Karate

Kumite (sparring)

Introduction

Free sparring: our policy

Tuide (grappling)

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Perth's premier martial academy with branches in Bayswater and Nedlands.

Introduction

Kumite ("an encounter with hands") or sparring takes a number of forms in Wu-Wei Dao namely:

• Yakusoku (pre-arranged sparring): This consists of kihon kumite (basic sparring), ippon (one step sparring) and jiyu ippon (one step sparring from a free stance) - normally performed as bunkai (kata applications). Note that the above sparring drills can include tuide (grappling), nage waza (throws), gyaku waza (locks), shime waza (chokes), ne waza (groundfighting) and ukemi (breakfalls).  A form of basic yakusoku kumite known as "ude tanren" is used to condition forearms as well as develop parrying and sensitivity to changes in movement.

• Randori (controlled free sparring): This is practised "soft and slow" to begin with but can be practised "hard and fast" by senior grades.

• Tuide (grappling).

• Kakie (push hands): This is a form of sparring that allows the practice of techniques in a semi-free manner.

Kakie video (click on picture to download)

Free sparring: our policy

A video of an ude tanren drill based on sanchin kata (click on picture to download)

For more ude tanren, click here (members only)

In the Academy of Traditional Fighting Arts, Jiyu-ippon kumite and Randori are only practised by persons who are graded White 4 and above (in the case of adults) and level White/Blue 4 and above (in the case of juniors (teenagers)). Pre-juniors (children) do not practise free sparring at all. The reason for these restrictions is 3 fold:

• Safety is a primary concern in the Academy and students are expected to have gained some expertise in direction, distancing and control before free sparring commences.

• New beginners gain little from free sparring as they have no repertoire of techniques on which to draw. In fact, beginners who practise free sparring are likely to "groove" mistakes and bad form. The syllabus actually teaches you to apply the basic techniques in free sparring and it is vital that these be correctly assimilated and practised in the different forms of pre-arranged sparring (known collectively as Yaksoku kumite) before restrictions on sparring are removed.

• It is a mistake to assume that free sparring is similar to real fighting and is therefore indispensable to the new beginner. Even "full contact" fighting has rule restrictions which significantly alter the dynamics from street fighting. After all, real fights are not contested in rounds with rest breaks in between. Street attacks are invariably determined by who lands the first blow and rarely last more than a few minutes.

Accordingly it is most vital for the new beginner to concentrate on "grooving" an effective response to an initial attack. Pre-arranged forms of sparring are ideal for this process. As part of their sparring syllabus White Belts also learn special "self-defence" drills which are easily assimilated and applied. These drills canvass some of the most common attack scenarios with a view to providing the student with an immediate, optimum response.

Tuide (grappling)

An introduction

Tuide (or Tuidi) means grappling in the Okinawan language. Within the bunkai (applications) of karate kata, there are many grabbing, joint-locking, immobilizing and throwing techniques. Traditionally these were taught alongside the Atemi waza (striking techniques) of karate in the same way as Chin-Na or Qin Na (which literally means "seizing and controlling" in Mandarin) techniques have always been taught as complementary techniques to the striking applications of the various "external" or "hard" styles known generically as "Kung-fu".

As the Okinawan Karate we teach is essentially a "cousin" of these systems, the Wu-Wei Dao college follows this tradition and teaches the grappling, throwing and immobilising techniques contained within the karate katas. Accordingly the syllabus includes a tuide lock-flow for each kata.

For videos of tuide bunkai drills, click here.

The role of grappling in the Academy's syllabus

The Principals of the Academy of Traditional Fighting Arts, Kancho Nenad and Shihan Dan have developed these tuide lock-flows by combining their knowledge of both Chin-Na and Aikido (learned over a decade of study), with an exhaustive and lengthy study of karate kata and bunkai.

The Academy's philosophy is that striking techniques are useful in a wider variety of self-defence situations than grappling, wrestling and throwing. Thus it is important to note that our tuide techniques are used as an adjunct rather than as our primary fighting method especially if our assailant is larger and stronger. An old Goju-ryu precept is: "grip a stronger person lightly and a weaker person strongly".

The Muidokan karate jutsu fighting method involves a series of strikes that start at long range (with weapons if available or kicks), work through the medium range (short kicks, knees, punches and a variety of open hand strikes) and finish in the close range (using elbow strikes, rips, tears, gouges, headbutts, etc), before any attempt is made to grab an opponent - be it for the purposes of controlling them, injuring them, or for a take down.

In certain circumstances an opponent can be controlled and restrained by Tuide/Chin-Na techniques alone until help arrives. The use of Tuide/Chin-Na techniques in this manner must out of practicality be reserved only for non-life threatening situations in which you are confident that you can ensure your own safety (unless your job as a security or law enforcement officer demands that you carry out your duty in spite of the risk).

For most self defence situations we teach that one should not remain entangled with any one attacker for longer than absolutely necessary - whether on the ground or while engaged in "stand-up" grappling. Instead, our objective is to control, throw, injure and/or immobilise an opponent just long enough to be able to either run away or, if there is no alternative, to apply a 'finishing' technique.