List of Kumite Drills

Kumite is the word used for sparring in Karate. It can be used at the club/school level tin order to develop reactions, speed and strength. Drills and training vary from club to club. Kumite at schools can range from a "bit of a treat" (for younger students), part of a grading syllabus (in order to reach a certain belt level) and even having a sparring squad in order to compete at tournaments.

Easy Drills (for Beginners)

• Clothes Peg Drill. This drill is easy, fun and gets new starters involved, as well as improving body movements, blocking and parrying. This is done with 2 students. Both have something (i.e. clothes peg or a spare belt) attached to their Gi that can be pulled off without damaging the Gi. The idea is to steal the opponents clothes peg. However, there is no striking or takedowns but you can block and dodge opponent. This drill improves movement, agility, blocking and parrying… while having fun at the same time.

Medium-Level Drills

• Pre-Defined Kumite. This is where students face each other and demonstrate different attacks and defenses. For example, an attacker will throw a Mawashi Geri and the defender will have to block and counter. Examples of these type of drills include Shotokan Kihon Ippon Kumite Jodan (One Step Sparring) and Shotokan Gohon Kumite (Five Step Sparring).

Reference Sources

1. Sparring information from Red Dragons Karate, UK - Added 03/31/15
2. Video from https://www.charleswoodkarate.com - Added - 03/31/15