International karate competitor breaks down newest Olympic sport
The Olympic games are rich in both sports and cultural history.
This summer’s games in Tokyo will be no exception. For the first time in Olympics history, athletes will compete in karate.
Martial arts is an Olympic staple; however, there is no practice quite like karate.
“Karate is a Martial Art that was developed to forge the mind the body and the spirit of people,” Sensei Jairo Blanco of the Japanese Karate Association of Vermont said.
Blanco has sparred on the world stage, competing for his native country of Colombia in 1979 at the Pan American Games, as well as representing the United States in the 1984 World Championship.
“There was no internet or YouTube, you can see all the people doing what you do, at the highest level, and you go, ‘Wow! I’m not too bad,’” Blanco said.
Two disciplines of karate will take place at the Olympics. The first is "kata."
“Structured forms which are moves against imaginary opponents. That you execute in sequence with transitions,” Blanco said.
The other is "kumite."
“Kata applied to an actual combat,” Blanco said.
In a kumite match, the first to eight points win. Athletes earn points by strike placement – hand strikes to the body and face count as one point. A kick to the body is two. A kick to the head is three. Three points are also earned for the toughest move.
“Takedown with a follow-up with an attack, that is the only time you are allowed to attack the lower part of your body,” Blanco said.
Kata, which is scored by judges, is a bit more subjective.
“Basically, judging how much style you put in it, how much power, how much speed, how is the transition. So it is very stylized,” Blanco said.
Judging goes beyond sight.
“Everything together same time, body and spirit, 'Kiai hee' everything is given,” Blanco said.
You’ll notice karate is a bit faster than other martial arts at the Olympics, but the most obvious distinction will be heard.
“'Hajime' means 'start.' All of the terminology used in the Olympics for karate is Japanese because it comes from Japan,” Blanco said.
And, now, karate will strike a global audience this summer.