The Purpose of Kumite (Sparring) 組手
Kumite, or sparring in karate helps develop different aspects of a student’s skill in karate. It helps increase speed and accuracy of techniques, enhances awareness, and it helps overcome fears of being hit or kicked. It is a terrific physical workout and it can be just out right fun. The following will cover each aspect further:
Increasing speed and accuracy of your technique
When sparring, just as in boxing, it is to help improve your response time when someone is also on the attack. This can help you in a real situation if someone attacks you. Good kumite training develops your reaction time so that you can block and counter quickly and accurately, without just swinging at something. Learning to pick your target and hit it as much as possible is a great skill to have, however it takes a long time to develop it.
Enhancing Awareness
Of course if you know when someone is going punch or kick it is easy to block, and your awareness is not sharpened the way it should be. It is only when you don’t expect what is coming, or learning to read other peoples movements, that one can be truly successful in a tournament fight, or be able to better ones’ chances on the street.
Overcoming Fear
I believe that every person (man, woman, boy or girl) is afraid of being hit. It’s the fear of not knowing what to expect and not being conditioned for it. Kumite helps to overcome that fear with extensive training. One way it does this, is the person becomes used to the physical contact over time. In Shorin Ryu - Seijitsu Shin Do Kan that is an aspect of full contact sparring at the higher levels. This conditions your body to be able to take a hit if you are ever attacked, and so that you can keep fighting. Knowing what to expect helps the whole fear situation.
What a workout!!
Kumite is probably one of the best cardio workouts you can experience. With the explosive movement it requires and the long rounds of kumite training your physical endurance is raised. This is not to say you will not tire quickly, but you will be able to keep going. This is similar to a marathon runner, who by the end of the race is physically exhausted, but still has the stamina to keep going.
Various Types Of Kumite
Strangely enough there are several styles of Kumite with the Japanese systems of Karate. Each of the types of kumite have a specific purpose, but on the road to a common goal. Whether the type is to increase speed and accuracy, help with self defense or to help with freestyle fighting.
Yakosoku Kumite (Premise Fighting)
Yakosoku kumite is the first set of kumite that is taught in most dojos. These are prearranged sparring scenarios done with a partner to help the karateka (karate student) to learn the basics of movement, balance, technique application and kime (focus). Not all systems of the same set of Yakosoku set up the same, many times they vary from school to school and style to style. However, they all achieve the same purpose. Each one is to develop blocking, striking, kicking and tai sabaki (body movement) skills. Ippon Kumite On some occasions Ippon Kumite is practiced with only one style of attack, allowing the defender to learn to block either kicks or strikes without having to worry about both at one time. But in other cases it can be practiced with both strikes and kicks at the same time. Of course this is a more traditional method of training than just free sparring. However, the goal of this is still for one person to score 1 point or Ippon, to win the match. This is great training for the overtime, sudden death matches in kumite shiai (sparring competition). Nihon & Sanbon Kumite As with Ippon Kumite, Nihon Kumite (2 Point Sparring) and Sanbon Kumite (3 Point Sparring) are done the same way, only with more points. Something called Sanbon Jiyu Kumite (3 Point Free Sparring) is what is practiced in most modern tournaments. Jiyu Kumite, or free sparring, the rules are more open and you are allowed to attack with more techniques.
Jiyu Kumite
In jiyu kumite, points are typically not called when stopping the fight but while it is still going on. Sweeps and other takedowns are allowed in jiyu kumite, and it is a great way to learn how to apply different strikes, kicks and takedowns when fighting. Especially how to combine them all, while you have to defend the various attacks as well.
Kumite, or sparring in karate helps develop different aspects of a student’s skill in karate. It helps increase speed and accuracy of techniques, enhances awareness, and it helps overcome fears of being hit or kicked. It is a terrific physical workout and it can be just out right fun. The following will cover each aspect further:
Increasing speed and accuracy of your technique
When sparring, just as in boxing, it is to help improve your response time when someone is also on the attack. This can help you in a real situation if someone attacks you. Good kumite training develops your reaction time so that you can block and counter quickly and accurately, without just swinging at something. Learning to pick your target and hit it as much as possible is a great skill to have, however it takes a long time to develop it.
Enhancing Awareness
Of course if you know when someone is going punch or kick it is easy to block, and your awareness is not sharpened the way it should be. It is only when you don’t expect what is coming, or learning to read other peoples movements, that one can be truly successful in a tournament fight, or be able to better ones’ chances on the street.
Overcoming Fear
I believe that every person (man, woman, boy or girl) is afraid of being hit. It’s the fear of not knowing what to expect and not being conditioned for it. Kumite helps to overcome that fear with extensive training. One way it does this, is the person becomes used to the physical contact over time. In Shorin Ryu - Seijitsu Shin Do Kan that is an aspect of full contact sparring at the higher levels. This conditions your body to be able to take a hit if you are ever attacked, and so that you can keep fighting. Knowing what to expect helps the whole fear situation.
What a workout!!
Kumite is probably one of the best cardio workouts you can experience. With the explosive movement it requires and the long rounds of kumite training your physical endurance is raised. This is not to say you will not tire quickly, but you will be able to keep going. This is similar to a marathon runner, who by the end of the race is physically exhausted, but still has the stamina to keep going.
Various Types Of Kumite
Strangely enough there are several styles of Kumite with the Japanese systems of Karate. Each of the types of kumite have a specific purpose, but on the road to a common goal. Whether the type is to increase speed and accuracy, help with self defense or to help with freestyle fighting.
Yakosoku Kumite (Premise Fighting)
Yakosoku kumite is the first set of kumite that is taught in most dojos. These are prearranged sparring scenarios done with a partner to help the karateka (karate student) to learn the basics of movement, balance, technique application and kime (focus). Not all systems of the same set of Yakosoku set up the same, many times they vary from school to school and style to style. However, they all achieve the same purpose. Each one is to develop blocking, striking, kicking and tai sabaki (body movement) skills. Ippon Kumite On some occasions Ippon Kumite is practiced with only one style of attack, allowing the defender to learn to block either kicks or strikes without having to worry about both at one time. But in other cases it can be practiced with both strikes and kicks at the same time. Of course this is a more traditional method of training than just free sparring. However, the goal of this is still for one person to score 1 point or Ippon, to win the match. This is great training for the overtime, sudden death matches in kumite shiai (sparring competition). Nihon & Sanbon Kumite As with Ippon Kumite, Nihon Kumite (2 Point Sparring) and Sanbon Kumite (3 Point Sparring) are done the same way, only with more points. Something called Sanbon Jiyu Kumite (3 Point Free Sparring) is what is practiced in most modern tournaments. Jiyu Kumite, or free sparring, the rules are more open and you are allowed to attack with more techniques.
Jiyu Kumite
In jiyu kumite, points are typically not called when stopping the fight but while it is still going on. Sweeps and other takedowns are allowed in jiyu kumite, and it is a great way to learn how to apply different strikes, kicks and takedowns when fighting. Especially how to combine them all, while you have to defend the various attacks as well.
