To make sure you're ready to enter a knockdown fight/tournament I would say, without a doubt, that you need to have experienced being hit and kicked at full force. I can remember what a shock it was when I was hit 'hard' for the first time sparring. One of the most important things is to get over the fear of actually being hit by someone. A mistake to experience this for the first time in a 'real' fight - although no doubt you would learn a lot. Once you've been hit hard enough for long enough it is amazing how your perspective changes and your ability to control your breathing as well as energy consumption differs from the first time on the mat for real. Also, body conditioning is a major part. Personally, I was always worried how my shins would stand up, and that played on my mind quite a bit before my first fight - I had been to a lot of national tournaments before and heard the whack of shin bone against shin bone in the past and cringed at the sound.
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