Is Karate a sport? Looking at the traditional and sports side of the art

Karate’s origins lie in Japan which has a rich culture and ties with traditional martial arts. Originally created by Gichin Funakoshi, it was designed to offer fighters an alternative to combat when weapons weren’t involved. Because of this, you could argue that Karate’s initial creation was based solely upon self-defense and not sports. Not only this but like many other martial arts, it could also be said that Karate has spiritual and mental traits such as discipline and is heavily influenced by respect and honor. This ties in with the ideas of Funakoshi who was as much a philosopher as he was a martial artist and fighter.

However, in modern times it could also be argued that Karate is not just used for budo. Instead, Karate is also recognized as an international combat sport. This is highlighted mostly by its involvement in the Olympics which also features other martial arts such as Judo. As well, Karate also has an active competition scene where competitors can fight for medals where points can be scored for moves such as kicks and punches. In brief, you could say that Karate is both a martial art and a sport. You may have some people who practice it as one or the other, or some people may dabble in both.

Karate as a martial art

The average karateka will probably not partake in competition. Whilst competitions are a regular occurrence in most cities, they aren’t as common as found in other martial arts such as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Judo. Typically, most students join Karate to learn how to fight and defend themselves. In some cases, people may join a dojo to gain fitness in an unusual fashion. However, most people will not view or treat it as a sport. As said previously, Karate has its roots in fighting rather than a sports setting and generally, this hasn’t declined over the years.

Generally speaking, with traditional karate, there’s a bigger involvement on the spiritual side of things such as discipline and respect, whereas sports Karate is more to the point and is based around winning medals and succeeding in the moment of the match, rather than the mentality of progression that takes place over years and is a mental battle against the self as much as a physical one against an opponent.

Karate as a sport

Sports Karate may differ from self-defense Karate. For example, if you have a Karate competition then there are several rules. The main rules are that you can’t use excessive contact. This rule is a little bit of a grey area as it depends on the definition of ‘grey area’ on the referee. Basically, it’s not like boxing where you can just pound your opponent in the face. In short, the idea isn’t to kill your opponent. Instead, the idea is to win through a combination of force and skill. Beating your opponent whilst showing restraint is the ultimate show of technique and talent.

For example, instead of spamming the same punch, you could also combine it with kicks, feints, and trips. This is a good way to show your skills whilst also winning a match in style. Alternatively, if you are too aggressive and start hitting like a truck, you could get disqualified depending on the rules and how strictly they’re enforced.

The rules of Sport Karate

Secondly, sports Karate has another rule which is to not go out of bounds. This will result in the position being reset in the middle of the mat. This is to stop people from running away from combat if they are under attack, otherwise, they could stall and hide from their opponent which would be a disingenuine way to compete.

Thirdly, sports Karate doesn’t allow gripping the opponent’s gi with both hands. Whilst one hand is allowed to set up grips, both hands are not legal. This is also the case in Judo as it can be seen as overly powerful and takes away from the idea of striking. As Karate is primarily a striking-based martial art, the idea of competition is to encourage striking as much as possible. Often when competing, competitors will also wear headgear to avoid concussions. Of course, this differs from Karate as self-defense where head protection will not be involved.

In short, sports Karate has set rules which much be obeyed. Because of this, sports Karate can be as much about tactical point fighting and using your brain as much as it can be about physical combat. Karate for self-defense is completely different. For example, if you got attacked on the street then it may be a good idea to use excessive force if it works.

If punching the attacker repeatedly with aggression wins the fight as quickly as possible and guarantees your safety then you should do it to survive. Obviously, there’s no such thing as going out of bounds, and gripping your opponent in any way possible is also on the table. Because of this, Karate for self-defense can be viewed quite differently from sports Karate which has set rules that must be followed.

Karate is both

As you may have figured by now, there’s a lot of crossover between sports Karate and traditional Karate. For instance, whilst sports Karate may display your technique, it doesn’t mean that those who don’t compete aren’t as good. As an example, you could have a seasoned senpai vs a lower belt in Karate. The lower belt may have won competitions at their level, whereas the senpai may have never competed. This doesn’t mean the senpai would lose in a fight which proves there’s lots of crossover between what is taught in the dojo and how it’s applied in a combat setting.

Other examples of this include the likes of Combat Karate which is a form of Karate fighting online which is endorsed by Bas Rutten. This has its own set of rules that include 5 seconds of ground strikes if the opponent is put to the floor. This rule isn’t involved in typical sports Karate. This shows a cross between self defense and sports Karate. Similarly, in the UFC Lyoto Machida famously used his Karate crane kick to defeat various opponents in the cage. This showed Karate could be applied in real fighting situations if learned in the dojo from a traditional standpoint as well as having sports elements.

Kata in competition

One of the more obscure forms of sports Karate is the exhibition of Kata. This has featured in the Olympics and is a solo event. Here, the Karateka will perform certain moves and techniques, whereby they’re judged on form and timing. This would be the equivalent of getting a boxer to throw certain punches, show good footwork and dodges whilst being scored by judges.

Although this is quite interesting, it’s also a bit bizarre. The reason for this is that Karate is meant to be competitive against an opponent. This differs from Kata which is done in solitary. On the one hand, it’s nice to see technique being judged. On the other, it’s not really what Karate is about. That’s not to say that Kata isn’t a key part of Karate either. Instead, it’s saying that doing it in a competition setting seems quite pointless compared to Kumite.

Sports Karate is good to test your skills under pressure

Even if you don’t like sports Karate and primarily train for other reasons, it still has its benefits. For example, if you have a sports match then it’s different from kumite in the dojo. Although kumite is effective in learning and will enhance your technique, there is something quite unique in applying your skills in a sports situation. Basically, you’re more likely to panic and have a rush of adrenaline due to being nervous. This is a good thing as it pushes you out of your comfort zone and you can learn to control nerves and breathing. Because of this, sports Karate can be used as a tool to improve your overall Karate. Whilst it’s not essential, it can certainly help improve your Karate in a self-defense setting.

Because competing will improve nerve control and breathing habits – this can be applied to a traditional setting. Not only this but from the mental side of things, competing is not always fun or easy. With this said, it’s as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one. To develop a strong mindset, you may opt to do this to put yourself through adversity. As you may have gathered by now, sports Karate has a lot more in common with self-defensive Karate than you originally may have assumed. With this in mind, there really is a lot of crossover between the two, and that’s not just from the physical side of things either.

Has Sports Karate taken away from the traditional roots of the art?

According to some die-hard karateka, sports Karate has helped water down the martial art and move away from its roots. For example, if you look at Kyokushin then it can be quite brutal in its nature. Kyokushin Karate often involves full contact sparring and is physically quite tough compared to other variants that may not even often kumite. Because of this, some are not a fan of the sports side of things, especially when point-fighting is the motive.

These people argue that the idea of Karate is to defend and attack. They claim that sports Karate has introduced rules that have made things softer. For instance, in a self-defense situation, you should be allowed to hit as hard as possible. If the above section mentioned the positives of sports Karate, then it’s only fair that this section looks at alternative angles and criticisms. In this case, the criticism is that sports Karate may be too rule-based instead of focusing on the origins of Karate which was instead based on fighting and physical combat.

Summary

Overall, Karate can be defined as both a sport and a martial art. This isn’t exclusive to Karate either, as mentioned other martial arts can be defined as both. For instance, a Karate practitioner who also competes probably doesn’t call themselves a sportsman or a martial artist. They can call themselves both. As looked at throughout, whilst there are some differences, ultimately Karate is Karate whatever way you look at it. Put in literal terms, Karate is also a form of physical exercise which by some people’s definition means it’s a sport. At the same time, it’s obviously a martial art as it teaches fighting skills as well as mental discipline.

This brings us to our final point that often in life and especially in martial arts, some people will try and pigeonhole Karate into certain brackets but in reality, it’s more fluid than that. Life is often complicated so it’s best not to think about things in black and white terms instead, it’s easier to accept that ideas can have different aspects and definitions based on the individual when thinking about them. To conclude, Karate is a sport but is also simultaneously a martial art at the same time.

Want to learn more? Check out this book that goes through the history of Karate.