As most people know, karate comes in many different flavors, and each flavor has its own variations. There are countless karate organizations, styles, and sub-styles, and each has its own take on the art. The vast majority of these are, in some way, involved in sport karate, to some degree. While it tends to be quite easy to look at sport karate and identify it as such, it can still be useful to look at it with a more critical eye to determine what, exactly, makes something “sport karate,” and how are the different takes on it similar or different.
The most popular form of sport karate is often called “point karate,” wherein competitors engage in kumite (sparring) that is focused on earning points by touching the opponent with a valid scoring technique before the opponent can touch them. In general, this approach results in participants staying out at long range, and only shooting in to throw one or two strikes at a time, because that reduces the likelihood that they will be hit. Contact is supposed to be light, or “touch” contact, with “excessive force” being a significant penalty, and leg kicks are typically against the rules, although foot sweeps are allowed. Scoring criteria vary from organization to organization, so aside from that generalization, the competitions can look different. In World Karate Federation (WKF) competitions, for example, strikes only score if they make “contact” at the very end of a fully extended limb, groin strikes are illegal, and different types of strikes earn different amounts of points (eg. head kicks worth 3 points, body kicks worth 2, and punches worth 1). In United States Karate Alliance (USKA) competitions, however, requires competitors to make “contact” with a strike that still has extension left, so that it could be used to effectively hit the target if it weren’t controlled, groin strikes are allowed, and every strike is worth a single point. In all cases, point karate matches are stopped by the referee each time contact is made so that the participants can be put back on their starting lines while the score is tallied, before allowing participants to start again, as if it were the beginning of the match.
The second most popular sport karate format, and the one which tends to be the most well-respected within the wider martial arts community, is knockdown kumite, which is based on the irikumi-go (hard close-in fighting) of Goju-Ryu karate, although the popular competitive format of knockdown kumite seen, today, was developed by Mas Oyama, the founder of Kyokushin karate, and in some cases tweaked as different styles branched off of his, such as Enshin, Ashihara, and Seido Juku. In such competitions, the goal is as the name suggests–to knock down the opponent. These are full-contact, bare-knuckle matches where punches, kicks, elbows, and knees are all allowed, with the exception of punches to the face. Scoring is tracked in the same manner as Judo, with ippon (one point), waza-ari (half-point), and kouka (advantage) being used to determine the winner. If a participant is knocked down or stunned for more than 3 seconds, their opponent is awarded ippon, which is an automatic win. Knocking down or stunning the opponent for less than 3 seconds results in scoring a waza-ari, two of which add up to an ippon and instant victory. Kouka are used to track moments where participants land good strikes that cause damage, but may not be sufficient to score. If a match is not decided by the end of its allotted time, the judges may use the number of kouka scored to determine the winner. Interestingly, some knockdown competitions also use board breaking as a tie breaker.
Some sport karate blurs the line between point kumite and knockdown kumite by implementing the use of body armor. Bogu kumite (armored sparring), or koshiki karate (hard/rigid karate), is a type of competitive sparring where participants wear body armor, headgear with face shields, and occasionally gloves or shinpads, as well. Due to the implementation of this protective equipment, such competitions are almost always full-contact, allowing participants to strike as hard as possible. In some cases, however, the competitions are still tracked using the same point system previously discussed. Other bogu kumite competitions may use points to determine the winner, but allow the match to go on continuously, without stopping it to call out and tally the scores. Some tournaments may also allow competitors to follow up on their sweeps and throws with Judo-style submissions, such as chokes and armbars, in order to win, but the time allowed for groundwork is extremely limited.
Kudo, or Daido Juku Kudo, is a sport karate format that blends bogu kumite with Kyokushin and Judo. Instead of wearing the full armor that is typically seen in bogu kumite or koshiki, Kudo uses only the headgear with face shield, and often thinly-padded gloves. Like knockdown competitions, it is scored in a manner similar to Judo, but uses an older format that includes the yuko (effective) score, and is arranged somewhat differently from knockdown. Each score has criteria for when the opponent is knocked down, and when they are not, and strong throws can be scored kouka by themselves, without a follow-up strike. Additionally, the ippon requirement is 4 seconds for a knockdown, or 6 seconds for a stun, which is longer than the requirements in typical knockdown competitions.
Of course, all of these descriptions have focused on the kumite aspect of sport karate competition, which neglects the kata (forms) component. Competition circuits which include kata divisions tend to fall into two categories–traditional and freestyle/creative. In traditional kata competitions, competitors are supposed to perform kata that are widely recognized as coming from traditional karate lineages, such as Shotokan, Wado-Ryu, Goju-Ryu, Shorin-Ryu, etc. Scoring is typically based on criteria such as balance, solid stances, clean technique, focus, and intent, as well as whether the kata is performed correctly, if the judges are familiar with it, but it is very subjective. This means that you will find some disparity between what wins a tournament in one location or circuit, when compared to another, and some develop odd quirks (such as the screaming seen in NASKA tournaments: LINK) based on what seems to score the best. Freestyle or creative kata/forms competitions feature routines that are made up entirely by the competitor, and tend to be scored more like gymnastics, with complexity and flair being major factors, which results in drastically different performances that have little to do with martial arts, aside from aesthetics. Some competitions circuits don’t tend to include kata competitions, at all, of course, and some will include “team kata” divisions, where multiple participants perform in sync with each other.
Another off-shoot of kata competitions are bunkai (analysis) divisions, which are meant to be team presentations of the applications of a traditional kata. Typically, these divisions are often tacked onto the end of team kata performances, as the necessary participants are already on the mat. In some cases, the participants will take turns performing sections of the kata, while in others there may be a single, dedicated kata performer running alongside the application demonstration. These divisions are supposed to be judged on similar criteria to the kata performance, with judges looking to see that the techniques demonstrated conform to the kata they are supposed to come from. Notably, the functionality and realism of the demonstration is not considered for scoring, but athleticism is.
There are some relatively small and new competition circuits, such as PAKT (Practical and Applied Karate Tournaments) in the UK, which are working to promote a competitive format for karate that is based on functionality, rather than aesthetic. These tournaments still have kata performance divisions, but also have bunkai divisions that are scored based on realism and effectiveness, as well as bunkai divisions specifically for demonstrating with less-compliant partners. In addition, they usually have divisions for standing grappling and padwork, in order to cover multiple areas of combat. The author of this site is working to adapt kakedameshi (crossed/hooked testing, discussed here: LINK, LINK) into a competition format, as well, which would allow participants to focus on the close range fighting aspects of karate.
Whether one enjoys sport karate or not, it cannot be argued that the popularity of martial arts is driven very heavily by its proliferation through competition. Exposure in things like movies, TV shows, and video games can give a bit of a boost, but overall it has been competition that has caused martial arts participation to grow. Karate likely would never have taken off outside of Japan if it weren’t for the tournaments developed in the University clubs there. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was largely unheard-of before the Gracie family set up the UFC as a way to showcase their art in competition with others. Judo and Taekwondo are wildly popular thanks to their inclusion in the Olympics. In the end, if martial artists want to get more people involved in their arts–nevermind the other known benefits of competition in combat sports–then they need to be involved in competition. The trouble for many traditional martial artists, particularly those involved with karate, is that most competition formats are poorly suited to their art’s methods. In such cases, one must take the initiative to organize competitions for themselves that are more appropriate, and use that to both spread and improve the quality of their art, or risk letting it fade out of existence.