday 

• 2 hour club track practice (shot put and discus)
• No javelin or heavy weight lifting this week 🙁
• 2 hours at the dojang including a great stretch and some yoga

Friday

• 1 hour school track practice in the morning before school (circuit fitness training)
• leave for Montreal for the weigh-ins at noon
• find a place for some stretching and a gentle run-through of patterns before bed – early night!

Saturday

• Competition Day

Every night I will be visualizing my patterns and different sparring situations.  Music is also a huge factor for me!!!!  I listen to all my favourite songs that relax me and/or pump me up.

I don’t know who I’ll be competing against this weekend but Grand Master Lan drilled one thing into my head……Never Underestimate Your Opponent!  Every day is a new day and every competition is a new competition. You just have to believe in yourself and all your hard work.

I prepare for every tournament the same way I do for International Competition since it’s good practice to perfect YOUR OWN routine.  That way when it really counts you know what you have to do mentally and physically.

This week is extremely busy with school work.  I am also organizing the Leadership Camp for my high school which is only a few weeks away so we are finalizing everything and rushing around in meetings when I’m not in class. I am just going to get through the week, and then I am leaving a bit earlier on Friday to clear my head from school work and stress. I can then turn on my switch, put the game face on and embrace the competition environment 🙂  I may not have a strict routine for the week, but I have set routines during my trainings and for when I arrive in Montreal.  It’s all about finding the things that help you perform the best you can.

The Canadian Western Championships are going to be held April 13th in Regina.  That includes competitors from the provinces of Manitoba to BC.   That’s when you realize how big Canada is as a country. Then we all meet for Nationals in May in Quebec City.  Both the Eastern and Western Championships are sanctioned events for points towards your seeding position in the final round robin at Nationals.  The top two placements at Nationals in the round robin are the qualifiers for the National team and will have the honour of representing Canada at the World Championships in Spain October 2013.

HERE. WE. GO. :p