Safety should always be first when is come to competiton sparring.

I feel too many modern day traditionalists don't make safety their top priority when it comes to sparring.

This is the case when Kumite training is allowed and conducted without enforcing students to wear the proper protective equipment they need in order to minimize and prevent injuries while training.

This happens to be the mindset of many old school Traditionalist who still think sparring is actual fighting. when in fact they need to realize the opposite and evolve in their training and mindset when it comes to kumite and competition...

if we want to keep a forward thinking attitude about sport Karate then we should adapt the same vision and mindset of the most forward thinkng people in Karate history - Sensei "Masatoshi Nakayama". It is because of his vision that sport karate even exists and is popular worldwide. It's popularity is also why many of us Study karate today. if it were not for Sport karate, how many poeple would never have been exposed to Karate?

He created sport karate based on a point system back in the 60's and they had no gear on at first in the very beginning. That soon changed after a few people were seriously hurt. When realizing this, some safety issues needed to be addressed the necessary changes were made.

Now 40 some odd years later, The science of every sport known to man has dramatically changed, so why not karate ? life and people are so different. So why is it hard to think that the sport aspect of Karate has changed and evolved too.

Sparring in competition is not combat! To think that we should not wear gear is ridiculas,
because let's face it ... injuries should never occur due to not wearing gear or lack of prevention. If any injury occurs, it is much easier to deal with emotionally, knowing that it was purely an accident with protective gear ON .....gloves and mouth piece ect, ect ,..But not wearing gear is like pouring salt on an open wound, not to mention the seriousness of an injury can rise with less protection.

Let's face it. Accidents happen, but they should only happen after taking all the right precautions before hand. No gear is asking for something to happen... as mentioned before... Kumite "sparring" is not combat, it is sport with a combat essence or attitude. Real combat is when you fight for your life, not a point.

Combat should never be mistaken for a sport, and there is no such thing as combat with a sportman like attitude either. there is only one purpose for combat .. to defeat the enemy in front of you in order to save your own life.

Ever since karate developed as a sport it has constanlty been evolving. So to say that we need to spar with out gear is like defending our selves without any training.?!?!

Too many "Traditionalist" think that shobu ippon rules are the most suitable for competition. many are against trying the Currtent WKF Rules. They also at times tend to think that putting on protective gear in competition lessens it's integrity.
Keep in mind the only thing that is mandatory in shubo ippon is in a mouth piece and gloves, Groin Cup is optional.

The new rules simply put safety first. The criteria of what determines awarding a point in the WKF rules are much more demanding than Shobu Ippon as well. This requires athletes to be a more resourceful and develop more well rounded and polished skills when competing. This helps raise the level of the competitors.

i have to disagree with thoose who think Shobu ippon is the best way. i think it is A GOOD WAY but not the BEST way... all ways are great to spar in in order to change up the atmosphere and learn to deal with different scenarios..

Shobu ippon,sanbon, and the new 8 point rules.. are all great ... each one has its own qualities.... We have trained in all three formats at our Dojo .. with GEAR ON.. we even had gear on when we were not sparring .. We went through the motions to a count.. learning...training.. together, not intending to blast someone .. but trying to learn to execute correct technique.... each student learned what they needed to do in order to get better.. at the end we sparred... no one got hurt... we all had gloves,cup,mouth peices, head gear, chest guards and shin instep guards..

This let us spar with out worrying about getting hurt....

In my opinion if karate is to keep growing we have to understand that sport and combat are two different things and safety should always be FIRST.

Being good in the ring does not mean you are a great fighter in real life or in life threatening situations & vice versa.

i do think that a black belt should be able to take a little sting and a little pain in sparring but not to the point of injury.

until all karate entusiasts come together in this point then what happened to the JKA will continue to happen to karate as a whole..

So many people dont like the new rules because they think that the competitors are holding back too much.... well anyone who has competed in a WKF modern rules tournament , knows that they are not holding back but, they do think of control.

They also use more footwork, better timing, evasive movement "tai sabaki" and there is more awarenes required "zanshin" because not everyone fighting in the ring is going in a strait line and only relying on the Good'Ol Reverse punch to save the day. They actually move around side to side and like some friends of mine and myself like to land a hook kick every now and then.

It all boils down to this ...the same attitude of not wearing gear sometimes is like driving a vehicle without a seat belt .. SURE you can drive and not get into and accident. But if you do get into an accident, i bet you will wish that you had put it on first.... right ?

Good Training ,,
Oss