sport karate: the natural evolution of training

SPORT KARATE:
THE NATURAL EVOLUTION OF
TRAINING
Kenneth Gordon Benson
Born:
Belleville, Ontario, Canada, 1956
Education:
Diploma in Studio Arts, 1978
•currently in 3rd year study for Honours Degree in Communication
Theory
Professional Life: Commercial Photographer, Desktop Publisher,
1978 to present, in Toronto
Martial Arts Life: •grew up in boxing family
•started karate training in 1973 (Shotokan)
•trained in Belleville, ON, Ottawa, ON, and
Toronto
•opened KAO club in 2000
Sport Karate:
The Natural Evolution of Training
Submitted to the
Karate Association of Ontario
Symposium
Saturday, June 7, 2008
by Kenneth Benson
Table of Contents
1.
History of Combative Sports
1.1 Etymology and History
1.2 Evolution of Combat Sports Contested
1.3 Development of Rules
1.4 Sport Karate Appears on the Scene
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1
2
3
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2.
The Effect of Sport Karate on Training
2.1 The Addition of Sport Science
and Coaching Training
2.2 The Impact of a Central Organization
2.3 The Effect of Judging on Karate Training
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7
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Sport Karate and the Practice of Karate-Do
3.1 What Kind of Karate School Do You Train at?
3.2 Arguments For and Against Sport Karate
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3.
Concluding Remarks
Resources
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Boxing in the ancient Olympic Games, as depicted on pottery. Contestants wore only hand
coverings.
1.
1.1
History of Combative Sports
Etymology and History
The etymology, or root, of the word “martial” leads to Mars, the Roman god of war.
Martial means having to do with war or the military, and “martial arts” has evolved to
refer to practices that simulate various combat methods. Records of the ancient Olympics
refer to gladiator-style style bouts that occurred. Descriptions of unarmed pankration
matches sound similar to mixed martial art sport today. Other martial arts contested at
these ancient Games included boxing, wrestling, and javelin throwing.
Martial arts and related combat sports developed on all five continents. For survival,
every cultural group developed some way to practice warrior arts and ways, sometimes
strictly for defensive purpose, and sometimes to go on the attack. Part of this military
training included simulated combat, in order to learn the order and rhythm of hand-tohand and weapons-based fighting. In ancient Rome, a historian named Vegetius wrote of
soldiers practicing running, swimming, and long and high jump to ready for the rigours of
military engagements. Combat was simulated using wicker shields and wooden swords to
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practice fighting technique. Instead of fellow soldiers, the wooden weapons were used
against wooden stakes embedded in the ground, standing about six feet tall. Soldiers
would practice striking, parrying, and blocking movements, much like modern fighters
train against heavy bags and pads. The fact that running and jumping were part of the
ancient Games, and part of military training, would indicate martial roots of these sports
that don’t appear combative on the surface.
Kicking arts systems are known to have developed in both Asia and Europe during the
19th century. Boxe francaise, or savate, developed in France, officially founded in 1838
by Charles Lecour. This was one of very few kicking arts in the west, as hands-only
boxing was a much more popular sport. In Asia at this time, fighting systems, with
various hand, foot, elbow, and knee strikes, which we practice today, were developing
throughout China, Okinawa, Japan, and Korea.
Wrestling in the ancient Olympics as depicted on pottery. Note the official on the left.
1.2
Evolution of Combat Sports Contested
One only needs to examine what sports will be contested in the 2008 Olympics versus
sports that were included in the first modern Olympiad, in 1896, to see that tastes and
individual sports themselves shift with the people around them. Only two combative
sports, fencing and wrestling, were contested in 1896. This year, in Beijing, there are 7
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combative sports, six with weight divisions.
Sport Canada lists the following combat sports’ national federations on its website:
Archery, Boxing, Fencing, Judo, Karate, Taekwondo, Wrestling
In addition, the following sports have obvious roots in military training:
Archery, Shooting, Biathlon, and Track & Field
It could be argued that all team sports have their roots in war games, but that is another
debate and paper for another time.
1.3
Development of rules
A common thread through the sport version of military or fighting tactics is that
combatants have to follow rules, although ancient matches often ended in death for one
of the competitors. Throughout the ages, guidelines and rules for combat sports evolved
along the lines of what each of their surrounding cultures would tolerate. Consider that
the ancient Olympic Games were contested by men only, with only men in attendance.
The athletes wore no clothing other than whatever gear their sport required. Modern
boxing evolved in countries where kicking was considered unfair or ungentlemanly. Judo
featured more stand-up technique than the jujutsu system it was derived from, making it
more palatable to the Japanese educational system at the time of judo’s inception.
The right crossing punch from Edmund Price's The Science of Self Defense: A Treatise on
Sparring and Wrestling, 1867
Boxing, in the west, developed its first major set of written rules in 1743. These rules
included prohibiting grabbing around the waist, and a boxer being counted out if he could
not rise in 30 seconds. These rules were modified further in favour of safety for the
athletes in 1838 (London Prize Rules). The Marquess of Queensbury rules (1867) were
designed for amateur bouts, but by the 1890’s were followed in the professional ranks. It
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was this set of rules that banned bare-knuckle fighting in favour of glove-protected hands.
Combat sports that involve weapons developed even tougher rules designed to protect
combatants. Fencing’s weapons, foil, épée, and sabre, were modified so as to not cut or
slice. Archery was contested using an inanimate target; the javelin thrown solely for
distance. While some short-stick fighting tournaments are held today, on an informal
basis, with helmets and other protective equipment, the majority of stick-based martial
arts have kata, or forms, competition only.
Rules and regulations go through their own evolution and can affect how the sport is
practiced and who achieves success. The best WKF example is the rule change that gave
extra points for kicking scores. This led to a complete change of tactical training and
favoured a specific body type.
1.4
Sport Karate Appears on the Scene
While challenge matches and unofficial karate competitions have been documented
before World War II, karate as a sport was still frowned upon by senior masters. When
the first All Japan karate tournament was held in 1958, some karate groups split away, as
they did not want karate contested as sport.
All Japan Championships, 1965
International tournaments began in Europe, in the early 1960’s, with smaller, local
tournaments popping up everywhere karate was practiced. Outside of Japan, the greatest
organizational drive was happening in Europe. These countries saw the importance of
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federation structure, as the better-organized sport, judo, was admitted to the Olympics in
1964, in Tokyo. The first world karate championships, under the World Union of KarateDo Organizations, were held in Yugoslavia, in 1970.
Like boxing, judo, and other weaponless combat sports, karate needed rules of
engagement that limited injuries to the competitors, as it entered the modern era. Sport
karate kumite started as a bare-knuckles engagement, but, like boxing, adopted hand
pads, and then foot pads, and shin guards. Technical and tactical needs spurred changes
in uniforms and equipment, as evidenced in karate by the use of karate-gis that are styled
differently for kata and kumite competition.
Offshoots of combat sports, or one particular aspect of training, have become contested
sports themselves, or at least sideshows. These events can be completely unanticipated by
the sport’s initial founders, but happen because they can generate revenue. Boxing has
had speed bag punchers put on shows (see illustration below), archery and pistol
Gus Kellar, vaudeville performer. He could keep two punching bags, mounted on the floor,
going at the same time. This illustrates how the sport of boxing has had sideshows and
performers that had nothing to do with proficiency in the main sport.
from “How to Punch the Bag”, American Sports Publishing Company, 1904
shooting have had demonstrations of target practice. Independent or “open” karate
tournaments feature now feature competition categories like tamashiwari (breaking
techniques), kata done with musical accompaniment, and pre-arranged self-defense
1.4 Sport Karate Appears on the Scene
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techniques. The WKF version of sport karate could conceivably undergo changes in what
it allows to be contested, as sports history, especially at the Olympic level, demonstrates
the need to adapt and evolve. Different sports have come and gone in the Games, often
based on how well the sport is organized and how popular it is.
“Karate is an unfinished art. It will continue to grow and
change as we continue to grow and change.”
—Gichin Funakoshi
Team Kata, Karate Ontario, 2007
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2.
2.1
The Effect of Sport on Karate Training
The Addition of Sport Science and Coaching Training
The introduction of kinesiology, physics, and other scientific disciplines, into the karate
dojo coincides with the rise of sport karate. Shotokan Sensei Nakayama wrote that after
World War II, many American soldiers, based in Japan, requested karate training. The
soldiers came from a culture that asked questions, as opposed to the Japanese culture
where students largely trained as they were told to, by the teacher. Sensei Nakayama
noted that this pushed karate teachers to educate themselves about how the body worked,
and allowed them to explain why one moves a certain way to complete a technique.
Adding sport science and practice to karate training has made for safer long-term benefits
of both competitive and recreational karate athletes alike. Part of science is the study of
data collected over time, and knowing possible harmful long-term effects of certain
training methods has steered coaches and athletes away from these methods. Keeping
one’s competitors healthy for important competitions is a major responsibility of a coach.
Karate Ontario, March, 2008
A significant by-product of sport karate has been the exchange of information, not only
between karate coaches/senseis, but also with high performance coaches of other sports.
Elisa Au, a three-time WKF sparring champion, spoke about being invited to train at the
USA Olympic Training Center, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She was interviewed, by
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non-karate coaches, about how one scores in sport karate. From this information, they put
her through training to strengthen her legs for pushing her body forward, working
alongside speed skaters.
Normative data for high performance karate is scarce, in English, but Robert Thoburn’s
“Karate: Olympic Style Kumite” uses a high performance approach. Dr. Thoburn used
training structures from Olympic sports and applied them to the modern karate athlete.
“What can be measured can be improved.”
The karate teacher/coach also has to understand how to train athletes for peak
performance. Karate athletes need to be guided through the 3 main phases (General,
Specific, Pre-competition) of gearing up for tournaments on the same basis that any other
athlete has to be readied for a specific competition date. Knowing the ebb and flow of
strength, energy systems, technical/tactical preparation, and mental and physical elements
that are necessary for podium success, mean training high performance karate athletes in
a different manner from recreational karate students (even serious ones).
2.2
The Impact of a Central Organization
The WKF has done more to refine technical standards than any individual or private
organization. The officials, including referees, judges, and technical committees have put
in exhaustive work to arrive at what are considered the norms for competition scoring.
Tremendous and exhaustive work has been and is still being done to meet the high
standards of the International Olympic Committee in terms of officiating, organization of
world and regional championships, fair play and drug-free sport.
Anecdotal experience at open, non-WKF tournaments demonstrated that there are almost
no fixed parameters for kata instruction between schools or associations, without any
central authority similar to the National Karate Association of Canada. Kumite rules and
standards differed from referee to referee, as no program was in place to train them, or
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any Technical Committee to explore and agree on standards for kumite and kata.
The WKF serves an important purpose in setting a standard for kata performance for its
members to follow. If there are any changes, at least all members have access to
information about the changes, and can adjust training accordingly. Kumite referees and
judges are also trained to recognize certain techniques as points in the most consistent
manner possible so athletes can train based on what officials are looking for with regard
to scoring techniques.
We can see what karate is like in an unregulated setting. The vast majority of karate
schools in Canada do not belong to the National Karate Association. They do not have
anyone overseeing their martial art background, continuing education, safety standards,
or business practices. Anyone can hold a tournament and call it a “world” championship
using non-trained officials.
Article from Globe and Mail newspaper, March 24, 2008
A government-recognized federation also enables supervision and overseeing of
individual clubs and programs. If the karate school mentioned in the Globe and Mail
article (above) was part of the NKA, the sensei would be called upon to explain him- or
herself and would likely face sanctions from the national body.
2.2
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Impact of a Central Organization
2.3
The Effect of Judging on Karate Training.
When training in a judged sport it is of paramount importance to each and every coach
and instructor to find out the judging criteria, if they want a successful outcome for their
athletes. Kata coaches must also ascertain what is considered to be correct technique in
the kata their athletes use in competition. An uninformed coach leads to uninformed
athletes, leaving little chance of tournament success. The highly-trained judges and
referees effectively choose provincial and national team representatives.
A controlled sport also allows for standardization of kata teaching. We have seen shifts in
the technical aspects of kata from teacher to teacher, school to school, and generation to
generation, even within the same karate style. The above chart is but a small
representation of a study I have done regarding how different prominent Shotokan
Senseis teach kata. Kanku Dai is especially important as it is a shitei, or mandatory, kata
for Shotokan stylists at Black Belt level, when competing nationally or internationally.
Any variations in its performance from the method approved by the Japan Karate
Federation, which sets technical requirements for the WKF, would cost the performing
athlete severely.
The WKF serves an important purpose in setting a standard for kata performance for its
members to follow. If there are any changes, at least all members have access to
information about the changes, and can adjust training accordingly. Kumite referees and
judges are also trained to recognize certain techniques as points in the most consistent
manner possible so athletes can train based on what officials are looking for with regard
to scoring techniques.
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3.
3.1
Sport Karate and the Practice of Karate-Do
What Kind of Karate School Do You Train at?
Sport karate has certainly changed the focus of some schools. The triangle illustration,
below, asks each person practicing karate to put an “X” where they think their school is
between the recreational/traditional dojo, a sport-oriented club, or one that has the
rigorous training for those who are professionals in the military or law enforcement.
It is difficult to maintain a club that is strictly competitive as the pool of athletes will be
small. This type of club would have to compete with every other sport for the best
athletes. It is also a great challenge to maintain numbers in a club such as this as not all
athletes can have podium success (only 3 medals per category). This is an area where
coaching education can be of benefit, learning how to motivate athletes who don’t or
can’t always achieve a medal-winning result. Most karate clubs or programs would fit in
somewhere around the “X” indicated as they maintain a recreational base for mainstream
students, but offer competition opportunities for those interested.
Competition training, with the goal of peak performance, is a separate issue from
traditional karate training, which is continuous and gradual, without a fixed peak or
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maximal performance goal. Senseis/coaches must define what the training goals are for
themselves and their students.
3.2
Arguments For and Against Sport Karate
A commonly-heard lament from older karateka is that sport has ruined karate-do. The
feeling is that concerns about medals and winning have superceded the values of
character and good citizenship that were supposed to be the ideals chased by karate
student. A counter to this lament is that karate’s recorded non-sport history has been
filled with various karateka leaving their schools or organizations to establish their own
dojos and federations, not always for noble reasons. For all the politics that an
international sports body like the WKF has, it is no worse than most private karate
organizations, and its pursuit of the highest technical ideals puts it on a plane above all
other groups. Realistically, there is little difference between a sensei/student and
coach/athlete relationship, both of which depend on the abilities of the teacher and level
of athleticism in the student.
From this author’s viewpoint, sport karate has improved overall karate training. Consider
that to compete, a coach/sensei must learn how other good schools are training their
athletes, to be able to field competitors who stand a chance of winning. This pushes each
coach/sensei to work harder and pursue continuing education and training, benefiting the
sensei and students alike. Karate students are now trained in a better and safer manner in
the same way that ALL athletes have benefited from the great strides taken in kinesiology
and other sport science research and study.
Another argument put forward is that too much emphasis is put on using tournament
techniques, which have been limited for safety concerns. These “touch” techniques, it is
said, would never work in a “real-life” self-defense situation. A counter to this is that
unless one is training full-contact with a non-compliant opponent, one’s training is not
realistic enough for self-defense purposes. Even police and military training has to have
limits for the safety of the participants. Sport training also teaches timing and distancing,
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something one doesn’t get unless one is training with highly-skilled partners. High-level
sport karate also happens at a speed that few recreational dojos could reach.
In Chapter 2.1, Elisa Au’s story about training with Olympic-level coaches of other
sports demonstrated how sport study benefited someone who was already at the top of her
division in karate. The exchange of information, because of high level competition and
the internet, doesn’t just occur between teachers and high-level athletes. Karate students
of any belt level can access videos of kumite matches and kata demonstrations by the top
competitors and teachers in the world. These same students can pose a great challenge to
their own senseis as they could ask, “Why do we do the kata different from Luca
Valdesi?” To stay outside this information available puts the sensei at risk of teaching
karate in a manner that doesn’t correspond to the evolving karate world, which will make
growth of that particular school almost impossible.
Sport is a measuring stick for our technical, tactical, and physical abilities, showing both
achievements and limitations. The Petri dish of competition allows observation of
different theories of training and tactics side by side. While one competition does not
make or break any of these theories, data collected over a period of time could indicate
which method, coach, athlete, or club is having success because of unique training
methods or approaches. Competition against a non-compliant opponent is the best way to
test one’s mastery of technique. Without competition, we risk losing students who are
blessed with athletic ability and want to maximize their technical ability under the
conditions of a non-compliant opponent.
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Concluding Remarks
I put forward my previous remarks as someone who loves sport and fighting science.
I grew up in a family with a boxing background and I’ve been around martial art training
for as long as I can remember. I’ve seen sport karate grow into to its current high level
and I admire and respect everyone who contributes to the good of karate as both sport and
art form, from teachers and athletes, to the dedicated officials who make it happen.
Evolution and adaptation of karate will continue as long as it’s practiced. It was Gandhi
who said, “For those who choose to emulate me, do not copy me mechanically, but carry
on in the spirit in which I teach”. These words apply to the great teachers karate has been
blessed with, and we owe them the duty of continuing to train diligently and to the best of
out abilities. We have a wealth of information to digest and sift through, and we must
pursue karate in a serious and respectful manner. The past must be respected, and we
must not be afraid of change in the future.
“Things don’t change; we change.”
—Henry David Thoreau
.
Dedicated to my grandfather, Roy Messervey, a hard-working and honest boxer.
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Resources
Dynamic Karate/ Masatoshi Nakayama 1966
Know Karate-Do/Bryn Turner 1974
Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts/ Donn F. Draeger and Robert W. Smith 1981
How to Box to Win/ Terry McGovern 1905
History of Savate/article by Salem Assli, 2004, martialarm.com
www.pch.gc.ca/progs/sc/federations/index Sport Canada
wikipedia.com for background information and specific dates relating to Olympics,
karate, and boxing rules
Romanempire.com Illustrated history of the Roman Empire.
www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics for information about the ancient Olympics
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