Finding the Style

I went to spar last night in Little Falls and I did a lot of drills. Master Bardatsos's partner, Master DeGeorge ran the class. I really liked the drills we did, it gets me to think and learn the game in a whole new light, and I get excited to try them out myself and to teach them to my students. I have my first AAU Qualifier competition in New York this weekend, and I'm a little nervous but it's going to be a good chance to practice. 

It's been a few years since I did serious competition and I did two competitions this year. This will be my third, and as I continue to learn this new style of sparring, I can't help but want to demand more of myself. The standards I hold are high and this is very challenging. I do very well in sparring, don't get me wrong. But to become this elite level of sparring is going to take time, and I have to be patient. It won't happen overnight.

A lot of it has to come from be reconditioning my sparring style from the robotic point style my old master had, to this new Olympic fluent and twitchy style. The other thing is that the rules and style of this sport are continuously changing. What was acceptable when I was a teenager, to the time I was a young adult, from 4 years ago, to today are not necessarily acceptable now. 

Working with Master Bardatsos and Master DeGeorge and being on the Invictus Sparring Team is great because I'll have the benefits of being on top of all the new rules, strategies, technology, and hearing what will work and what won't work. When they went to the Olympic Team Trials in Colorado a few weeks ago alone, they learned what changes they'd have to make based on new scoring technology and how to spar. I am very aggressive and very powerful and have a lot of motion and I push myself to move very fast. 

The thing is, the way the game has changed you don't necessarily need all those things to win anymore. The scoring is all electronic and it takes away from the judging, and you have to do just what works. If you don't keep up with up and coming new things in this sport, it's very hard to keep up with the training. So as I learn the new logistics of the game, I am in search of what my style is going to be. What am I good at? What will work for me? What works in general? Is it worth having soooo many techniques and tools, or a few basics that work. Steven did mention to me something very similar. 

So as always I am on a mission. And of course I will be working with these guys even after my master test. Because a master's journey is never over ;) .

Yours in service,

ANDREW TRENTO