What It Takes To Master Karate

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 comprises of three important stages namely forms, basics or fundamentals, and sparring. Varied styles attach varying value on the basics. Katas or forms are a sequence of maneuvers portraying a wide variety of offensive postures and defensive stances. Stances are found on imaginary combat applications. During coaching instructors display how each technique is executed while fighting off an opponent.

Each kata is learned better when demonstrated. Each level has its specific mandatory katas that students have to show competence in while demonstrating their skills so as to be ranked formally. Training institutions have different conditions for examinations, although lots of them apply Japanese terminologies for various grades or ranks. Some ranking systems start with bigger numbers and move to smaller ones whereas some mark ranks with colored belts.

Kumite also known as sparring is practiced as self-defense training or a sport. Contact levels when sparring differs a lot. There are many types of full contact, semi contact or light contact version. Structured sparring involves performance of choreographed sequence of tactics by two participants, one strikes whereas 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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