General Rules of Karate
Get to know all about karate sport which is an extremely amazing sport and an ancient game which is played for years. This guide will show you all about the karate sport including its rules and regulations. You are surprisingly reading about an unarmed martial art game that is based on several disciplines.
These include hitting, kicking, and using some sort of defensive blocking with the legs and arms. This is all based on emphasizing the concentration as much as of the body’s force at a significant place and the time of impact as possible. In this game, the ball of the foot, knee, elbow, forearm, heel, and hands including the Knuckles and those outside edges are all the striking surfaces.
Those who play this game as a practice on some sort of padded surfaces or wooden toughen especially practice to learn this sport from scratch. But an adaptive player who is well trained is efficient enough that he may even break a pine board that could be up to several inches thick. He uses his or her hands or foot to do this job. Moreover, effective timing, strategy, and spirit are all shown and equally vital for having total physical toughness.
So, please find yourself welcome and in this guide, you will know everything about this karate sport which is very famous and highly known. Let’s get this conversation started!
Read More: Kickball Rules
A Brief History Of Karate Sport:
Karate has been here for a long while. This has evolved in east Asia for a long period of even centuries. It became systematized in Okinawa in the 17th century. And at that time, the people who were forbidden to carry weapons originated this sport.
In 1920, the game was imported to Japan. There, the game was organized and played in several schools and systems each of them having its own set of distinctive rules, regulations, and techniques.
Moreover, like many other Asia Martial Arts disciplines is a great source for stressing mental attitude, a complex ranking system with a belt, rituals of courtesy, and more. Also, there is a great overlapping of techniques which is combined with several other fighting styles.
The Main Objective Of Karate Sport:
The objective this game gives to the players is to defeat their opponent player no matter what. In an officially played sporting karate and Sparring in the training, the blows and the kicks are usually stopped short which are preferably within only one inch of the contact.
These sporting matches tend to last only for a period of almost three minutes and to a decision. And this is supposed to happen when there is no participant resulting in a full clean “killing” a point in the estimation of the judges.
Moreover, the game also has some kind of contest form (Kata) in which a single competitor is desired and dedicated to performing predetermined series of several movements. These include the simulating defense and a counterattack against several other opponents.
Similar to gymnastics, the performance is scored by judges.
What Similar Sports Are Present Related To Karate?
Similar sports related to karate are also very famous and being played all over the world. These sports include the following.
- Taekwondo.
- May Thai Sport
- Kickboxing etc.
The Competitions Being Held In Olympics:
This impressive and massive sport of Karate includes two events that are supposed to happen in the Tokyo. These include Kumite and Kata competitions.
However, karate is relatively excluded from the Olympic sports programs in the Olympic Sports Program for the year 2024 that would be held in Paris.
The Karate At Tokyo 2020:
This was an event being held in Tokyo in the year 2020 in which this competition was organized.
There were a total of six gold medals present and supposed to be awarded in the Kumite Competition. These competitions were based on total of 3 weight categories for boys and girls.
This Kumite competition should always be based upon a total of sixty contestants but the kata competition that I would explain later on will have a total of twenty contestants.
Moreover, this impressive piece of competition is supposed to have a total of three weight classes in the Kumite Tournament. These include (men with 67 kg, 75kg and 75 kg + weight categories).
Moreover, there are women with 55 kg, 61 kg, and 61 Kg weight categories.
In this event, the fights can usually last from one to three minutes anywhere in between. These fights include punches, strikes, sweeps, kicks, throws, etc. In the end, the fighter who scores more than their relevant opponent player is called the winner of this game.
But when an event gets tied, the participant who earns more scores or first point without being challenged is the ultimate winner of the game.
The Kata Competition:
The participants taking a part in the Kata Competition are assessed on the accuracy as well as the strength of their moves. Whenever there is a kata competition, you would find the competitors in a complete performance routine. These competitors take turns which shows their kata. Also, to judge the outcome and assess it, there is a panel of judges present. Here, each judge is assigned scores based on athletic and technical performance. But to decide the winner, the two players with the highest and lowest scores are always eliminated.
The Full Turn Of Karate Into Olympics:
In 2009, the International Olympic Committee also known as IOC voted in august for almost two sports. They said that a total of two sports must be included in the year 2016 in the Olympic Games in Rio.
In that scene, karate was relatively a strong candidate in this election. But at that time, the sports of golf and rugby were the only two sports that were chosen.
But karate was ultimately approved in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Moreover, there were also four new sports that were included after much campaigning.
What Equipments Are Required In A Karate Competition?
Bag |
Belts |
Chest protectors |
Feet pads |
Focus mitts |
Uniform |
Gloves |
Handguard |
Headgear |
Jockstrap |
Mouthguard |
Shoes |
Rib guard |
Shinguard |
Target pads |
What Sports Skills Are Included In Karate?
There are various skills included in this Karate competition. A player must have to adapt all of them or most of these in order to have a fair and true fight. These skills are as follows.
- Straight Punch.
- Front Lunge Punch.
- Front Kick.
- Roundhouse kick.
- Front Stance
- Side Stance
- Back Stance
- Down Block
What Are The Dimensions Of Karate Mat?
This competition of Karate is always held in a special area with a specific type of dimensions. It is a specific type of mate with an 8 m sq. Moreover, there is also an additional area of 2m on all the sides which is extended as a complete safety area.
In the center of this mat selected for playing karate, there is a half-meter long line which must be drawn 2m from the center of the competition area. This line is used basically for positioning the match’s referee so that he may overwatch the competition and make decisions.
There are supposed to be total of 2 parallel lines with one meter each and at right angles to the referee’s line must be drawn at a distance of a total of 1.5m from the real center of the competition area. The game has this line dedicated to making a place for the competitors so that they may wait for their turn.
Read More: All Rules Of Kabaddi
Final Thoughts:
Conclusively, this game is highly famous for its unique type of athlete and skills. These skills are required to finish the game on time. And players must be trained enough to beat their relevant competitors. On top of that, such a game brings a lot of fun and excitement to the spectators. So, I hope that if this sport of karate has made any influence up till now, you are most welcome to share your valuable thoughts in the comment section. But since I am here, you can also ask queries about what else you should know about this sport.
In any case, you are most welcome and on top of that, thanks for reading spending time, and giving attention. Have a blossom day!