Are students required to compete in tournaments in order to get promoted?
A. No. We do have many, many students who do compete in tournaments though. Children as well as adults can compete in forms (kata), sparring (kumite), traditional weapons, self-defense routines, musical creative patterns, etc. Usually the tournaments have age and belt appropriate divisions that students can compete in. We always post or announce the tournaments that are coming up in the Western New York area. Usually we hold tournament prep classes for students at no charge.
