| Karate competitions take place on a national, | | | | make them quite abstract as part of a larger |
| international, and local level. Locally, dojos close to each | | | | movement. Katas and sparring allow the student to |
| other will get together to have informal sparring | | | | give physical application to the practice he or she has |
| competitions. This is often combined with black belt | | | | been studying. |
| testing, as there need to be 3 high-degree black belts | | | | There are varying degrees of contact in competition |
| present to pass the honor onto other students. | | | | dependent upon the style practiced and level of |
| There are three parts in competition: kata, or the series | | | | student. Obviously, a third degree black belt is capable |
| of movements used to display known skills; katas and | | | | of more close-range sparring than a yellow belt. The |
| other form movements with weaponry; and sparring | | | | rules for sparring, therefore, vary between belt levels |
| with a partner. The World Karate Federation is the | | | | for the safety of the fighters. |
| largest organized group. The International Olympic | | | | Competitions are a great place to go to see many |
| Committee accepts their rules as international | | | | people perform identical katas. The katas that are |
| standard. WKF does not have a weapons competition. | | | | learned as a white belt are still preformed by the |
| Competitive sparring is a great way of showing the | | | | highest degrees of black belt, but watching them |
| concrete application of personal stylistic practices. | | | | perform katas really shows the application of the |
| Katas take potentially deadly attack positions and | | | | techniques as they are supposed to be used. |