1st Dan exam essay- Lukas Küsel in Germany ��🇪

[HAEDONG]

1st Dan exam essay
'Competition in Martial Arts'

1. How do you define competition in martial arts?
2. Do you see any advantage or disadvantage in this emotion?

Competition is a form of ambition for me, which is often influenced by admiration for others but also by envy.

Competition always involves multiple people who are connected with each
other. This connection, for me, is the rivalry. Competition leads to the feeling that one needs to improve.

Competition is always shaped by experience. It's different to compete against familiar individuals you've known and respected for a long time compared to those you are meeting for the first time.
Each time, a new assessment must be made of how important it is to "win" this competition. This assessment is influenced by one's own emotions at the time of the competition, such as anger and fear, but also elements of connection and patience.
Each of these emotions are subconsciously weighed, leading to a decision on how to approach a
person.
However, not only current emotions influence the decision but also, as mentioned above, the experience, not just with the specific individual but also the experience gained when
comparing problems with problems that have been solved before. This is an enormously valuable skill, and one must learn to appreciate it.

One can imagine competition as a scale that balances the many influences. One side represents good, old experiences and the opportunity for improvement, while the other side
represents the potential for shame, arising anger, and jealousy. Each person weighs these sides differently and is unique. Understanding this is essential to comprehend the decisions of others.

However, this feeling can have different origins: when you see an opponent as a rival and therefore, I feel the urgency to improve because you might lose or experience some other disadvantage as a result. Another origin can also be having a training partner who, for example,
can better remember or execute the presented techniques. Here, envy plays a significant role, which should not be seen as a deadly sin but rather as a drive to improve oneself.
Without this drive, I wouldn't be where I am now.
Furthermore, competition encourages thinking outside the box, as ways must be found to gain an advantage, for example, despite a difference in size when fighting with swords.

However, competition can also have negative influences. Here, performance pressure must
be mentioned, which, for me, is a form of stress that, in excess, has an unhealthy impact on the body and performance.
One feels too pressured, forced, and tense, which goes against
the principles of Headong Kumdo.

3. Describe your personal experience with this emotion.
4. Are you able to use the energy of this emotion for your personal development?


Contact with this emotion is often involuntary in most cases. You have to decide for yourself to what extent you want to immerse yourself in this emotion.

Also, you usually have the opportunity to escape this emotion if it becomes too much.

What I personally do quite often is take a day off from university because of the pressure that affects you when all your friends are studying eight hours a day, and you can't keep up.

To not just mention negative examples, competition does help me in many cases and drives me forward.

When I learn new content in the Headong group, I want to remember it better than others. You don't want to look foolish in front of them. But this has allowed me to learn 1many, if not everything, faster than if I were always training alone.

The same goes for me in university. Since I mentioned above that this emotion is often involuntary,
I still want to address the cases where one voluntarily and openly confronts this emotion.

In this regard, I would like to mention tournaments, even if it seems very standard.

In sports tournaments, you have the situation where you compete as a team or individually against others.

And here, that ambition to win the tournament for yourself is already reflected. You give your best, even if you know you don't stand a chance.

But often, you can take a benefit
from such tournaments because the more you give your best, logically, the better you become.

Additionally, when you lose, you can learn from your own mistakes, although that often happens automatically.

I have participated in various tournaments and have gained a lot from them personally.

For me, I have achieved a healthy level of competition where I am more productive without being stressed. It's not easy, and you often have to face changes, but it's possible.

This allows me to act more openly and in a more controlled manner, which is definitely a good thing.

If stress from competition becomes excessive, I almost always have the opportunity to reduce it. Of course, there are exceptions, but they are called exceptions for a reason.

You just have to objectively address them and weigh what the best solution is for you.
These solutions can be quite different.

- Lukas Küsel