Karate is a martial art from Okinawa, Japan, built on punches, kicks, blocks and strikes delivered with speed and control. In competition it takes two forms: kata, a solo performance of set forms, and kumite, a sparring contest against an opponent. Together they make karate one of the most watched combat sports in the world.
The two disciplines
Kata is a solo demonstration. The competitor performs a set sequence of techniques against imaginary opponents, and judges score the performance on technical skill, athletic performance, timing, breathing and focus. The competitor chooses a kata from an approved list, and in later rounds must perform different ones. The four main styles recognised in international competition are Shotokan, Goju-Ryu, Shito-Ryu and Wado-Ryu, each with its own kata.
Kumite is sparring. Two competitors, one wearing a red belt and the other blue, fight on a matted area called a tatami, aiming to land controlled techniques on seven scoring areas: the head, face, neck, abdomen, chest, back and side. The emphasis is on control: techniques are delivered with full speed but pulled just short of full contact, and excessive force is penalised.
Kumite scoring
Kumite is a points contest. A punch to the head or body, or a kick to the body, scores one point. A kick to the head scores two points. A throw followed by a scoring technique scores three points. Senior men's bouts last three minutes and senior women's bouts last two minutes, and the competitor with more points at the end wins.
An eight-point lead ends the bout early. If the scores are level at the end, the judges decide the winner. Kumite is divided into weight classes, with three weight divisions for men and three for women at the Olympics. Competitors wear protective gloves, shin and foot guards, and a gum shield, and the World Karate Federation, the WKF, is the sport's largest governing body and is affiliated to the International Olympic Committee.
Kata scoring
Kata is scored by a panel of judges who assess two things: technical performance, meaning the correctness of stances, techniques and transitions, and athletic performance, meaning strength, speed, balance and rhythm. The highest and lowest scores are dropped and the rest are added together.
The best kata performances look effortless but are anything but. The competitor must show power in every technique, perfect balance in every stance and complete focus from the opening bow to the final one. A single wobble or hesitation can cost a medal.
Belts and ranks
Karate uses a belt system to mark progress. Beginners start with a white belt and work through the kyu grades, with the colour order varying by style and school but commonly running through yellow, orange, green, blue and purple to brown, before reaching black belt. The journey from white to black belt typically takes four to six years of consistent training, with gradings testing kata, basics and kumite.
Black belt is the first dan grade, and there are ten dan ranks. As in judo, the black belt is treated as the start of serious study rather than the end of it. Practitioners train in a dojo, wearing a karategi, the traditional white uniform, and begin every session with basics, called kihon, before moving on to kata and kumite.
Formats and major competitions
The biggest events in karate are the World Championships, run by the WKF, and the continental championships. The Karate 1 Premier League is the sport's top annual series, with events in cities around the world. Karate made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, with eight events and 80 competitors, contested at the Nippon Budokan.
Team events also exist in both disciplines: team kata, in which three athletes perform a kata together, and team kumite, in which teams fight a series of bouts across the weight classes.
A brief history
Karate developed on the Japanese island of Okinawa, blending local fighting traditions with influences from China. It was systematised in the early twentieth century and spread to mainland Japan, then around the world. The WKF was formed to govern the sport internationally, and the four major styles became the foundation of modern competition karate.
The sport's Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 was a landmark, bringing karate to the biggest stage in sport. While it has not remained on the Olympic programme since, the World Championships and the Premier League continue to grow the sport's global audience.
How to follow it
If you are new to karate, start with kumite. Watch the footwork and the distance: the best fighters score and get out before their opponent can answer. A clean kick to the head is worth two points and is the most spectacular scoring technique in the sport. Then watch kata, and notice how the best performers make a set form look like a real fight, with power in every move and stillness between the techniques. The contrast between the two disciplines is what makes karate unique.