Skip to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.

KarateForums.com

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.
  • advertisement_alt
  • advertisement_alt
  • advertisement_alt

are face punches allowed in karate

Featured Replies

are face punches allowed in karate in international events.

cause i am very good at punching. i should try boxing but its clubs are not available in my city and i also have to make a living thats why i cant leave this city . if there are face punches allowed then i can be a big time winner.

even chest punches are fine with me

First of all, welcome to KF; glad you're here.

Usually no punches are allowed for those who are under BB; Advanced!! Even then, all must wear headgear and mouthpieces; no exceptions.

Having said that, depending on the tournament, face contact is allowed for BB's BUT the contact must be controlled at all times. Takedowns must be accompanied by an attack to the downed competitor immediate after said takedown. Otherwise, no point awarded.

All ranks under BB must demonstrate control at all times. This means that is your attack is to the face, said technique must come just short of the face, but any contact to the face, depending on the severity of the contact, a disqualification might be the rule of the center judge.

Always check with said tournament director to find out the EXACT rules and regulations before attending. Finding out when it happens isn't the way to compete safely for all concerned, imho.

Any other contact to any other parts of the body THAT ARE ALLOWED must be controlled, in that, a chest contact must be a controlled patty-cake type of contact. Excessive contact is determined to be so by the center judge.

:)

Edited by sensei8

**Proof is on the floor!!!

There are karate competitions that allow strikes/punches to the face, but I'm not sure on how international they are :)

Chaos Mad Max

-Ken

28+ years of training - and knowing the more I learn, the less I actually know...

There are a lot of different karate competitions. Which style is the school near you? more importantly, which ruleset do they compete under?

You'd have to look at the rules of various tournaments to find that out. Some do, some don't. MMA allows face punching. Perhaps you could train for a competition like that? Lots of areas have small organizations putting on local fights.

It depends on where you train and if your competing or not.

It also depends a lot on what rank you are as well.

I think it depend on the style .... It's not allowed in Kyokushin

"The Martial Arts begin with a point and end in a circle."

Sosai Mas Oyama founder of Kyokushin Karate.

In WKF tournament rules, you are supposed to carry out a technique in such a way that it's entirely in your control - you could have destroyed your opponent and planted your hand through their head and killed them, but you stopped a centimetre or two away from their face and successfully pulled back without losing control of the situation. That scores a point.

Generally Karate for sport is non-contact, or is supposed to be non-contact. For that reason, face 'hits' are allowed.

Nidan - Shotokan Karate

Mukyu- Akikai Aikido

If contact to the face is not allowed, said technique MUST stop just mere inches from contact. In that, said judges can determine that the technique would've been effective enough to warrant said point(s). However, if said technique isn't even close, no points will be awarded, of course.

:)

**Proof is on the floor!!!

find a boxing club.

then see how good at punching you really are.

if you hit hard but are much slower than your opponent?

it'll be a really tough lesson. Street fighters tend to get beat up pretty badly in the ring. Always throwing haymakers...never landing...exhausted by round 2.

better to go into any sport or martial art with an open mind.

Create an account or sign in to comment

Account

Navigation

Search

Search

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.