Tournaments

However, in class training will not be enough if you want to be a top competitor. You will need to develop a personal training plan and stick to it religiously. With you instructors permission, it is helpful to visit other school and spar with them. Taekwondo America has two-month training cycles with rank testing at the end of each cycle. Tournaments are scheduled at the midpoint of training cycle. Most instructors will stress completive techniques in the two to four weeks before a tournament. National tournaments are conducted twice a year.

More preparation is required for national competition, so, if you want to compete nationally, you must increase the duration and intensity of your training. If you are a top-level national competitor, especially if training for international competition or the Olympics, you will probably have a state-of-the-art training plan developed just for you and you will have a national coach that will ensure you stick to the plan. However, if you are an ordinary competitor, you will have to develop you own training plan that fits into your available training time, with input and assistance from your instructor.