Competition Team

Sport Karate

Karate as a sport is but one aspect of karate-do training. Competition is not a requirement for Ichibankarate students to progress through towards their black belt, although they will need to have knowledge of competition terms. Sport karate provides an excellent venue to test self-defense skills in a safe, well-defined environment. We encourage, but do not require, all our students to participate in competitions at least at the local level.

So often competition can easily lure practitioners away from the true spirit of karate-do; however, it can serve as a mechanism for focus in karate training with the proper perspective. As with any field of study or athletic endeavor, it is much easier to stay on task and manage time if a clear goal is well defined. Distractions can be weighed against that goal to see if they bring one closer to the goal or do not serve to progress towards the stated goal. Competition can very well provide that moment in time for which to build a training plan culminating in that competitive event. A succinct training plan can hone skills that otherwise might take more time to develop.

For karate-do practitioners, the “Do”, or “Way” part refers to the character building part of karate training: self confidence, empathy, commitment and humility. Often this crucial part of karate training gets pushed aside in the quest for a goal of winning a particular competition or becoming part of a particular team. Instructors, even, get caught in that same quest for their students and lose sight of their original mission and, instead, make seeking advantages to win their top priority.

At Ichibankarate we believe competition can provide the focus young minds need in their karate-do training. We seek to guide each student participating in competition to develop goals that are independent of extrinsic rewards for which they may not have full control. This allows them to focus their training and feel inspired regardless of the actual outcome. We provide state of the art training programs to bring each student to their fullest physical and mental potential. We strive to nurture the feelings of accomplishment, integrity and confidence in each student not only by attaining their goal, but also by the hard work put into their training.

Ichibankarate is a member of and participates in the USA National Karate Federation (USA-NKF - part of the USOC), the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU - the largest Amateur Sport Organization in the World) and Traditional Karate Federation International sponsored events. This includes local, regional, National, and International events. Our program also prepares those athletes interested in training for the US team trials to be held for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo Japan.

Our competition program is geared toward traditional karate competition. The program includes dedicated training classes for those members competing for spots to represent the USA Internationally. It also includes a developmental program that builds a foundation for the youngest and least experienced students with the desire to compete at the world level in the future. As part of our base curriculum, we hold weekly classes dedicated to competition training.

Our program teaches students how to engage their core muscle group (e.g. abdominals, obliques, back, hips and gluteus) for better athletic performance. When the spine, pelvis and shoulder girdle are properly stabilized during athletic endeavors the athlete is able to generate more powerful movements of the extremities. This has direct applications to all aspects of karate training.

We also incorporate conditioning exercises that emphasize plyometric (e.g. jumping, kicking, quick body shifting), isometric (e.g. karate stances, holding static forms), resistance (e.g. stance and kicking drills with rubber bands), and speed and agility (e.g. agility ladder, cones, kicking and punching) training.

Our sports specific training includes drills specific for each individual athlete designed to enhance their individual strengths. We teach not only kicking and punching, but also sweeps and throws. We also offer nutritional consultations for those athletes competing at the highest level so they may attain their peak performance by addressing all aspects of their training.