In karate, ''yakusoku kumite'' (from

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

約束 ''yakusoku'' 'promise' ''

Kumite Kumite ( ja, 組手, literally "grappling hands") is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which a person trains against an adversary. Kumite can be used to develop a par ...

'' 組手 'grappling hands') is the group of pre-arranged karate sparring forms that are designated to equip the practitioner with the essential skills required to perform any of the ''jiyu'' 自由 ('free') Kumite sparring forms. When an extreme sporting application of ''jiyu kumite'', such as in a full contact

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

contest, is the exclusive training focus of the participant, then the practice of the more basic forms of ''yakusoku kumite'' tend to be neglected. However, traditional karate organisations such as Shotokan Karate Union and Shotokan Karate-do International Federation,

Japan Karate Association Japan Karate Association (日本空手協会; ''Nihon Karate Kyokai''; JKA; sometimes referred to simply as ''Kyokai'' 協会 in Japan) is one of the oldest global Shotokan karate organization in the world. Origins Gichin Funakoshi played a ...

that follow the budo form of jiyu kumite incorporate the ''yakusoku kumite'' forms within their grading syllabus.

References

{{reflist Karate techniques Shotokan Japanese martial arts terminology