Comments on: Karate Tournament Rules; How Many Points for a Kick?!

By: John W. Zimmer

John W. Zimmer — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 17:19:09 +0000

Ted, I agree with the tag comparison. The cool think that point karate does teach you is how to be first. In most real fights you probably will not face a seasoned MMA or Boxer fighter that can take your best shot. So what I’m saying is if you are first – you have probably won the fight.

Having said that one also has to train without stopping because in a real fight the other guy/gal will not stop after you score.

Hello Self-defense for women. Thanks for commenting! I do thing a punch is a punch and should be worth the same as a kick… who cares what knocks you out?

By: Self-defence for women

Self-defence for women — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 19:51:41 +0000

Hey really nice blog!
I think it is ok that you cannot punch to the head and the points are the same, no matter what you are doing.
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By: Ted

Ted — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 23:39:24 +0000

I always found continuous sparring a lot more entertaining and worth while. Point sparring always seemed like a game of tag….
Ted recently posted..Which Is The Best Type Of Martial Arts

By: John W. Zimmer

John W. Zimmer — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 21:34:54 +0000

Thanks for your thoughts Dr. J – we are of like minds.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 14:09:10 +0000

Great discussion!
I think Matt is right on, as to the attraction to MMA, not just from a competitor’s standpoint, but spectators – it’s more realistic.
As a former TKD instructor, I HATE watching Olympic TKD for the reasons to which you guys allude (felt like saying youz guyz, but resisted): it’s ridiculous to see to competitors standing a foot in front of one another and not punching! Hate it! Did I make it clear that I hate it?
Now, our MMA fans feel the same way about boxing- What? Take him down! Why clinch without knees?
Those of us who embraced muay Thai in the early 80s and then the eclectic movement (JKD) should be pleased, as we’ve got something now which embraces all ranges and most techniques (MMA).

If you care about the “purity” of your art, you might be upset, but if you like to see effective answers to problems in unarmed combat, you may rejoice.

And Matt, I haven’t seen or competed in an open tournament for many years, and had no idea about 3 points. Why not 10? LOL.
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By: Dr. J

Dr. J — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:58:20 +0000

From what I’ve seen of karate tourney fighting I completely agree with you, John!

When we fought in the studio, we were careful not to hurt each other, certainly where it would be seen by prospective new students, but between the instructors, it was still serious fighting that would translate to the street.

I’ve seen those tournament matches where the face was off limit and they just would keep punching each other in the chest. What’s up with that?
I think all scores should be one point, and light contact to the groin is OK. One of my few criticisms of MMA is no groin kicks. Because of this the fighters do not defend the groin and are often kicked there. If I was facing an MMA fighter, fake high and attack groin would be a primary plan for me.

By: Matt Klein

Matt Klein — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 12:27:32 +0000

John, I hate to say it, but the reasonable solution for most people is MMA. People are becoming hardened and jaded to the violence and blood, they expect and want to see it. They want a resolution to the battle, like a knockout or a submission, not a referees subjective judgement on who would have won the fight, if it was an actual fight. Why else would MMA so popular? I don’t honestly think tournaments can compete with it. The best athletes will go where the money is, and it is definitely not in tournaments.

I will not make many friends with this statement, but I believe Olympic TKD should be open to all styles. If you allow all styles in, you will get guys like Raymond Daniels and Nasty Anderson(back in his day) that will make it much better. The top talent is not always in TKD, especially when it is only a small part of TKD. Think they should change the rules to make it more like NASKA or ISKA circuit. I really wish my guys and girls could compete in the Olympics.
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