Karate is Safe

Is Karate Safe?

As the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be winding down, and karate programs begin to return to “normal”, I keep hearing the same question: Is karate safe? As I write this in mid-2021, “Is karate safe?” can be broken down into three questions:

• How likely is COVID-19 transmission in a karate class?
• How likely are injuries?
• What else do I need to know?

Karate and COVID-19

There’s a sense that karate is a “contact sport”, with a greater risk of COVID-19 transmission than other athletic activities. But most people don’t really understand what karate is. They see karate on television and in movies, but those are fiction, and reality is often very different.

Karate training is traditionally divided into three parts: kihon, kata, and kumite. In English, those translate roughly to “fundamentals”, “formal exercises”, and “sparring.” I’ll explain each, and compare them to other athletic activities in terms of the likelihood of COVID transmission.

Fundamentals (Kihon)

“Kihon” is the practice of individual techniques while standing in place, or moving back and forth across the floor. Some drills are performed with a partner, but the vast majority are practiced solo.

Think of this like a Crossfit workout. Some exercises require a “spotter”, but the majority of exercises are done apart. In that regard, karate is actually safer since it doesn’t require shared equipment.

This video shows a good example of kihon training in a typical karate class. These students look to be closer than six feet apart, but obviously the spacing can be adjusted.

Formal Exercises (Kata)

“Kata” are the dance-like routines you often see associated with the martial arts. The first thing to understand about kata is that they are solo exercises. Part of kata training involves explaining how each move can be used in self-defense, and that often involves an instructor demonstration, but the majority of kata practice is spent spread out, without ever touching another student.

Think of this like an aerobic dance or Zumba class where the students all learn a series of moves and then repeat them, all without touching each other. Kata training is no different.

This video shows an example of a student practicing kata on his own.

Sparring (Kumite)

Karate does involve partner drills, and there is some contact. So, like any activity that requires touching, there is some risk of COVID transmission, but probably less than you might think. The first thing you need to know about karate sparring is that karate is not boxing, it’s not “MMA”, and it’s not jiujitsu.

There’s nothing wrong with those activities. I’m just pointing out that it’s not what we do, and the distancing between participants is different. The distancing in karate sparring is much closer to what you might see in fencing. Training partners stay relatively far away from each other most of the time, only coming together when trying to score.

Also like fencing, once a technique scores, partners are separated and they begin again. It’s not at all like boxing where partners continue pounding on each other until the bell rings.

This video gives a good idea of what karate sparring looks like.

Yes, karate sparring involves some contact - there’s no denying that. But consider that the average pick-up game of basketball (which most gyms and health clubs consider “safe enough” after COVID) involves more contact per minute than most hour-long karate classes.

Karate and Injuries

Though it may seem counterintuitive, research shows that martial arts training leads to fewer injuries than most other sporting activities. To keep this brief, I’ll only cite two studies.

This study from the National Institutes of Health compares injury rates between boxing, wrestling, and martial arts. This table (which I snipped to fit) shows the injury rates per 100,000 “player days.”

I don’t know what a “player day” is, but I can see that the injury rate of marital arts is 85% lower than that of wrestling.

Another NIH study discusses injury rates for fifteen colligate sports, for both men and women. It does not include martial arts, but it does include wrestling. This graph shows practice injury rates per 1000 “athlete exposures.”

Now combine the two:

• Martial artists are injured 85% less often than wrestlers. (Study 1)
• Wrestlers are injured 5.7 times per 1000 practice sessions. (Study 2)

That means marital artists should expect about 0.85 injuries per 1000 practice sessions. That’s less than every other sport in the study. Baseball twice as many injuries and football has more than five times as many.

But why is karate so safe?

I like to say that “Karate is safe because we practice it safely.” That’s not to say that other sports don’t practice safely - it’s more about our mindset.

• Baseball, football, and basketball teach you to hit, kick, and throw a ball.
• Karate teaches you to hit, kick, and throw each other.

To make an extreme analogy, consider a gun range. Despite being full of deadly weapons, gun ranges are extremely safe because there are strict rules about when and how things are done. Karate is the same way. Scroll back up to the video of the two youths sparring again, and notice that they’re wearing protective gear, and being closely supervised. They “hit” each other several times, but no one is injured.

If all of this sounds far-fetched, consider that I’ve been training for more than 35 years with only one real injury. I broke my “pinkie toe” when I accidentally kicked a guy in the knee. Yes, there are going to be bumps, bruises, and scrapes, but that happens in any sport, no matter how “safe” it is.

What else do I need to know?

So far we’ve discussed how karate is safer than you might think when it comes to the risk COVID-19 and the possibility of injuries. Now let’s talk about how karate actually makes you safer in your everyday life.

There’s no doubt that karate is good for you in all the same ways that other athletic activities are: You’ll build strength, agility, coordination, and stamina. Being active reduces your risk of heart disease, arthritis, high blood pressure, depression, and many other maladies, but karate goes a step farther.

Karate teaches you to avoid confrontation, but gives you the tools to deal with it when it arises. It teaches you to act respectfully towards others, which reduces the likelihood of confrontations in the first place. Karate teaches you to protect yourself while helping to develop the “self” you’re protecting.

In summary, karate not only less risky than other sports, it goes a long way towards reducing the other risks in your everyday life.

To be fair …

To be fair, this is the case for most karate, but there are always “outliers.” Some schools have done away with kata, some stress competition sparring above all else, and some “reality-based” schools look a lot like boxing gyms. As with all things, your mileage may vary. However, I’m comfortable that what I’ve written here is true for the majority of karate schools.