Competition Training & Preparation
Competition preparation can be separated into parts. The mental, technical and physical preparation, but also the preparation on the actual competition day (read article about Tournament Day Preparation).
1) Competition Preparation
Preparation for competition has to start weeks, even months, before the tournament day. I recommend the athlete and his coach work out a yearly training plan. (Valium) Depending on the available time, the plan should be structured like this:
Phase 1 1 to 4 weeks long
Phase 2 2 to 6 weeks long
Phase 3 3 to 5 weeks long
Phase 4 4 to 7 weeks long
Phase 5 5 to 6 weeks long
Phase 6 1 to 2 weeks long
Phase 1: General (competition) training, conditioning, strength training and agility training
Phase 2: Development of Karate specific conditioning and techniques
Phase 3: First competition experience (small, local tournaments), while training continues, as in Phase 2, with increasing intensity and refinement
Phase 4: Refining of competition techniques after analyzing the first tournament experience; Increasing of training’s intensity
Phase 5: Intense development of the competition techniques based on every athlete’s individual skills; Athletes may be restricted to stick with their individual competition technique(s) from now on to increase and improve their skills with this technique(s); Increase training intensity to the maximum, approximately 4 to 8 days before the competition day.
Phase 6: Analysis and evaluation of the collected tournament season; Active recovery and relaxation; planning for the new upcoming tournament year
The Kumite Competition:
My suggestion for tournament preparation is shown below:
The techniques used in Kumite competition can be narrowed down to:
Hand Techniques:
Kizami Zuki
Gyaku Zuki
Uraken
Foot Techniques:
Mae Geri
Mawashi Geri
Ura Mawashi Geri
Ushiro Geri
Yoko Geri
Ashi Barai
Combinations of the techniques listed above,
or throws (on a higher level)
Phase 1:
In this phase, the above listed techniques should be trained intensively and repeatedly by all athletes. The Kihon training of them guarantees the proper muscle development and conditioning. The goal of this phase is to burn these techniques into the athlete; high intensity and lots of repetitions, with focus on Kime. Exercising all of these techniques guarantees the development of a wide variety of them so the athlete can compete more successfully. Therefore, the competition group can stay together in this phase and all athletes can train together without worrying about the level of each individual.
Specialization on each athlete’s individual favorite technique(s) is not necessary yet.
3 to 4 training sessions per week 1.5h long.
Phase 2:
In this phase, one can start to exercise and study these Kumite techniques with a partner, while slowly cutting back on the pure Kihon training of them. Within this phase, the group can still train and exercise together. However, the coach should be determining the special technique(s) of each athlete, to help plan for the following phases.
3 to 4 training sessions 1 to 1.5h long. In addition, 2 days of light strength and conditioning sessions of 30 to 60 min. per week.
Phase 3:
In this phase, the athlete should attend local tournaments, followed by a performance analysis and evaluation.
• The athlete scored with what techniques?
• How can these techniques be improved and maximized?
• What mistakes were done by the athlete?
3 to 4 training sessions 1 to 1.5h long. In addition, 2 to 3 days of strength and conditioning sessions of 30 to 60 min. per week.
After the evaluation, one can start with Phase 4. Very helpful and highly recommended is a video analysis where coach and athlete go over the competition performance together.
Phase 4:
– Let’s take for example a tall fighter. He may have problems using a Chudan Gyaku Zuki on a smaller opponent. Because of this, he may choose to avoid this technique, instead he uses and successfully scores with a Kizami Zuki. Therefore, this technique (or combination of it) should be developed as his special technique.
Coach and athlete determine this as his special technique (bread and butter) and develop a training program based on it.
Since this phase is for specialization, the training program should include as many possible situations where the athlete learns to score with this technique both offensively and defensively.
Once the fighter is in control of this technique, he can focus and concentrate on the execution, timing, speed and distance on an opponent (Kime is secondary since it was practiced intensively in the phases before). It is the coaches duty to ensure that the fighter can control his techniques and has the technical skills to fight with them.
Speed and agility training should be included into the schedule from now on. If possible, the training should be separated into 2 sessions per day.
The morning sessions have their focus on speed and agility, while the evenings are spent on highly specialized Kumite training for the competition.
5 to 6 training sessions 1 to 1.5h long. In addition, 5 to 6 speed and agility sessions of 30 to 60 min. per week.
Phase 5:
This phase serves as the last “cleanup.“
The athlete has to be pushed physically and mentally to the maximum, coming to his highest point 4 to 8 days before the tournament. The athlete has to be eager and hungry to compete and his confidence at the maximum.
5 to 6 very intense training sessions 1 to 1.5h long. In addition, 5 to 6 intense speed and agility training sessions of 0 to 60 min. per week.
In this phase, the athlete is more prone to injuries and therefore, active recovery, stretching (maybe even massage) and proper nutrition are very important.
Phase 6:
The purpose of the last phase is solely for evaluation of the collected tournament experiences. This should be done with the coach. Both athlete and coach analyze video records of the tournament performance and discuss possible improvements.
The results are used to make changes to next year’s training. The athlete should rest 1 to 2 weeks after the major tournament with only very light training.
2 to 4 training sessions over the next 2 to 4 weeks are enough.
A sudden stop in training should be avoided. The break should be long enough for recovery, but not so long that it causes the loss of the gained performance increase established for the year. As a result, the athlete’s new year will starts at a higher performance level than the previous years.