ARTICLE 1: KUMITE COMPETITION AREA
1. The competition area must be flat and devoid of hazard.
2. The competition area will be a square, with sides of eight meters (measured from the outside) with an
additional two meters on all sides as a safety area. The area may be elevated to a height of up to one
meter above floor level. The elevated platform must measure at least twelve meters a side, in order to
include both the competition and the safety areas.
3. A line half a meter long must be drawn two meters from the center of the competition area for
positioning the Referee.
4. Two parallel lines each one metre long and at right angles to the Referee’s line, must be drawn at a
distance of one and a half meters from the center of the competition area for positioning the
competitors.
5. Two crossed lines, each one half a meter, will mark the center.
6. The Judges will be seated in the safety area.
7. The Arbitrator will be seated at outside of the safety area, behind, and to the right or left of the Referee.
8. The score-supervisor will be seated at the official score table, between the scorekeeper and the
timekeeper.
EXPLANATION:
I. There must be no advertisement boarding, walls, pillars etc. within one meter of the safety areafs outer
perimeter.
II. If mats are used should be non-slip where they contact the floor and have a low co-efficient of friction
on the upper surface. They should not be as thick as Judo mats, since these impede Karate movement.
The Referee must ensure that mat modules do not move apart during the competition, since gaps cause
injuries and constitute a hazard.
ARTICLE 2: OFFICIAL DRESS
1. Contestants and their coaches must wear the official uniform as herein defined.
2. The Referee council may disbar any official or competitor who does not comply with this regulation.
REFEREE
1. Referee and Judges must wear the official uniform designed by the Referee Council. This uniform
must be worn at all tournaments and courses.
2. The official uniform will be as follows:
A navy blue blazer bearing gold buttons
A white shirt with short or long sleeves
An official tie worn without tiepin
Plain gray trousers without cuffs
Female referees and judges may wear a hairclip
CONTESTANT
1. Contestants must wear a white unmarked Karate-GI without stripes or piping. Only the SKIF
emblems and/or national emblem of flag of the country may be worn. This must be on the left breast
of the jacket. Only the original manufacturer’s labels may be displayed on the GI. They must be in the
normally accepted locations i.e. bottom right corner of the GI jacket and waist position on the trousers.
In addition, an identifying number issued by the Organizing Committee may be worn on the back.
One contestant must wear a red belt or red strings with the belt, when two are competing at the same
time.
2. Not withstanding paragraph 1 above, the Executive Committee may authorize the display of special
labels or trademarks of approved sponsors.
3. The jacket, when tightened around the waist with the belt, must be a minimum length that covers the
©SKIF GHQ
hips, but must not be more than three-quarters length from hip to knees. Female competitors may
wear a plain white T-shirt beneath the Karate jacket.
4. The minimum length of the jacket sleeves must be no longer than the bend of the wrist and no shorter
than halfway down the forearm. Jackets sleeves may not be rolled up.
5. The trousers must be long enough to cover at least two thirds of the shin and may not be rolled up.
6. Contestants must keep their hair clean and cut to a length that does not obstruct smooth bout conduct.
HACHIMAKI (headband) will not be allowed. Should the Referee consider any contestant’s hair too
long and/or unclean, the Referee Council may disbar the contestant from the bout. In KUMITE
matches hair slides are prohibited, as are metal hairclips. In KATA, a discreet hair clip is permitted.
7. Contestants must have short fingernails and must not wear metallic or other objects, which might injure
their opponents. The use of metallic teeth braces must be approved by the Referee and the Official
Doctor, and the contestants accepts full responsibility for any injury.
8. Junior, Female and Veteran contestants must wear the mitts approved by SKIF.
(For the 9th SKIF World Championships, ALL contestants must wear the mitts approved by SKIF.)
9. Gum shield are compulsory.
10. Groin protector is allowed. Shin protectors are forbidden.
11. Glasses are forbidden. Soft contact lenses can be worn at the contestant's own risk.
12. The wearing of unauthorized clothing or equipment is forbidden. Females may wear the authorized
additional protective equipment such as chest protectors.
13. All protective equipment must be approved by SKIF.
14. The Referee, on the advice of the Official Doctor, must approve the use of bandages, padding, or
supports because of injury.
EXPLANATION:
I. There may well be a religious basis for the wearing of certain items such as turbans or amulets.
Person wishing, by virtue of their religion, to wear what would otherwise be construed as unauthorized
clothing must notify the Referee Council in advance of a tournament. The Referee Council will
examine each application on its merit.
II. If a contestant comes into the area inappropriately dressed, he or she will not be immediately disqualified; instead the fighter will be given one minute to remedy matters.
Yoko-geri – Side Kick
Mawashi-geri – Round House Kick
- bunkai – The application of the technique, a description of the real-world scenario around which the kata is formed.
- Dan – advanced grades from 1 to 10
- hajime – start
- jo-ha-kyu – the concept of rhythm within the kata. Jo-ha-kyu is expressed as slow-to-fast-to-slow movement. Strikes should exhibit a buildup of intensity and speed, slowly starting the technique and increasing the speed through the strike, then letting the intensity slow again.
- keiko-gi – the jacket (top half) of the uniform
- Ki – spirit or presence
- Kumite - sparring
- Kyu – student grade, from 5 up to 1 where 1 is the highest
- ma-ai – the distance between combatants
- metsuke – one’s gaze or look.
- mo ichido - one more time
- mokuso – meditate
- Otagai ni rei – bow to each other
- rei – bow
- reigi – etiquette
- reiho – etiquette, method of bowing
- ritsu rei – standing bow
- seiza - kneeling
- shomen – the front of the dojo, also the front of the head, as in shomen uchi
- shomen ni rei – bow to front of the dojo
- tatte – to stand up from the kneeling position (seiza)
- yame – stop
- yudansha – members with dan grades
- zanshin – remaining spirit/heart
Counting in Japanese
For many of the warm-ups and exercises, students will hear a count in Japanese. The following are the Japanese words for the numbers one through ten, with pronunciation in parentheses – the final vowel is often not pronounced in Japanese words:
1. Ichi (eech)
2. Ni (nee)
3. San (sahn)
4. Shi (she)
5. Go (go)
6. Roku (rook)
7. Shichi (sheech)
8. Hachi (hach)
9. Kyu (kyu)
Doshi-Kai Shotokan Karate Member Handbook
10. Ju (joo)
Doshikai Equipment / Uniform Recommendations
Clothing
To get started you may use any comfortable, loose fitting, athletic-cut clothing for your training. A sweatshirt and sweatpants or a martial arts gi will work just fine. More specialized athletic pads may be obtained through your local sporting goods store or any martial arts supplier.
As soon as you are sure that you wish to pursue your studies, you should invest in a karate gi uniform. While many fabrics and colors are available, traditionally, Doshikai shotokan students wear uniforms that are the same throughout their school to recognize their affiliation with that school and with their sensei. At Doshikai we wear white, 100% cotton, with no patches or embroidery other than the doshikai characters on the keiko-gi over the heart.
Obi
The Obi is the belt that is used to close and secure the keikogi. All students start with a white belt.
Sources
The clothing and equipment listed above may be obtained from a variety of sources. Again, there are multiple links available from the website as well as this Doshikai Handbook.
Most of the items listed above can be obtained through www.e-bogu.com. We have found their prices to be competitive and their service to be very good.
Sources of Information
This section provides sources of useful information regarding budo, martial arts and related philosophies.
Web Sites
Informational
Commercial
Books
In The Dojo – Dave Lowry
Karate-Do, My Way of Life – Gichin Funakoshi
Living The Martial Way – Forrest Morgan
Doshi-Kai Shotokan Karate Member Handbook
The Shotokan Kata
Kata are a predetermined series of blocking, evading and countering techniques against single or multiple attackers, who may be armed or unarmed. Kata was developed as a way in which an individual could practice basic techniques. There are currently twenty five forms recognized by the Shotokan style:
1. “Heian Shodan”
2. “Heian Nidan”
3. “Heian Sandan”
4. “Heian Yondan”
5. “Heian Godan”
6. “Tekki Shodan”
7. “Tekki Nidan”
8. “Tekki Sandan”
9. “Bassai-Dai”
Doshi-Kai Shotokan Karate Member Handbook
10. “Kanku-Dai”
11. “Empi”
12. “Hangetsu”
13. “Jutte”
14. “Gankaku
15. “Jion”
16. “Rohai”
17. “Sochin”
18. “Nijushiho”
19. “Bassai-Sho”
20. “Kanku-Sho”
21. “Jiin”
22. “Wankan”
23. “Gojushiho-Dai”
24. “Gojushiho-Sho”
25. “Chinte”
26. “Unsu”
Definition of Japanese Terms
This section outlines some of the Japanese terms heard during class and when discussing topics related to Shotokan Karate and other martial arts.
Stances:
Shizen-tai – Natural Stance
Heisoku-dachi – Closed Stance
Zenkutsu-dachi – Forward Stance
Kokutsu-dachi – Back Stance
Kiba-dachi – Horse Riding Stance
Fudo-dachi – Ready Stance
Neko-ashi-dachi – Cat Stance
Strikes:
Maete-zusuki – Jab
Gyaku-zuki – Reverse Punch
Oizuki – Stepping Punch
Uraken – Back Fist
Nukite – Piercing Hand
Blocks:
Gedan-barai – Down Block
Uchi-uke – Inside Block
Soto-uke– Outside Block
Age-uke– Rising Block
Shuto-uke – Knife Hand Block
Kicks:
Mae-geri – Front Kick
