Using the clock in tournament

You don't have to wait till black belt to develop tournament smarts...

I’ve been a referee for 11 years now, and it still amazes me when even experienced fighters show a total lack of understanding for even the most basic strategy.

Here’s a classic example: Fred is fighting Bob, and Fred is two half points up (at say, 2 points to 1) with 15 seconds left on the clock. Bob is a counterattacker. Fred continues to initiate attacks repeatedly. Bob has demonstrated his ability to win points, and should he manage to draw even in the next 15 seconds, anyone could win in a sudden-death hikiwake, extra time situation. 15 seconds is more than enough time to score twice as a defender, but it’s hard to get past a strong defence twice successfully in that time.

What Fred should do is either stand back ready to counter attack, or he should move around at distance, making himself as hard to hit until the time runs out. An advanced strategist might even deliberate move in fast, distant circles his opponent knowing that most refs will call yame and restart the fight, or will back off and step out of the ring when the opponent draws close, wasting more of Bob’s time to draw even. The latter tactic is not particularly sporting, but I’ve seen regional managers do this in the semi-finals of the world cup. I don’t advocate being a dirty fighter, but the rules do not say that you must stand still and be a target for your opponent to draw even. I have no problem dodging and avoiding for 15 seconds, especially if I feel that I have been fortunate against a strong opponent to get a full point advantage in the first place. I don’t plan to stand still and wait for fortune to swing the other way! Many experienced fighters would even advocate stepping out of the ring to waste more time. I see this as abusing the letter of the law, and it would be no good in a real fight, but it's yor choice.

The opposite situation arises even more frequently: Sally and Jill are fighting, and Jill is a couple of half points up, with just 15 seconds on the clock. Instead of attacking, and attempting to draw even, Sally holds her distance, playing a counter-attacking game-plan, whilst the time ticks down to defeat.

It’s true that attacking makes you more vulnerable than defending, but that’s not to say that you shouldn’t ever be an attacker. If you are losing by a lot, with little time on the clock, you cannot afford to fight passively – you MUST take the fight to the opponent, and this is where it’s critical that you have practiced combinations that enable you to close a lot of ground.

The final situation occurs when John and Stew are fighting. There’s still 45 seconds or more on the clock, and John quickly scores a couple of half points or an ippon. Stew suddenly goes into overdrive, and recklessly hurls himself at John in a poorly-conceived and desperate attempt to pull back the lost points. Like a gambler trying to recoup a lost bet by betting bigger the next time, all Stew succeeds in doing is losing even more points and picking up mubobi warnings for reckless behaviour.

It’s vital to remain calm and collected if you lose a few points on the trot. If there’s still lots of time on the clock, you need to assess what is going wrong, and change your strategy, not hurl yourself wildly at the opponent in a manic attempt to regain lost points or psychological advantage. If time is short, you’ll need to take decisive action, but now, more than ever, it will need to be intelligent, deceptive, skilful action, calmly but quickly executed.

During tournament kumite, the clock can be your friend or your enemy. Listening for 30 second whistles, having a good sense of time remaining and points scored, and understanding when the clock is friend or foe, is vital to formulating your combat strategy, and maximising your chance of winning.