NASKA/ISKA/Open tournaments (Non-WKF Rules/Tournaments)

[Nidan Melbourne]

Being a person who only competes in WKF Tournaments, I see the rules and formats of tournaments that don't use that format so unusual and weird. Usually because I haven't competed in it and see Kata that look to be butchered from what they used to look like and the Kumite to be appearing very wild (what I mean is that the tournaments i've checked out online look like there is very little form to it or even many rules).

For those who compete in those tournaments can you tell me the pro's and con's of those tournaments are? As in do you feel like you can express your way of karate or martial art more freely or like you have a better opportunity to progress or even win.

Or is it more because that is the only type of Tournament within' a reasonable drive to you or more affordable?

I ask because I am looking at travelling over to the U.S. sometime next year and thinking of competing. My trip (so far) is looking like i might do New York City, Washington, Florida, New Orleans, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and progress further west and finish in LA.

[bushido_man96]

That sounds like a fun tournament tour! Good luck to you!

[Nidan Melbourne]

Haha thanks Bushido_man96!

I was planning on stopping by at a few dojos to train as well. Otherwise I'd probably go insane if I couldn't train for that much time.

[skullsplitter]

I'll give my thoughts on this as best I can. My son does a couple of NASKA/NBL events a year. Typically he does NASKA events AKA Grand Nationals in Chicago and Battle of Atlanta. This year we traded Battle for NBL's Grand Slam Open. Also most of the regional types we go to use NASKA type rules. He's never been to a WKF or JKA type event, but watches a lot of those on youtube and Facebook.

For NASKA tournaments, the "traditional" forms and weapons are no where close to what you see in WKF. It's merely a difference from their extreme/creative in that there can be no gymnastics and weapon releases. Forms can be modified and usually are. There is a Traditional Challenge division where things are much tighter. Forms are not to be modified, limited amount of kiah, etc. This division seems to be getting larger each year. Our on NBL experience was much more positive as far as what's acceptable in their traditional divisions. Strict rules for uniforms, unmodified forms, and a limit on kiah.

Sparring/kumite, I fall in the camp where I prefer to watch and compete in the NASKA/NBL style of point sparring. It's fast paced and hard hitting. I've heard the term tickle tag thrown around. From what I've seen that's not a regular occurrence. The techniques are not as clean as kumite, but I much prefer the quick pace. My son started getting into kumite a couple of years ago and I also like it. I like the cleanness of it, but not the slower pace.

Finding WKF nearby is nearly impossible. A tournament with kumite is few and far between. It's something my son wants to do, but finding it in the Midwest is tough. We did stumble across a traditional tourney with kumite just an hour south of us. Hope to check that out next year.

One big con to NASKA is that rules seem to change from tournament to tournament. There is a lot of frustration amongst competitors on this front. Interprations of the rules seem to change each week. At the one NBL event we did, my favorite part as a paying dad, was to see rules enforced on the spot. We saw one of the top girls DQd on the spot for a uniform infraction. I prefer that over flimsy rules.

[skullsplitter]

wow! That was long. I'm sorry.

One other thing...there's a trend for independent tournaments too. This year NBL lost 2 of their big ones, SMAC and Kumite Classic. Both went independent. There have been others too. The Kumite Classic did have kumite in addition to point sparring. It also had a national qualifier for USA National Karate-Do Federation so I heard there was a more traditional flavor there.

[JohnASE]

I don't compete, but I've been a vendor at many tournaments over the decades, and I have spoke with many competitors, judges, and promoters, so I've heard some things. I haven't been around open tournaments as much the past few years though, so some of my info might be outdated.

As a rule, it's not the competitor who chooses whether to compete in traditional Japanese style tournaments or open style tournaments, it's the sensei. Some dojos will let you compete outside their typical type of events, but most will at least recommend against it. The rules and judging criteria are just too different. Very few competitors enjoy doing both.

I'd definitely recommend watching an open tournament or two while you're here. If you compete, learn the rules. I know one sensei who did well in Japanese style events, but when he competed in an open style event, he was disqualified from Grand Champion because his kata was too long. He did a traditional kata in the traditional way, but it violated their rules.

Open style tournaments tend to be more casual than what you're used to. Judges often wear sweats or shorts and flip flops. Spectators and coaches tend to yell into the rings more. Judges don't need to be credentialed (unless things have changed) the way that WKF judges are, so judging tends to be less consistent. Open tournaments tend to favor flash and speed and diversity, unlike the perfection and uniformity sought by Japanese styles.

I don't know what time of year you're coming, but if you're going to be near Las Vegas at Easter, I recommend checking out the USA Open and the Ozawa Cup. Many people do both. They're both traditional Japanese style events, but the Open is a WKF event, while the Ozawa Cup isn't, although it does have divisions that use WKF rules. Both attract international competitors. There's an Australian group I always see at the Ozawa Cup! I think the Open has something like 3000 competitors while the Ozawa Cup has about 800.

FYI, I think there are more tournaments here in Spring and early Summer than other times of year.