|
Kumite provides Karate’s sport fighting element and competition will be held under a weight class system comprising of five division for both men and women; Weight classes for men: −60 kg, −67 kg, −75 kg, −84 kg, and +84 kg
Weight classes for women: −50 kg, −55 kg, −61 kg, −68 kg, and +68 kg In a kumite match, two athletes will face each other armed with gloves and foot protection. Over three minutes, athletes will aim to score points using kicks, punches, strikes, throws and sweeps. The sport of Karate is not full contact therefore athletes will have to show full self-control in each technique at all times. Scoring
Competitors send tsuki, or punches, and keri, or kicks, with explosive force at the prescribed regions of their opponent's body. However, a tsuki or keri never actually hits the opponent because competitors perform every tsuki and keri with absolute control, enabling them to stop the motion suddenly only millimetres before coming into contact with their opponent. Competitors switch between attacking and defending so instantaneously that only very observant spectators are able to discern which competitor has succeeded in completing a tsuki or keri. There are four ways of determining victory or defeat: (1) a lead of eight points scored within the prescribed duration of the match determines the scorer as the winner; (2) withdrawal from the match, rule violation, or disqualification by one competitor determines the other as the winner; (3) an advantage in points scored by the end of the prescribed duration of the match determines the scorer as the winner; or (4) in the case of a tied score at the end of the prescribed duration of the match, a decision by the judges determines the winner.
|
