When someone defeated you?

Well first of all let me say that fighting in tournaments is like a game somewhat and it is not always the best fighter that wins but rather who is best at playing the game as I call it. I fought and lost as well as won against some of the best tournament fighters in North America in NASKA and it took me a long time to rise to that level so perseverance along with learning from your mistakes is important I think. When losing I would look at things objectively and first look at what I did (or failed to do) that may have cost me the match over all and along with that at each individual point. Knowing that and understanding it I think is key to not repeating the same mistakes over again in later matches and subsequent tournaments. At the same time I would also look at what my opponent did and along with that if there was anything new that I had not seen before. This also is key to learning and making yourself a better fighter I think. Besides this I would also watch and learn from other fighters better than myself. People like Terry Creamer, Tony Young, Billy Blanks, Joey Shevalet, James Cisco, Akim Alston, and Scorpion Burrage were among these and all of them after a while took me under their wing and would watch me fight sometimes and critique it afterwords as well as encourage me to get better. It did not matter that I might fight them at some point and later did a number of times and for this I will always be thankful to those individuals as they helped make me a better fighter in sport karate.

Besides all this I think you also have to look at your training and see if there is some aspect of that that you need to alter. Take blocking and countering for instance and taking that half step back that you might be in the habit of taking. Doing that sets you up and the action is so quick in sport karate that you really have to take a half step forward and meet your opponent halfway and block or jam his technique at less than halfway while delivering your own at fuller extension. So for tournaments where I knew I would have to make some real contact and bang a little like the Warrior Cup in Chicago or the Battle of Atlanta I would focus on this more so the week or two before the tournament. In sparring in my school I would spot other black belts two or three points and put myself down score wise from the very beginning and the added pressure would make me fight harder and better so that I would score five points before they would in two minutes even though they started with a two or three point lead. We would also have just one point matches where the outcome was decided by only the first point scored. Another thing we would do is fight in a smaller ring sometimes which really helps you to rely and use your defensive skills more and develop them to a higher level. Try these things and see if the quality and level of your fighting does not increase.

Also take a look at other training like plyometrics and weight training. Those two aspects go very well hand in hand with martial arts and making you a better fighter especially when you are fighting some people that are taller and bigger like what you have in sport karate. Doing those things along with also working on your footwork and distancing and controlling the distance are all important aspects of sport karate fighting that sometimes don't get maybe as much attention in traditional training as what they sometimes should.

Along with this make sure you understand the rules and how to manage the ring with respect to your fighting. When I would have a guy like Joe Corley as my center ref I knew I could not just steal a point by being close. He would even tell you that it hand to land solidly and so that would make a difference as to what I might throw. I would also take note of when and where the center ref was as well as the corner judges and if only two that might make a difference as to when I might blitz so that they could better see it and me get a point. If I had no warnings I might step out of bounds to keep my opponent from scoring a point if I was caught or put in a bad position rather than let him score a point. Know how to manage and play the ring is an important aspect of sport karate and why sometimes the better fighter does not always win. Work on all these aspects and the quality and level of your fighting will increase and stick with it!

Sit/kneel for a good few hours playing various parts of the fight over in your head, make different decisions in your roleplay and see how things could have 'possibly' played out, this can improve your instinct. If you can't remember the fight very well you might have had too much adreneline or rage, chances are you lost therefore due to a lack of control.

You should also do this even if you won (unless it was a PERFECT victory), the most important thing about any defeat is to understand that it happens, no fighter can beat ANY other fighter, thats just not how it works and you should relish the opportunity for your next bout with the opponent and enjoy the learning expereince.

It is like a game of chess. When in meditation afterwards try to discover the places where you missed the others intentions because that is where your defeat lies.

Only an understanding of wu, knowing the others intentions before they strike can help you progress.

This involves an in depth understanding of body language and is paramount as you get slower with age.

I do Gojuryu, which is a defence only discipline, so this facet is of major importance to us.

i felt a bit down for a bit, but then i realized that that wasn't going to get me anywhere it wasn't gonna help me improve. So now i think I probably do the same as what you do, I thought about it and I thought where i'd gone wrong but don't dwell on what you should of done, cause that doesn't help, just identify the weak spot. Then just get straight back into training, and move past it