WKF Rules

[Nidan Melbourne]

Hey all,

after seeing this on a group that I'm in on Facebook, i was curious to what you all think that compete in any WKF Tournament or National Federation Sanctioned Tournament that operates under the WKF Rules.

What rules would you like changed or added?

Would love to see what you think about the rules for Kata and Kumite.

[MAfreak]

kata don't know. not sure if there are rules for staged choreographics teached nearly the same way since many decades.

kumite there's a lot. allow a reasonable guard and infight (hooks, uppercuts, knees, maybe elbows, its anyway light contact), more throws, grappling/ground fighting and not just stop the fight after every theatrical punch with a silly pose and insane scream to show the ref "look, i hit him, i hit him!". then it would be a serious style instead of a ridiculous one.

[kensei]

Few things that bug me about WKF is the drama and show of it all. If your Kata looks like a silly dance the judges need to know good and bad Waza and the tricks to make it look like some kind of play! I hate them. For Kumite the whole "I hit him so I turned and ran" should be a DQ or a full total win if the other guy gets a point when the guy turns to run. I also think that what constitutes a point should be focused on good waza not tip tap stuff....I'm not a fan of WKF stuff.

[Andebecouble1953]

kata don't know. not sure if there are rules for staged choreographics teached nearly the same way since many decades.

kumite there's a lot. allow a reasonable guard and infight (hooks, uppercuts, knees, maybe elbows, its anyway light contact), more throws, grappling/ground fighting and not just stop the fight after every theatrical punch with a silly pose and insane scream to show the ref "look, i hit him, i hit him!". then it would be a serious style instead of a ridiculous one.

LoL, love this Kumite fight description!

[Wastelander]

To be perfectly honest, I would like to see kumite that is actually reflective of the methods shown in kata, but that doesn't look pretty, so it won't take off.

If we are going to stick with a sport karate kumite format, then I would essentially like to see the same things that MAfreak described. You would have to make it continuous instead of point-stop to really make that work, though. I also hate the criteria for a scoring technique--it has to make contact at full extension, meaning you have NOTHING left to actually deliver impact if you need to, so you are purposely training at the wrong distance. You can see a perfect example of this in this video from a WKF medalist:

Even if you are going to keep the contact light and controlled, you shouldn't count techniques that have nothing left on them like that. That isn't "control," it's just being too far away. Have people have to get into the right range to be able to strike hard, and just stop the strike short, if you want control.

[sensei8]

To be perfectly honest, I would like to see kumite that is actually reflective of the methods shown in kata, but that doesn't look pretty, so it won't take off.

If we are going to stick with a sport karate kumite format, then I would essentially like to see the same things that MAfreak described. You would have to make it continuous instead of point-stop to really make that work, though. I also hate the criteria for a scoring technique--it has to make contact at full extension, meaning you have NOTHING left to actually deliver impact if you need to, so you are purposely training at the wrong distance. You can see a perfect example of this in this video from a WKF medalist:

Even if you are going to keep the contact light and controlled, you shouldn't count techniques that have nothing left on them like that. That isn't "control," it's just being too far away. Have people have to get into the right range to be able to strike hard, and just stop the strike short, if you want control.

Exactly, Noah!!

Plus, in your provided video link, thank you for that, Noah, the harsh reality of her opening technique is that her head's wide open to a subjective counter and/or sweep...or maybe that's just the way she does it, and therefore isn't an admirable representation of other WKf competitors.

[Alan Armstrong]

If I might add, that when during these light or no contact match tournaments, is when, right after delivering a strike, the striker pauses for moment and looks around, taking time to see if it was spotted by the judge's and awarded points.

This is unreasonable and unrealistic, as dosent this cause "Too much mind" ? An important concept in karate to avoid?

Perhaps if electronic sensors were used to record contacts then the competitors would know when they have scored and when have been hit, as a buzzer could sound whenever sufficient contact has been made.

This electronic method of keeping score, would also be able to record accuracy and if excessive contact has been used.

[bushido_man96]

Olympic TKD had been using those kinds of vests in international competition; I'm not sure if they still are or not. However, there are still some issues with them. For example, if you strike someone in the arm hard enough, and their arm is braced against their chest protector, it could still register enough force to set off the sensors, scoring a point when it was actually blocked.

Also, if you have a scoring that is adjusted for the level of technique, such as the use of spinning or jumping techniques, the sensors can't determine this; only that enough force has been delivered to trigger the sensor. So judges are still needed.

[Nevinyrral]

They should simply make it continous and/or full contact only then it would make any sense.

That was the reason why I at first started competing in diffrent styles and later switched style alltogether.