How To Get Into A Karate Tournament

Tournaments are not an essential part of learning karate, but they are a valuable tool for learning to perform under pressure. They can also be a lot of fun. Your karate instructor can help you find and enter tournaments. If your school doesn't normally attend tournaments, but it's all right with your instructor if you participate in one, you will need to seek out and enter the tournament on your own.

Step 1

Find a tournament. The best place to begin looking is on the website of your national organization. It will list tournaments in your area and across the country. If you don't have a national organization, check Karate Tournament Central, or another Internet site that lists tournaments in your country. The information you need to get from the website is when the tournament is going to be held, where and who is organizing it.

Step 2

Contact the tournament organizer. The tournament website will provide an email address or phone number. Ask the organizer for information about who is allowed to compete. Some tournaments are open to all comers; some are open only to practitioners of a certain style. Some are for beginners, some for only advanced karate-ka. Some tournaments have qualifier tournaments you must win before being allowed to compete. Ask the organizer for a registration form, the registration deadline and information on how to obtain a copy of the rules and requirements.

Step 3

Submit your registration. Sometimes you can register on the Internet. Sometimes you will be required to fill out a paper registration form and mail it. Some tournaments will allow you to register on the day of the tournament. Large tournaments, especially national or international events, will sometimes want a photo, a copy of your birth certificate or passport and a medical release. If you don't supply the necessary paperwork, you won't be allowed to compete.

Step 4

Get a copy of the rules, regulations and requirements. Make sure you have all the required gear. Some tournaments specify a particular color uniform. Some require you have sanctioned sparring gear. Go through the rules and check to make sure you have the right gear. Then learn the rules, the point system and the judges' signals, so you'll know what's going on when you get to the tournament.

Step 5

Show up to the tournament at least a half-hour in advance, more if you know it's going to be a large event. Stop at the check-in table when you get to the tournament. They will issue you any necessary competition cards. They will also tell you what division you will be competing in. Listen for your division. The organizer will call your division, not your name, when it is time to compete.

Tips and Warnings

Never attend a tournament without your instructor's permission. You will probably be asked for your instructor's name when you register. At the tournament, you represent not just yourself but your school, your style and your teacher. Make sure you do so honorably and with your school's sanction.
Some tournaments want the fee up front and some will allow you to pay when you arrive. Before you contact the organizer, decide whether you are prepared to give a credit card number over the phone to pay registration fees. Some may ask.