Attending a karate competition usually results in an array of medals and trophies for our students.
Competition Categories
There are several categories in a Karate Competition:
Gladiators has an upper age limit of around 11 years. The students wear head guards, gum shields and body armour. The aim is to push your opponent off the competition mat using a punch bag.
At Individual Kata, the competitor must perform kata solo. The best performance will win.
Two or three competitors perform in the Pairs and Team Kata. The winners are the team that performs the best kata, synchronised with each other.
In Kumite (Sparring), the competitors spar to score points against each other.
Weapons Kata. This is a specific series of techniques using a martial arts weapon. As with the usual kata, the winner will be the competitor who performs best.
For all categories, the competitors wear either a red or blue belt to compete. The referees will raise a red or blue flag at the end of each bout to indicate their judgement.
Competition Training
Training for Competitions involves a slightly different emphasis than is usually practised in our classes.
For example, for Individual Kata categories, the student must perform a Kata solo. It takes time to practice this so that the students are confident performing solo. There are also Paired Kata and Team Kata categories. In these, the Katas must be performed to exactly the same timing by all the team members. Team members must learn to perform the kata as a team without looking at their team members. This takes a considerable amount of practice.
Sparring is a point-scoring competition. Therefore, there is a different emphasis from grading sparring in which the students show off their skills. Students, therefore, need to practice techniques to score the most points most effectively.
Taking part in competitions involves commitment, courage and confidence. Students also learn the importance of losing graciously as well as winning. It is therefore an important and rewarding part of karate training. All students attempting their Black Belt must compete in at least one competition to demonstrate their competence and expertise.