Everything you need to know about Karate Combat

If you’re into Karate then there’s a good chance you’ll have at least heard about Karate Combat. This is a Karate fight league that is held on UFC Fightpass and has commentary from Bas Rutten. In short, it involves some of the best Karateka in the world, who fight to see who is best under Karate rules.

Strangely, this sort of thing hasn’t been done before which is a little surprising, considering Karate and its illustrious history when it comes to Kumite and tournaments. What’s more, is because of the sometimes brutal nature of Karate Combat, it has helped revive the image of Karate.

Even though Karate has been proven in MMA and other areas of fighting, its reputation has slid downwards over the years. This may have to do with McDojo strip mall Karate places, but thankfully Karate Combat does a good job at showing Karate in its true form. So, if you’d like to know some of the finer details about the promotion, then read on.

What is the difference between Karate and Karate Combat?

Karate is a martial art, whereas Karate Combat is a fight league. This league has hundreds of competitors from various backgrounds and disciplines of Karate. In other words, it has Kyokushin, Shotokan, and various other forms of Karate.

In other words, it’s possible to train Karate without participating in Karate Combat. This is in the same way that you could train Judo without ever wishing to compete. The difference is that Karate Combat also has some of the best Karateka in the world. Put another way, this isn’t a typical competition either and you have to be one of Karate’s elite to be able to participate.

Not only this but Karate Combat also has a sloped arena. This means participants cannot run away or stall. This means the physical layout of the fighting area is a cross between MMA and a regular Karate competition.

Lastly, one of the main aspects of Karate Combat that makes it so appealing is the ruleset. These days, many Karate competitions are criticized for lacking realistic rules. In Karate Combat, gone is the head gear and soft strikes, which are commonly found in conventional Karate tournaments. Because of this, some people have often compared Karate Combat with Kickboxing, as there’s a lot of similarities.

Do Karate Combat fighters get paid?

With most Karate competitions, the individual has to pay to enter. However, as mentioned previously, Karate Combat isn’t your average tournament. As a result, Karate Combat fighters do get paid. However, the exact amount isn’t known or publically disclosed.

Usually, these kinds of organizations will pay their fighters based on performance. Sometimes, they will also pay fighters a bonus if they win or hit some kind of target. Having said this, you shouldn’t expect the payments to be big either. As Karate Combat is relatively small compared to MMA promotions such as UFC and Bellator, the fighters don’t earn anywhere near as much on Karate Combat.

Who runs Karate Combat?

Karate Combat is owned by Michael Depietro and Robert Bryan. However, as you may have figured, it was broadcast by UFC Fightpass for several years. In 2020, the rights were purchased by Bein Sports who are a large international sports broadcasting company. So, although it is owned by Depietro and Bryan, you won’t see much of them as they mostly work from behind the scenes.

Karate Combat also includes a Karate clothing line as well as a few other martial arts-based ventures. In some ways, you could compare their company to Polaris which is shown on UFC Fightpass. Polaris is its own company which hosts Brazilian Jiu Jitsu bouts. However, the streaming rights are owned by the UFC. This is a similar model for Karate Combat who get paid to sell the rights of their events to broadcasting companies.

What are the rules of Karate Combat?

The Karate Combat rules are as follows: Fights have 3 rounds that are 3 minutes each in length. If a fight is for a title belt, then there will be a total of 5 rounds instead of 3. There are three judges situated around the fight pit who use a 10 point system to judge which is based on the power and effectiveness of the strikes (punches and kicks).

Fighters must also wear gloves, and are dressed in traditional Karate pants whilst the men are shirtless and female fighters wear a sports bra. When someone is put to the floor by a strike or sweep, they can use kicks, whereas the top fighter can use punches. After 5 seconds, the fight will be stood up by the referee. Those who are knocked out lose.

As you may have guessed at this point, the rules of Karate Combat are vastly different compared to other Karate promotions. If ever you’ve watched Olympic Karate, then you’ll understand that Karate Combat looks a lot more realistic in terms of fights. Here, fighters may exit the arena with a bloody nose or concussion, whereas in other Karate formats, there’s a bigger emphasis on safety which has arguably watered down combat Karate.

How well would a Karate Combat Champion do in MMA?

If a Karate Combat Champion fought in amateur MMA, then they would probably do quite well and would win most of their fights. This is because there’s a big gap between amateur MMA compared to professional MMA. If you’re a champion, the chances are that you’re striking is very effective and this alone may be enough for you to win a cage fight.

Remember, Karate also has some areas of grappling and clinch work too, as well as sweeps. Therefore, it wouldn’t be too unusual to see a Karate Combat champion do well at amateur level – as you would similarly expect any Champion in other martial arts to excel as well.

However, in terms of a professional MMA fight, the Karate Combat champion would seriously struggle. This is because there’s a big bridge between amateur and professional MMA. In short, whilst the Karateka may have good striking and stand up skills, they would probably suffer against a wrestler or submission specialist.

Therefore, if it went to the ground, then their Karate skills would be redundant. These days, practically all professional MMA fighters are well versed in all areas of fighter. This means being excellent at Karate would not cut it. Having said this, if they also learned grappling then they may do quite well. Over the years Bas Rutten, Georges St Pierre, and Lyoto Machida have all used their Karate skills to excel in MMA.

Does Karate Combat use Kata?

Kata is not used in Karate Combat. The clue to this may be in the name of the promotion, which has an emphasis on combat. This means you should expect Kumite and plenty of it. If you want to watch Kata then there are plenty of places to watch it in a competitive setting. However, Karate Combat is simply not the place to watch it.

Furthermore, if a Kata specialist did want to feature in Karate Combat, then they would have to fight under its rules.
If you want to learn more about Karate then check out this awesome book.