SPORTS KARATE
By B. S. Ganguli B.S. (Chem. Eng. (U.S.A.) 4th Dan Black Belt, J.K.A, 2nd Dan, A.I.K.F.,
President, Japan Karate of India (West Bengal)
Karate is an ancient Martial Art, whose aim is to develop the body and the mind of its practitioners, and not just to teach the art of fighting. In the words of M. Nakayama, former Chief instructor of the Japan Karate Association, the world’s largest karate organization:
“If karate is practiced solely as a fighting technique, this is cause for regret. The fundamental techniques have been developed and perfected through long years of study and practice, but to make any effective use of these techniques, the spiritual aspect of this art of self defense must be recognized and must play the predominant role. It is gratifying to me to see that there those who understand this, who know that karate-do is a purely Oriental martial art, and who train with the proper attitude.”
Karate was formerly taught by means of Kata- a series of attacking and defensive movements, somewhat like shadow-boxing, but following a fixed pattern. While learning the kata, applications of its attacking and defensive movements were taught. Later on, each attacking and blocking movement began to be taught separately (Kihon), so that the practitioner could develop his techniques to the fullest. Still later, the application of individual attacking techniques and their blocks (kumite) began to be taught and this excited many practitioners of karate, who wanted to test themselves against other karatekas. However, to quote Nakayama again:
“To be capable of inflicting devastating damage on an opponent with one blow of the fist, or a single kick has indeed been the objective of this ancient Okinawan martial art. But
even the practitioners of old placed stronger emphasis on the spiritual side of the art than the techniques.”
In allowing competitors to pit their skills against each other, there was also the problem of how to minimize the chances of injury or death in an art where the techniques used are designed to inflict injury or death! This is why, although karate has been around for centuries, karate as a sport is only a few decades old.
In the history of the World Karate Federation (www.wkf.net) it says that Karate, in its technical aspects, was introduced to many countries, as early as 1950, by Japanese masters from mainly the JKA (Japan Karate Association). They taught karate but they did not care about creating National or International organizations, as in other sports.
In 1961, Two Frenchmen, M. Henry Plee, and a pupil of his, named Jacques Delcourt, started a French Karate Federation, On the 15th of December 1963, they invited the few Federations known in Europe (they were 7) to come to France for the 1st International Karate Event of all time. In 1970. Mr. Ryoichi Sasakawa, President of the Japanese Federation, traveled to Paris to meet Mr. Delcourt and stated his interest in taking part in organization of Karate at a World level. The First World Championships were hosted by Tokyo in October, 10th 1970, where the first World Union of Karate Organizations (WUKO, which later became the WKF) Congress took place.
The All India Karate-do Federation, headquartered in Mumbai, was recognized by the Government of India, Department of Youth Affairs and Sports, and by the Indian Olympic Association, is a member of the Asian Karate Federation and the World Karate Federation. It held a National Level Karate Championship every year, at different centers throughout the country. Participants from different styles of karate (the four major styles recognized by the AIKF are Shotokan, Shito-ryo, Goju-ryu and Wado-ryu) take part in the competitions. The AIKF also arranged the selection of the Indian karate teams to International Events such as the SAF Games, The Asian Games, the Asian Karate Championships (organized by the Asian Karate Federation) and the World Championships, organized by the World Karate Federation. Unfortunately, since there are no industrial sponsors for karate, karatekas had to travel abroad on their own finances, if they wished to represent the country at the International level. This greatly restricted the caliber of the Indian Teams sent abroad!
However, Karate, as a Sport, had no place in the National Games of the country, until the last games, held at Guahati in 2007. Sensei Monoj Hazarika, then head of the JKA India for Assam and a member of the Assam Olympic Association, in his desire to introduce karate as part of the National Games, bowed to the wishes of the IOA President Suresh Kalmadi, and agreed to include all the non recognized styles (including styles of self taught instructors) as part of the National Games. The management of the AIKF was very unhappy about the situation and registered their protest, so Mr. Kalmadi had the IOA recognize a splinter group, led by Sensei Rameshwar Nirvan of Rajasthan, as the official AIKF, and the National Games included karate with very few certified judges and referees and without its best proponents! Later, this faction of the AIKF split again and Sensei Thyagrajan obtained partial recognition for his group. Now there are several groups fighting it out in the courts of India as to which is the real AIKF!
Apart from the four or five so called AIKF Championships, and the National Games, (Guahati was the last one to be held), each style of karate holds its own National Level Championships. The Japan Karate Association of India held its 26th National Training Camp and Championship at Panjim, Goa, from 27th January to 1st February 2009. Shihan Takenori Imura, 7th Dan Black Belt and JKA Headquarters Instructor, World Kata Champion at Brisbane (1987), Philadelphia (1994) and Osaka (1996) came to teach karate to the black belt holders (instructors) of the JKA India. Finances, however, were still a problem, since there is some confusion about whether railway concessions are available to most sportsmen, are applicable to karatekas! Many talented sportsmen from poor families opted not to participate at these JKAI National Championships.
Having considered the politics and economics of karate, let us consider some of the technical aspects of Sports Karate:
Karate Championships are held for Kata (Proficiency in forms) and Kumite (proficiency in fighting). In a Kata competition, the competitors have to show their ability to perform a Kata, a series of attacking and defensive movements, performed in a specific order, and designed so that a single karateka can fight off three or more opponents at the same time.
There are over a hundred different Katas of which eash style of karate utilizes only a few to develop the techniques of its students. The WKF has chosen two katas from each of the four major styles, as Shittei (Compulsory) Kata. This means that in the first two elimination rounds, the competitor has to show his proficiency in two of the eight compulsory katas-usually the two katas from his own style. The judges will compare the proficiency in these compulsory katas against the performance of the other competitors. From the 3rd round onwards, the competitor is allowed to perform a kata of his choice, and judging becomes much more difficult! The The All India karate-do Federation (AIKF), being an affiliate of the WKF, follows the same rules.
At an All-Styles competition, the tournament area is an 8 meter by 8 meter `ring’, with a Chief Judge sitting at the center of one side, and two additional judges at the centre of the two adjacent sides. Two competitors approach the ring from the side facing the Chief Judge, bow to the Judge and to each other. The competitor wearing the red belt then, after announcing his Kata, starts performing one of the Shettei Kata. After he has completed his Kata, the competitor wearing the blue belt comes to the ring and announces the Shettei Kata he will perform, and proceeds to give his performance. On completion of both Katas, the Chief Judge blows his whistle, and all the Judges announce their preference by raising a flag of the appropriate color. The competitor with the most flags of his color wins. Winners of the first round then have to perform another compulsory Kata for the second round, but from the third round onwards, through to the finals, the competitors perform any Kata of their choice- the only restriction being that they can not repeat a kata performed in an earlier round.
Kumite (fighting) competitions are much more difficult to control and judge. Karate is an art where the techniques are designed to inflict devastating damage on the opponent, yet, as a sport, it must be controlled so that there is little or no harm to any of the competitors. Thus the sportsmen have to pull back their kicks and punches before they inflict any damage, and the judges have to decide if the kicks or punches, if they were not controlled, would inflict sufficient damage to earn a point, within the fraction of a second before the next attack is launched!
The fighting area is 8m x 8m (somewhat larger than a boxing or a wrestling ring) with no ropes or guards at the boundaries. The fighters have to keep within this area and more than one exit from the fighting area is penalized, as it shows either lack of courage or lack of control. Improperly controlled attacks which inflict damage on the opponent are also penalized, unless it was caused by the opponents own lack of control. Showing disrespect to the opponent, or showing fear (such as by turning ones face away from the opponent) are also actions that may result in penalties in the form of one or more points to the opponent. Controlled punches generally earn a single point, but two rapid punches one after the other, both of which could have inflicted severe damage on the opponent, can earn two points. A controlled kick to the stomach area earns two points, while a kick to the face earns three, as does dis-balancing an opponent, followed by a strong scoring technique.
There is a referee in the ring with the fighters, who stops the fight with a call of `yame’ every time he feels a scoring technique has been made, or when the line judges on three sides of the ring signal him that a score has been made. The referee then decides if the score is valid and signals the scorekeeper accordingly. As he is closer to the fighters, he can overrule two of the judges, with the support of the third judge, but if three judges differ from him, he has to go with them. The scorekeeper records the points and penalties incurred, and he calls for an end to the fight when one of the fighters has a lead of eight points over his opponent. Otherwise the fight continues for three minutes, not counting stoppage time. The fighter with the most points at the end of three minutes wins the fight.
Although a skilled karateka can kill his opponent with a single punch or kick, Sports Karate rules have been devised so that there is minimal danger of injury to the competitors. However, not all good fighters have complete control, and there are instances when a competitor may be moving in to attack after his opponent has already launched his attack, and is therefore an inch or more closer than where his opponent expected him to be, and a punch that would have grazed the chin smashes into the face! In spite of all precautions, injuries do happen in a Karate competition; Competitors sometimes have to be hospitalized. However, such occasions are rare. In fact, there is less chance of injury in a National Karate Competition than there is in a football match, let alone a boxing match!