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.

Self-discipline, hard training, and creativity are crucial virtues for trainees if they wish to master various maneuvers. Research reveals that an increasing number of people are undertaking training sessions to better their fighting skills. It is crucial to know that maneuvers portrayed by mass media are overemphasized. Most moves portrayed in movies are made using computers so viewers ought to be warned. Such deadly movements must never be carried out for safety purposes.

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 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 or sparring is done as a sport of self-defense coaching. Levels of contact under kumite varies greatly. Contact version can be light, semi contact, or full contact. Structured kumite is about demonstrating a sequence of choreographed styles by two people, one blocks as the other attacks.

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.

In conclusion, practitioners who train for competitions may register as groups or individuals in tournaments.Rating of techniques is the responsibility of head referees assisted by assistant referees or a panel of judges. Fixtures are made considering experience, gender, weight, and age of participants. Contest can be arranged for practitioners of a particular technique or martial trainees specialized in every style but limited to given rules.




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