Kumite
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Kumite (組手) means sparring, and is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon (although not every style of karate includes all three of these). Kumite is the part of karate in which you train against an opponent, using the techniques learnt from the kihon and kata.
Kumite can be used to develop a particular technique or a skill (e.g. effectively judging and adjusting your distance from your opponent) or it can be done in competition.
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Gohon Kumite and Jiyu Kumite
Since the word "kumite" refers to all forms of sparring, it covers a vast range of activities. In traditional Shotokan karate, the first type of kumite for beginners is gohon kumite (or "5-step sparring"). This is a very rigid sequence of techniques in which one of the opponents announces which strike he is going to use and then performs that attack 5 times, taking a step forwards every time. The defender steps back each time, blocking the five attacks and performing a counterattack after the fifth block. This activity looks nothing like the jiyu kumite (or "free sparring") practiced by the more advanced practitioners, which is far closer to how karate would look if used in a real fight, especially because it does not require the use of particular stances. Shotokan karate has various other types of kumite (e.g. 3-step, 1-step, semi-free, etc.) which span this large range in styles of practice.
Delivering strikes
The common theme in all of these types of kumite is the need to "pull your punches". Karate training is designed to give its practitioners the ability to deliver devastating power through techniques like punches and kicks. Often the aim of training is that each single strike should be enough to kill the opponent. However, this clearly would make it difficult to find anyone willing to spar against you to improve your technique! Therefore, whilst sparring in karate, we normally aim to deliver strikes with the maximum speed and power possible, but to stop them at the moment of contact (or just before contact, at lower levels of experience) so that your opponent is not injured. Far from rendering the sparring pointless, this method of training greatly improves the control you have over your strikes, which is an invaluable skill when combined with the ability to deliver a forceful strike.
Some styles of karate (e.g. Full Contact Karate) focus more on sparring whilst wearing full protective gear so that strikes can be delivered with their full power. In reality, most karate clubs and most styles of karate make use of some sparring with control ("pulling punches") and some sparring with protective gear (from just gloves up to full head and chest guards). Practicing both types of sparring allows the martial artist to develop both control and experience in delivering powerful strikes against an opponent.
However, a few more traditional clubs that never use protective gear for sparring (except groin and mouth guards that protect against accidental injuries) argue that a karateka will not be able to make their most powerful strike when sparring in the dojo (against a friend who they no doubt do not want to kill) even if this opponent is wearing protective clothing. Therefore, the karateka will still be using some level of control, as is obviously necessary, and cannot truly capturing the spirit of one lethal strike whilst sparring. Except for a life or death self-defense situation, the spirit and power of the single lethal strike can only be achieved when a karateka does not have to avoid injuring their training partner. The traditionalists therefore argue that there is no benefit to sparring with more forceful strikes.
Competition
In some forms of competition kumite, punching ("tsuki") and kicking ("keri") techniques are allowed at the head ("jodan") and abdomen ("chudan"). One example of a scoring system is that the first competitor to take eight points in three minutes wins the bout.
Kumite is an essential part of karate training, and free sparring is often experienced as exciting, because both opponents have to react and adapt to each other very quickly.
Points
Most high school karate associations use the following point scheme:
- 1 point: hitting the enemy's abdomen or head with your fists.
- 2 points: kicking the enemy's abdomen.
- 3 points: kicking the enemy's head.
Clarification
Kumite is also the name of the freestyle single-elimination fighting tournament portrayed in the 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme movie 'Bloodsport'. As of this update, he is currently directing a similar style of movie, named suitably, 'Kumite'.de:Kumite pl:Kumite