Self-Control, the most important tenet?

There were so many things I was proud of at this tournament, and some moments I didn’t like seeing. The fourth tenet of taekwondo is Self-Control, and while we shorthand the meaning to be “Never lose your temper”, there are so many other things that this applies to. Tournaments are a great example. People get so tied up in the score they receive, or warnings they get, or points they hear clicked for the other person, that they distract themselves from performing well. In regards to self-control, Morgan Freeman says, “Self-control is strength. Calmness is mastery. You have to get to a point where your mood doesn’t shift based on the insignificant actions of someone else. Don’t allow others to control the direction of your life. Don’t allow your emotions to overpower your intelligence.”

People get upset if they don’t get a “high” forms score, but forget that the number is just a placeholder for who has done the best pattern. I watched one of the black belt divisions this weekend, where the 1^st place winner scored an 8.0, 8.2, and an 8.6. I watched another division where the 1^st place winner got an 8.6, 9.0, and 9.2. What was different between these patterns? The numbers the judges threw, nothing else. They both won 1^st place. When it comes to sparring, we have three judges for a reason. To try to capture as many angles as possible. Do the judges miss things? Absolutely. Don’t you? When you get a warning, there’s two different ways that people often see it. “Oh, I messed up” or “That’s not fair, the other person turned, and it wasn’t MY fault that I kicked them”. The only thing we can control is ourselves, hence, self-control. If someone spins while you are kicking, maybe you should have the control over your body to stop your kick. But whether you agree with the judge or not, they are the ones in charge, and their say is final. Have I been in tournaments where I didn’t agree with the judges? Absolutely. But I learned really quick that the higher ranks who were judging me deserved my respect for their decisions. After all, I wouldn’t be upset if they called the warning against the other person, would I?