Monday, April 27, 2015

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 martial art can be practiced by anyone irrespective of their fitness level or age. There are several schools in different countries that offer training services. Karateka can enroll in these schools as either groups or private students. Private students have extra time to develop and learn at their own speed since they are allocated a specific instructor to help them with their training. This martial art can improve inner security, confidence, focus, and character 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.

Every kata is understood best when learned through demonstration. Every level has its unique required katas that a karateka must show competence in during demonstration performance in order to attain a formal rank. Schools have varied requirements for examinations, though most of them use Japanese terminologies for ranks or grades. Some type of ranking systems begin with larger numbers and progress to smaller numbers while some use colored belts to mark ranks.

Kumite also known as sparring is practiced as self-defense training or a sport. Contact levels when sparring differs a lot. There are many types of full contact, semi contact or light contact version. Structured sparring involves performance of choreographed sequence of tactics by two participants, one strikes whereas the other blocks.

Free kumite is practiced in marked areas and individuals taking part are allowed to use only certain techniques. Permitted styles and contact level are predetermined either by the sport or style organization policies, but may changed by organizers considering gender, rank, and age of practitioners. Under light contact category contestants are awarded as per awareness, sporting attitude, good timing, good form, and correct distance amongst other criteria.

To conclude, people who train for competitions can enter tournaments as a term or individual. Evaluation of skills is done by panels of judges or head referees with assistant referees. Fixtures are made basing on experience, gender, age, and weight. Tournaments can be for participants of specific style or open to martial artists with any style but confined to certain rules.




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