By Stella Gay


Unarmed fighting system started long ago in various cultures. Karate is categorized under martial arts. It entails open hand tactics like palm-hand strike, spear-hands, knife-hands and strikes like punches, kicks, elbow strikes, and knee strikes. New styles such as vital point strikes, restraints, throws, joint locks, and grappling have been incorporated into the original techniques. Students are known as karateka.

Creativity, self-discipline, and hard training are required for a karateka to master the various techniques. Research shows that most individuals undertake training in this martial art for self-defense because it improves their fighting skills. It is good to understand that moves depicted by mass media are highly exaggerated. Most moves captured in movies are computer generated so viewers should beware of this. Such deadly moves should never be attempted for safety reasons.

This type of unarmed combat system can be practiced by every individual regardless of gender, age or fitness level. Most countries have numerous training centers where services can be obtained. Interested individuals may enter these facilities as private students or teams. A private student learns and develops at their own pace as they get assigned an instructor to train them. This martial art may boost confidence, focus, character, and inner security of trainees.

Training is divided into fundamentals or basics, forms, and sparring. Various styles place different importance on the fundamentals. Kata or form refers to a series of movements representing a range of defensive and offensive stances. The stances are based on idealized fighting application. During training the instructor demonstrates how every technique is applied when tackling an opponent.

Each form is learned faster when performed. Each rank has its mandatory forms that students must be able to execute during skill demonstration in order to receive official ranking. Coaching institutions have varied conditions for examinations, even though majority apply Japanese terminologies for belts, grades, and ranks. A ranking system may start with a bigger number and move to a small one or mark grades by colored belts.

Kumite also referred to as sparring is done as self-defense coaching or a sport. Contact levels during kumite differs greatly. Contact version can be semi contact, full contact or light contact. Structured kumite entails demonstration of a sequence of choreographed techniques by two practitioners, one attacks as the other blocks.

Free kumite is performed in an enclosed area and participants are free to apply certain allowed techniques. Contact level and permitted techniques may be dictated by style organization policy or sport, but can be altered as per the sex, rank, and age of practitioners. Under semi or light contact sparring participants are awarded according to good timing, correct distance, good form, awareness, and sporting attitude among other criterion.

To conclude, people who train for competitions can enter tournaments as a term or individual. Evaluation of skills is done by panels of judges or head referees with assistant referees. Fixtures are made basing on experience, gender, age, and weight. Tournaments can be for participants of specific style or open to martial artists with any style but confined to certain rules.




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