Question 098: Pattern improvement

When you finish a form, you should be exhausted; you gave it your all. If asked a question, you will have to catch your breath to be able to speak. If you are not exhausted, you just performed the movements, there was no fire, no determination, no power.

All competitors are performing the same pattern to the best of their abilities. To win, you must make your pattern standout from the crowd. Good stances, smooth, powerful, focused, perfect techniques, and a great acting performance that makes the spectators look in your direction will make you a winner.
Remember pattern movements will probably be useless in a real fight. Patterns are training devices. They teach you to control your emotions and perform perfectly under stress. You are teaching your muscles how to perform each technique perfectly while moving in different ways. When you spar, if you always try to perform perfect techniques, you will find your sparring will also improve. For example, a perfect side thrust kick will score more often than a sloppy one, and it will hurt the opponent more in a real fight