In karate you compete in tournaments instead of “games” like a lot of sports. They’re are plenty of different tournaments and it also depeneds on where you live.
Inner Dojo
The younger kids that are in the traditional classes still learn some competitive karate because it is a fun thing to do. The younger kids will take their skills and compete at a tournament just within the dojo to get the experience and to have a fun day. My first tournament was an inner dojo and after it I knew I wanted to just do competitive. When my dojo has a tournament I usually help the kids get ready because I am one of their regular coaches, or I will help ref them which is really fun.
Yuujou
The yuujou tournaments do not happen anymore but when I was younger these tournaments was my first taste of a real tournament with kids from a different dojo. These tournaments were competed in by three different dojos, mine (HMA), ISK, and RSK. The sensei of the three dojos competed on team Canada with each other when they were younger and the sensei of RSK is the team Canada senior coach.
TKKO
The TKKO is a tournament that used to be held every few months and was a really good tournament for any rec kid because it gives good experience to start getting ready for bigger tournaments. To my knowledge the organizations have stopped having these tournaments because they did not have enough money to rent out the space.
Karate Ontario
Three years ago there was still Karate Ontario, the organization for tournaments in Ontario and the section tournaments for Team Ontario. I competed as a recreational athlete for these tournaments. This organization was around for a long time but collapsed and went bankrupt.
OKF
The OKF or Ontario Karate federation is the new organization for karate in Ontario. There are usually four or five of the tournaments in a year all in the and they are very important. These tournaments are the selection process to make it onto team Ontario. I first started compete in elite at an OKF tournament and that was such a great experience. I also got to be on team Ontario and go to nationals and make it onto the roster for team Canada. The way you make it on to team Ontario is that you are in the top three for kumite and top four for kata. You can get in these places by meddling. This year I was not able to compete because of injuries but I still got to help coach the younger kids.
Nationals
Once you are on team Ontario you will start to have team training’s every two weeks to get ready for nationals which is a tournament for all of Canada. This tournament is a very stressful one. The atmosphere is very intense and fun. You will go up against people in your division from any of the different provinces. It is usually a three day tournament with matches going from 8 Am to 3 Pm each day. If you place at this tournament you will get to be on the Team Canada roster is which how you get to compete at Pan Ams. Once you are on team Canada you now have the chance to go to all of the team training and the “camps”. I was not able to compete at Pan Ams because I aged out and was too old for my age category.
In conclusion there are many different tournaments to compete at and many different pathways for different competitors to take.
Karate 2018 