What does a karate technique need in order to score?
I · Intermediate · Scoring · 3 of 10A technique scores only if it meets six criteria together: good form, sporting attitude, vigorous application, awareness of the opponent during and after, good timing and correct distance. It must reach a scoring area, which is the head and neck or the body above the pelvis. It must also be one that would have worked had it not been controlled.
How it works
- Good form: a properly executed technique.
- Sporting attitude: delivered without intent to injure.
- Vigorous application: speed and power.
- Awareness: staying alert to the opponent during and after the technique, without turning away or falling.
- Good timing: delivered at the right moment.
- Correct distance: delivered from where it would be effective.
- All six: a technique must meet every one.
- Chudan: the body above the pelvis, up to and including the collarbone. The shoulder joint is excluded.
- Jodan: the area above the collarbone.
- Potential: the technique must have been capable of being effective if it had not been controlled.
The glossary has the scoring criteria, the zanshin, the jodan and chudan, the control and skin touch, the gyaku zuki and the mawashi geri.
Tricky cases
A fast punch touches the opponent's chest, but the athlete turns away at once to celebrate. Does it score?
No. Turning one's back to the opponent after a technique is a lack of awareness, and the technique is invalid.
A kick lands on the upper arm. Is that a score?
No. The arms are not a scoring area, and attacks to the arms are prohibited.
An athlete scores and then falls over. Does the point stand?
No, unless the fall was caused by the opponent's foul. Falling down after completing a technique fails the awareness criterion.
A technique lands a moment after "Yame". Does it count?
No. A technique executed after "Yame" or after the time-up signal is invalid.
Why the rule exists
The judges are asked whether the technique would have worked in earnest. Speed and form show that it would. Timing and distance show that it reached. Awareness afterwards shows the athlete was still in the fight and had not thrown the technique away in hope.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Body (chudan) | Above the pelvis, to the collarbone | WKF Kumite 8.4 |
| Head (jodan) | Above the collarbone | WKF Kumite 8.4 |
| From outside the area | Invalid | WKF Kumite 8.11 |
| After a foul by the scorer | Invalid | WKF Kumite 8.11 |
| After "Wakarete", before "Tsuzukete" | Invalid | WKF Kumite 8.11 |
From the rule book
World Karate Federation, Kumite Competition Rules (version 2026.01, valid from 1 January 2026), Articles 8.2 to 8.5 and 8.11. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: the federation's Kumite Competition Rules.