Kumite

Kumite is sparring — the part of karate where two people actually face each other and exchange techniques.

It ranges from fully pre-arranged drills (ippon kumite — one attack, one defense, both sides known in advance) through semi-free forms up to jiyu kumite, free sparring close to competition. In Shotokan and most traditional styles kumite is non-contact or light-contact: points are scored for clean, controlled strikes that could have landed, not for actually hitting hard. If kata is the solo form, kumite is where those techniques meet a real opponent.