THE REAL KUMITE

 by Phillip Starr

The Japanese term that is usually translated as “sparring” is kumite. In Chinese, this is pronounced zushou. Is is a term that is comprised of two characters; kumi (or zu) and te (or shou). The first character actually refers to a group or class and the second character means simply, “hand.” Thus, the actual written form of kumite has nothing to do with freestyle sparring, per se. Rather, it refers to a form of group practice.

The two most common forms of kumite that are practiced in traditional karate are sanbon kumite and ippon kumite (three-time kumite and one-time kumite, respectively). These training routines were in existence long before the popular exercise of jyu-kumite (freestyle kumite) came into existence. They were, as their names suggest, practiced in group fashion. Even if there were only two participants in the class, both would have to engage in this “group training.”

In both sanbon kumite and ippon kumite, one participant assumes the role of the attacker (he will be referred to as the uke, which means “receiver”, because he will receive the defender's counter-attack), and the other acts as the tori (who defends himself and, at the conclusion of the exercise, executes a crisp counter-movement). In sanbon kumite, the aggressor delivers three prearranged attacks. In ippon kumite, he will execute only one. Usually, tori's counter-attack is likewise prearranged, so both participants know exactly what's going to happen.

Once a student's movements are clean and quick, sanbon kumite is to be used as an exercise that will teach him how to break his opponent's rhythm. This is usually practiced for some time before ippon kumite is introduced; ippon kumite is a mofre advanced exercise because the aggressor will deliver only a single attack and the defender must respond instantly with the appropriate counter-measure.

I remember practicing these two forms of kumite countless numbers of times while my instructors watched and complained loudly about almost everything we did. Persistent practice over a long period of time seemed to alleviate our teacher's distress and we continued to practice these routines until our movements were crisp and precise. Freestyle sparring wasn't even mentioned for rather a long time.

I think it is well to consider that our martial arts forefathers never engaged in the practice of jyu-kumite. Why? Well, it simply didn't exist, as we know it, until the end of WWII. And yet, their fighting skills are the stuff of legend. Think on that for a while.

I also remember training very assiduously to learn to control my kicks and punches, directing them at a brick wall until I could stop them just short of contact. When we trained, we never wore any kind of hand pads, footpads, or headgear. It hadn't been invented at that time! When such “protective gear” was first introduced in the 1970's, I deplored its use and said that it would eventually lead to a general deterioration of proper technique. Nobody listened to me. But if you look at our current form of karate, taekwondo, and kung-fu competitions, I think you'll understand that my words were true... but that's a subject for another time.

The truth is that the practice of jyu-kumite is not necessarily essential for the development of real fighting skill. Rigorous and regular practice of sanbon kumite, ippon kumite, and jyu-ippon kumite (freestyle one-time kumite) are.