There are two fundamental components to sparring that are quintessential for your development as a martial artist. These are ‘kime’ and ‘control’.

Kime:
This involves having absolute focus and an ‘intent to cause injury’ behind each technique. Kancho Sullivan has often said sparring must have a sense of realness, something lost when two people spar with a lack of kime. When people start out in kumite, it is expected they hold back on any kime, this is to prevent injury. However, as people gain more and more experience, when sparring with other experienced people, kime should become part of their sparring mindset. An inherent danger to any karate-ka is developing a habit of sparring without kime.

Kime is vitally important in kumite, not only from an attacking perspective but also from a defensive one. And it is only through this that one can develop a sense of realness to their sparring.

From a defensive point of view, blocking techniques that possess kime is the most sure-sign method of equipping a person with the ability to defend a true-to-life attack. The effects of this are twofold. Firstly, from a physically perspective, it trains a person in how to block an attack with weight and force behind it. When blocking kicks and punches with kime – despite their having control – the sudden realisation of the importance of stance and balance becomes noticeable.
So too does the need for putting kime into blocking. Secondly, it trains a person to cope emotionally with such an attack. When a person has only practised sparring without kime, they are likely to be emotionally overwhelmed by a real life attack.

From an offensive point of view, putting kime behind each technique develops explosive speed, power, focus and confidence. It also creates a habit of putting intent into each technique making sparring a more effective method of training for self-defence.

Control: With the above said, control is absolutely imperative to sparring - primarily, because of the involved potential for injury. Kime does not imply contact, it implies content. Having weight and power behind a technique till it is inches from the target is kime. Having speed, without weight and power, behind a technique is by no means kime. A person who has kime without control soon will have no people to spar with. Exercising control with kime implies you are becoming a highly skilled practitioner.

When One Is Absent:
Most people, aware of the inherent dangers of poor control, will consciously take much of the kime out of their techniques. Through a lack of faith in their control, they create a habit of ‘holding back’. This however, is neglecting an important facet of training, as without ever developing kime, your karate may prove worthless in a real situation. By doing this however, you will also fail to properly develop control, as it is much easier to control techniques when you are holding back. The key is to over time, develop your kime and control equally.

Developing Kime With Control:
There are a number of methods to achieve this; first and foremost, it is by maintaining awareness of their importance. While building confidence in your control, be sure to miss your opponent by a few inches and direct the majority of your attacks towards the body. Over time, aim to come closer till eventually you are a millimetre away and comfortable attacking head level.

Anthony Ryan
Executive Assistant - Australia