Basic karate tournament equipment

Advice and a basic list of karate equipment needed at a tournament.

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Basic karate tournament equipment

Going to your first karate tournament is an exciting moment in a martial artist's career. It gives you a chance to hone your fighting skills, compete against others in Kata and specialty events while teaching good sportsmanship. When entering a tournament you not only are representing yourself, you are also represent your dojo (karate school).

While exciting, it can also be a confusing and at times exasperating event for the beginning tournament participant. Ideally you will have gotten a flyer about the event in which all divisions, events and most important, requirements are listed. If not, here are a few suggestions to help you through your day.

First off you will want to know what kind of tournament you are participating in. Will it be "full" contact or "light" contact? Is it a huge AOK tournament with possibly hundreds of participants or one put on by a local school in which there may only be twenty-five to fifty competitors? A piece of advice for the first timer, start out at a light contact, small tournament where the people have more time and are willing to answer questions.

Find out the time of the competitor's meeting and attend this. All rules and regulations will be covered during this meeting. This will also let you know about head and groin contact. It will also inform you as to the basic equipment needed. Unfortunately if you don't already have the equipment before entering the tournament, you may have a difficult time finding some to compete.

Most tournaments require a Gi and belt. The Gi top should have sleeves and the belt should be the highest color you have ever earned. Don't cheat by being a black belt in Tae Kwon Do but a yellow belt in American Freestyle.

All tournaments will require a mouthpiece, hand and footpads, head protector and for males, an athletic supporter and cup. For females, there is specially designed equipment for the groin area. As a word for the girls, get one of these as the author has had first hand experience in groin kicks at tournaments. A kick in this area will hurt a girl/woman as well as a man so protection is the key.

These are the absolute basics for sparring equipment. You will see many competitors who sport additional equipment such as shin guards and chest protectors. For those interested in chest protectors, they also come in male and female versions.

Many dojos can order these pieces of equipment but for those whose school is unable to, it can be found at specialty martial arts stores, sporting goods stores like Academy and Oshman's as well as many department stores like the larger Wal-mart or K-marts. There are also the new found supply of "used" sporting goods stores that are popping up nationwide.

New basic equipment including a mouthpiece, head, hand and footpads, a supporter and cup can be expensive. At almost any store you could easily be looking at over $100. Parents may want to have their child use the dojo's equipment and wait to see if a child sticks with the martial arts before purchasing them a complete set.

As for the additional equipment, I bought mine in Houston five years ago new and paid $50+ for the female chest protector, $35 for the shin guards and I believe $45 for the female groin protector. These prices have most probably gone up since then.

Once all the money is laid out for equipment, you will want to protect your investment. Make sure EACH and EVERY pad is marked with you name with a permanent marker. Purchase a large tote bag or athletic bag and keep all equipment in it. Make sure this bag also has your name on it. Keep extra mouthpieces that you have already heated, soaked and formed to your mouth. Personally I like to keep spare T-shirts, aspirin and Ace Bandages in mine. I also keep small snacks like peanut butter crackers because the nerves often keep me too worked up to eat breakfast plus you never want a full stomach when going into sparring. As the day rolls on by and your blood sugar levels drop, the crackers are a great pick me up.

There is an additional requirement many tournaments have concerning minors. They sometimes will ask for a parental permission slip that waives the tournament's sponsors of any blame in case a child is injured during the event. This will require a parent's presence at the tournament so they should come prepared to sit, watch and cheer their son or daughter on. I personally enjoy going to tournaments and watching parents get upset at the judges. As I have had judging experience, I always enjoy it when it is someone else being called blind, stupid or incompetent. A spectator will find that little league parents have nothing on the parents of martial artists when it comes to challenging a call.

For those beginning their tournament careers, good luck and don't forget to take the money for your entry fee as well as your equipment. Tournaments can be an enjoyable, learning experience for all if good sportsmanship and common sense are allowed to be your guiding factors and not "winning a trophy."

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