Need Karate Tournament Help!!?

Question

Im going to japan for a karate tournament (by Hirano Osamu) in about 3 months. Even though my sensei is training me very well, I am still not confident about my abilities. The tournament is a kata and kumite tournament. I am good in kata but im not sure about kumite. Any advise on sparring? or on how to increase speed, reaction time?
Thank you, all answers apprieciated!

Answer 1

I see a lot of good advice but I'm not seeing anything to help you with speed and reaction time.

For hand speed - do fast push ups, 50 push ups in 30 seconds is a decent goal

For leg speed - light and fast reps with weights and lots of stretching

For reaction time - pick a spot about 8-12 inches beyond your opponent for your focus. Now your peripheral vision will start to kick in and you will find yourself moving before you have time to think about it.

For successful attacks - practice combinations of 3-5 moves over and over and over until you can deal out a combo in under two-seconds, max.

Control the sparring space - this does not mean always be moving forward, it means practicing moving to the side, ducking, advancing, retreating, etc until you can do it without negatively affecting your attacks.

Keep your guard up - frustrate your opponent by keeping a tight guard and forcing them to reach for points, thus creating scoring opportunities for you

Good luck and good training

Answer 2

Tournament sparring is a game of tag mostly. In Japan they will most likely points will only be awarded for crisp, lean traditional techniques and I don't think they like contact. The traditional tournaments I have witnessed were all basically guys doing reverse punching when the judges say begin. Whom ever lands a cleaner, faster punch wins a point.


You needs start sparring immediately and daily to make a difference at this point. Get a good couple of partners and start kumite, everyday.
There are different kinds of kumite, some focus on point sparring and some focus on actual self-defense, for tourneys you do not want to use elbows and knees unless you like be disqualified.

Answer 3

Above all, concentrate on what you like and do best.
On sparring:
1. spar relaxed, not to hurt, but to be on target fast;
2. spar relaxed and continuously, with no force or anger, but speed and precision;
3. spar relaxed 4/5 techniques in a row, don't stop after the first two;
4. spar relaxed ,with as many partners you can, with different levels of skills and also, if you can, from different styles;
Speed comes with practice and flexibility. Heat up well your body, then train progressively up the flexibility and the shadow-boxing and shadow-kicking.
Reaction time will improve with relaxation and relaxation will improve with confidence and confidence will improve with hard work and a lot of sparring.
I would need to know more about your level of training and fitness to give more advise, but this should do. Good Luck!

Answer 4

Wax on, wax off.

Karate is about more than just the kata and kumite. It is also about respect for one's self and respect for others. Asking anonymous people this question shows great disrespect for your Sensei. Address this concern with your Sensei.

Answer 5

Power in punching and kicking comes from a combination of technique and timing. Proper technique coupled with perfect timing equals Power.

Quickness comes from a combination of perfect practice and a relaxed, but not sloppy delivery.

Proper technique is something that can only be learned through repetition. Practicing a particular motion over and over again imprints it in muscle memory.

My suggestion is that you train your mind to think only about the result you want to achieve, namely, CONTACT. If you do this and you don't get your mind cluttered with all the thoughts of how you are going to get your fist or foot from point "A" to point "B", you will increase you quickness dramatically.

Answer 6

Get some simple attacks and counters down to where you don't have to think to do them. They should be simple and something you know you can do at a moment's notice.

Be relaxed when you get in there, have a plan for each part of the way and most of all.....Don't care.....You just to your best and leave it all on the floor, winning and loosing are secondary to leaving everything you have on the floor. If it doesn't win, it just was not your time.

Answer 7

if you want to increase your speed, train with weights, if you want to increase your reaction time, you need to be at peace in your mind, be focused. and spar with your sensei if you need to. and make sure you don't train soo hard you have an injury and cant compete, get lots of rest. and above all else, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, YOUR SENSEI, AND YOUR ABILITIES. Good luck, in your tournament.

Answer 8

I'm no sensei, but i once knew this guy who was only a few months into training in karate and asked me to help him prepare for an open tournament he was gonna join the next day. Since he was going up against better trained and higher ranked opponents in full contact bouts, all i could tell him was to be focused and relaxed and when he attacked, to give it all he had no matter what happened, I didn't even try to teach him any new moves since i knew it would be useless with only one day to prepare. All i did was tell him to focus on one attack only, his reverse punch, to enter and close the gap as quickly as he could and throw it as fast and as hard as he could and to prepare his mind to get used to the idea of getting hit while attacking. I didn't think much of the incident until he came to me a day later and thanked me for helping him prepare for the fight. Turns out he won most of his matches until the last one where he lost to a veteran higher belt opponent, but even then it was a close match. He said most of his opponents got scared after he landed a couple of reverse punches accompanied by his most feriocious kiai, and they started fighting defensively allowing him to win the matches. In answer to your call for advise, mine is to prepare your mind and try to develop a strong fighting spirit. This is what is referred to in other sports like boxing as HEART. As long as you are focused and determined to fight, you have a fighting chance of winning. But remember, you're not in this just to win, win or lose, this is also a perfect opportunity to test your skills and see what works and what doesn't. Even if you lost, you still learn something about your self. Keep it simple and don't just stand in one place, move around the mat. Finally, study your opponent, not just when you are both fighting, but before your fight, look him up in the sidelines. Does he warm up before his match? Does he favor kicks or punches while he's warming up? Does he jump around on his toes or sink into low stances flat footed? Does he keep pulling up his trousers with both hands after kicking? These things can tell you what you are going up against before your fight, it can show you his weakness and what openings you can exploit. This can help prepare you both mentally and physically as well. Just remember to breath and relax, this is the best way to increase speed and reaction time, if you tense up and hold your breathe while fighting, you'll just slow yourself down and tire easily. Hope this helps. Good luck to you.

Answer 9

Justr train as much as you can dude... Try and find people from other styles to train against too