The Four Styles of
KUMITE
n Sensei Jason Smith
As broad as kumite is, the style of fighting that martial artists
adopt can be broadly categorised into four parts. Essentially,
eastern philosophy categorises these by naming them after
the four elements: Wind, Fire, Stone (or earth) and Water. It is
my endeavour in this article to enlighten you to the qualities
of each style and highlighting their strengths and weaknesses.
Becoming familiar with each style, one can become a more
effective practitioner by developing their style based on their
own strengths, weaknesses, physical ability, size and habits.
Before beginning, I should make you aware that you may find
qualities you possess in each. Not everyone finds one style
that fits them 100%, but most people will heavily adopt one’s
principles over the other three. I should also point out that no
one style has an advantage over the other. It is more a matter
of aligning your body with the style that fits best it so you can
achieve optimum performance.
WIND
Fast and Direct
Typically for light-weight, sometimes
medium-weight practitioners, their
subconscious inner voice tells them to
move like the wind. Wind fighters attack in
strong gusts and as fast as they hit you,
they have gone again. You often know you
are up against a wind fighter the same way
you know a storm is coming, that is; there
are signs that enable you to anticipate they
are on their way, but you cannot detect the
exact moment the gust will engulf you.
an opponent a chance to strike – not blocking
• Dances, feints and keeps opponents a
considerable distance away
The qualities a ‘Wind Fighter’
possesses, or should aspire to
possess are:
Weaknesses:
• The fastest fighters and often purest in technique
• Works best from long range
• Works on fitness
• Light on their feet and agile
• Works on speed and masters charging
• Develops fast combinations minimising time between techniques – this makes it hard to counter a wind fighter
• Minimises telegraphing
• Masters covering ground quickly
• Overwhelms opponents with number of techniques, or practises in and out
• Doesn’t believe in standing toe to toe and slugging it out
• Attacks when they want to attack
• Is always moving to make themselves a hard target to focus on
• Defence relies on evasion and not allowing 38 | SHIMBUN
Favourite Techniques:
• Multiple straight punches (usually to the head in order to keep opponents on the back foot), long-range lunge or reverse punches, side back fists and front kicks for
speed and directness.
• While their fast multiple combinations make them difficult to counter-attack, they are vulnerable to front kicks or strong pick offs while attacking
• They are poor at holding ground and can be cornered
• If they lack patience and tact they can be overcome
•Over confidence. Due to their superior
speed and clean technique, they can often
neglect to develop strategy and focus in their technique
Goal:
• Wind fighters must learn to get the whole body behind their technique to increase strength and power. Without this their fast
combinations will not intimidate heavier, stronger fighters.
FIRE
Fierce and Flickery
Usually medium-weight or tall light-weight
fighters, their subconscious inner voice tells
them to be like fire – unpredictable, volatile,
and when there is something in their way, to
go around it.
The qualities a ‘Fire Fighter’
possesses, or should aspire to
possess are:
• The most spectacular fighters with the largest arsenal
• Works best from mid to long range
• Harasses opponents from a distance
• Uses peripheral, round techniques with both hands and feet to open up a opponents guard before coming in
• Develops unpredictable movements and/or devastating combinations
• Works on fitness and flexibility
• Disengages if opponents get too close
• Keeps opponents at a distance with defensive kicks
• Develops extreme reach with lunging forward lunge or reverse punch
• Primarily an attacking karate-ka and is more likely to evade and attack than to hold ground
• Masters coming at the opponent from different angles. eg. they will use side stepping and peripheral techniques to attack sides then suddenly change direction. Equally, they often attack high then drop their weight suddenly for a low attack.
• Uses in and out combinations
Favourite Techniques:
• Round, side and hook kicks from both in close and distance. Attacking sweeps, back-fists, haitos and fura uchi at distance to open guard followed by mid range punches.
Weaknesses:
•Often have poor defensive strength in close
•Vulnerable to sweeps and having their kicks caught
•Peripheral styled fighters are more vulnerable to pick-offs
•Over confidence. Due to their superior collection of spectacular arsenal, they often neglect to work on strategy, timing, distance closing speed and power.
Goal:
•Fire fighters must develop a large variety of arsenal or they risk becoming predictable.
•In their attempts to be fast and to go around an opponent’s guard, they must not appear to be weak or they will not intimidate their opponent.
STONE
Strong and
Immovable
Almost always heavy weight, and if not,
fighters of strong body with powerful
technique, their subconscious inner voice
tells them to be like a stone - impervious to
Wind, Fire and Water, and to crush all who
stand in their way. Like a stone these
fighters try to develop imperviousness to
wind, fire or water and also have the power
to rollover and crush them.
The qualities a ‘Stone Fighter’
possesses, or should aspire to
posses are:
•The strongest fighters and best sweepers
•Works best from close range
•Develops tight blocking system along with arm and body conditioning
•Holds ground in defence to facilitate powerful counter-attacks
•Generally patient to wait until opponent moves close enough before they pounce
• Works tirelessly on power and strength
• Aims to finish off an opponent with one technique
• Often spars with a shorter stance
• Uses weight and strength to drive forward and doesn’t mind taking a hit to give one back
• Will charge like a rhino to any opponent who cannot evade
• Tries to fight at close to mid range where they are more difficult to block
• Is most likely to grab and grapple
• Uses intimidation to their advantage, even through their kiai
Favourite Techniques:
• Blocks (to counter from) close range punches, mid range reverse punch, front kicks and defensive sweep. Like an axe that cuts down a tree, they often aim repeated attacks to the same area.
Weaknesses:
• Easy to evade
• Not good at initiating attacks unless allowed to get very close
• Slow to manoeuvre
• While they are stronger, they often lack fitness and can be tired by a fighter willing to move about
• Over confidence. Due to their superior strength, Stone fighters can often neglect to work on speed or minimise telegraphing.
Goals:
• To understand that on the street where no rules apply, their body conditioning and philosophy of ‘happy to take a hit to give one back’ may haunt them if struck in a vulnerable area (something not permissible in kumite).
• To develop speed, fitness and minimise telegraphing
WATER
Flowing and Adaptable
Often embodied by fighters of all weights,
their subconscious inner voice tells them to
be like water: adaptable, decisive, at times
passive and other times devastating. In the
immortal words of Bruce Lee, “Be like
water; water has form and yet it has no
form. It is the softest element on earth yet it
can penetrate the hardest rock. It has no
SHIMBUN | 39
shape, if you pour it into a cup it becomes
the cup. It flows but then it can crash.
Observe the nature of water, my friend.”
The qualities a ‘Stone Fighter’
possesses, or should aspire to
possess are:
• The most decisive, thinking and tactical fighters
• Works best from mid to short range
• Reactionary by nature, they rely on opponents coming in, and then exploit openings when opponent attacks
• Has lots of patience
• Masters reading the opponent
• Develops flowing, circular, loose blocking style
• Expert at shifting body weight and side stepping
• Stays extremely calm under attack and never turns their head away
• Masters counter attacking with combinations
• Punishes opponents who over extend to attack
• Develops expert sense of timing
• Moves and works around opponent
• Often draws attackers in for the sweep
Favourite techniques:
• Pick-off and counter punches, counter attacking back fists, defensive sweeps, fakes and combinations where targets are varied to open up a guard
Weaknesses:
• Not threatening enough on the offensive
• Over strategising – analysis leads to paralysis
• Over confidence. Due to their superior strategy and kumite intellect, they can often neglect hard training. This only serves to frustrate Water fighters as they know ‘what’ they should do. However their
body won’t carry out what their brain tells them.
Goals:
• Not the fastest, strongest or most spectacular fighters, they rely on their brain. So these fighters must spend the most time observing, studying and reflecting on kumite. They must also spend
as much time sparring as possible to develop timing and strategy.
Why many adopt the wrong style
Too often I see a small person of slight build
and low strength trying to hold their ground
against someone much bigger and stronger
– an admirable effort but not sensible. While
that smaller person may be testing their
skills, were it on the street and, shall we say,
‘playing for keeps’, their habit won’t serve
them well. They would be far better to evade
and use other qualities more suited to them.
Likewise, I have seen big, but relatively slow
students repeatedly try to lunge in from
distance against much lighter and agile
opponents. This sees them punch thin air,
get picked off or countered almost every
time. Instead, against a smaller, faster
opponent, they should adapt Stone qualities
and wait for the smaller opponent to get
closer, even waiting for them to attack
before striking.
I surmise that there are two obvious reasons
for people adopting a style that does not
suit them.
1. Their instructor. People learn most by
what they see. So it is natural that people
watch their instructor and then try to model
themselves on him/her. Their instructor
however may be a completely different style
of fighter.
2. Ignorance. It’s fair to say that many
karate-ka have never given thought to their
strengths and weaknesses and therefore the
strategies they should employ.
What’s your style?
Developing a style of kumite that plays to
your strengths is an invaluable lesson. Being
aware of the style that best suits you also
allows you to develop your skills to
complement your style, or to devise a plan
to improve your physical self. For example if
40 | SHIMBUN
you are a slow mover you have two choices:
to work on your blocking, picking off and
countering (like a Stone or Water fighter) or
to work hard on your fitness and speed until
you become fast on your feet (like a Wind or
Fire fighter). Either way, you always have a
choice!
I had one student say, “I don’t have the size
or strength to be Stone, does that mean I
am Water?” I answered, “Probably yes!”
They thought momentarily and said, “But I
am not very tactical either”. So I replied, “If
you don’t have certain abilities or natural
advantages that lend themselves to being
good at kumite, then let’s start developing
tactics, because it’s the quickest way to
gain advantage. In the meantime, let’s start
training harder to develop skills, speed,
flexibility or strength to give you an
advantage”.
Don’t forget, each style has
weaknesses
Some karate-ka are fully equipped to use all
four categories. The other 99% however slip
into one more than all others. So remember
that each style has weaknesses.
This tells us two things:
No matter whom you’re sparring (bar the
1%) they have weaknesses. Ask yourself,
‘What category do they fall into, what are
their weaknesses’. Find these and exploit
them.
Be aware that you have weaknesses and try
to eliminate these from your style.
The Ultimate Goal
While you may now see yourself as a
particular style of fighter, it is by no means
absolute and you should always work
to develop yourself in all areas. When I
was a coloured belt I worked very hard to
master my style, “Wind” and these skills
and abilities still serve me very well. As a
black belt however, my goal was to become
a more rounded fighter incorporating, if
not mastering elements of all the different
styles. Adaptability is an important quality
to become a better karate-ka. My old
instructor, Sensei Anthony Ryan used to say,
“Wind can easily push the grass around,
but the oak tree stands strong, refusing to
move. However a strong wind can uproot
the oak tree yet even the strongest winds
cannot uproot grass which simply moves
to and fro”. Depending on our opponent,
sometimes we need to be like the oak tree
and other times, the grass. After all what if
two ‘Stone fighters’ come up against each
other? There are two possible answers: You
will either see who is best at being ‘Stone’
or you will see who is most adaptable.