The Champs Secret to Shidokan Triathlon Success

I was I asked by someone why I had success in Shidokan Triathlon tournaments. In Shidokan, I fought in 12 man, 8 man, and 4 man tournaments with no losses. Was I the fastest, the strongest, the best kickboxer, the better grappler or knock down karate fighter. I will say no to all of the above. I was the oldest of the competitors I competed with (not quite, Kickboxing Champ and Shidokan veteran Peter Kaljevic is a couple of years older).  The advantages that I did have were: 1) I had solid competitive careers in single disciplines (tournament karate, Tae Kwon Do, Kickboxing, boxing, etc.); 2) I had a good foundation in single disciplines; 3)3 or more years training in: boxing, muay thai, judo, submission grappling, and kickboxing); 4) I was used to fighting in tournaments (having fought 3 to 7 times in one day in Karate, Tae Kwon Do and Judo); and 5) I knew how to conditioning and train myself as I was a fitness trainer. Most importantly I was SELF MOTIVATED. I had good training partners, but I was my own coach. I put pressure on myself to do what I was supposed to do. I would write down what I needed to do and do it. By doing this, you make yourself accountable. Now I faced some good competition  during those tournaments. I had enough in the bag of tricks to find something my opponents might not know about. For example, Matee Jedepitak was a Lumpinee and World Muay Thai Champion. I was not going to out Muay Thai him. I used side kicks, axe kicks and hook kicks. I used techniques and and rhythm (boxing and Tae Kwon Do) that he wasn't familiar with. I didn't try to out Karate experienced knock down karate fighters like Ryo Sakai and Rino Belcastro. I used my Tae Kwon Do experience to control the kick range and use my kicks. I didn't duke it out with good punches like Tomaz Korcyl, I boxed and used the jab and went to the bodly. In the grappling rounds I didn't try to submit experience MMA fighter Rolondo Higueros. I used transitions to escape and I knew enough submissions defense to keep my limbs in. Most importantly, I learned from the good fighters that I competed against and used those lessons to help me in subsequent matches. After a couple of years, I knew what I needed to do to win a Triathlon tournament. So here it is: 1) Be in Shape; 2) Work on all 3 skillsets (Knockdown Karate, Kickboxing, and Grappling); 3) Get experience in the 3 skillsets individually (go kick box, fight knock down, or enter grappling events); and 4) Train with dress rehersals (get your partners to Gi up and go through 3 fights like in a tournament). There you have it, get out there and train.