General Purpose: The tournaments are organized for all NSKA members interested in competing. This allows those interested to compare their skill with other folks in the province, to see how their individual training is going. For others it is another aspect of Karate that keeps the training interesting. For the younger ones it is a chance to introduce them to the competitive and sport side of Karate. It is also a venue that is used to annually select our Provincial Karate Team to represent Nova Scotia at the Canadian Championships.
Categories for competition:
Ninja Turtle (Ages: 5 to 9) - Meant to be a fun introduction to Kumite without contact. This is offered to give the kids who do not compete in Kumite a fun event to compete in. Sometimes known as Flag Kumite.
Team Ninja Turtle (Ages: 5 to 9) - Meant to be a fun introduction to Kumite without contact. This is offered to give the kids who do not compete in Kumite a fun event to compete in. Team ninja turtle will be comprised of two athletes on each team. Once their flags are taken by a competitor on the other side they will be eliminated. The last team with a flag will win.
Kata (Ages: 5 and up) – This is for individuals to compete with each other without contact. They show the routines or Kata’s that they learn in their dojo’s and they are judged on understanding of technique, stance, KIME, focus, timing, speed, and balance. The ability to tell a story through their movements, convince the judges that there is a real opponent.
Team Kata (Ages: 5 and up) - This allows competitors to get three students together and show how they can think as one. The judges are looking for uniformity and the same qualities as above in the Kata. These are three person teams with one person named as the captain.
Kumite (Ages: 8 and up) - This is where karateka compete one on one in an elimination format. There is a whole point system that allows competitors to score one, two or three points. One point is scored when a technique is scored by the hands on a valid scoring area. Two points are scored if you Kick someone to the body above the waist but below the head; if you were to punch someone to the back of the head after you have taken them off balance; cleanly score with a combination of punches. Three points are scored for kicks to the head or proper sweeps and takedowns. These are very vague descriptions of points. There is a lot more detail and different scenarios that can be learned in your dojo.
Skills (Ages: 5 to 11) - The NSKA will be introducing a Skills Challenge for children ages 5-11 years at our tournaments. The reason for this is that Karate Canada has developed a Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) plan. The LTAD recognizes that athletes ages 5-11 years need more emphasis on Fun rather than competition in order to develop as an athlete. The NSKA wants to add FUN to our tournaments. At each tournament there will be five (5) different challenges. The challenges will be non-competitive for children 5-7 years of age; they will be competitive for the children 8-11 years of age. The challenges will change from tournament to tournament.
Divisions:
Divisions are based on the combination of karate rank and experience.
- Novice is any athlete who has just begun and up to one year of training.
- Intermediate is based on 1 to 3 years of training and/or no competition experience.
- Advanced is any athlete with 3 plus years experience or any athlete trying out for Provincial Karate Team.