What is randori?
Randori (乱取り) loosely translates to “chaotic competing”, but I think that most people will understand better what we’re talking about if I call it “sparring”.
It is, at its heart, two people fighting.
It is not, however, two people fighting.
There are many ways that randori can be done, but none of them should involve actually trying to hurt the other person. After all, randori is done in the dojo, with your friends. Randori is not a self-defence situation where the object is to survive at all costs.
Perhaps the best way to understand randori is to think about what it is for. What’s the point? Why do we do it?
What is randori for?
Randori has several purposes, and that is why there are different ways it can be done.
Limited or gentei randori is used in many classes as a teaching tool. It’s all very well being able to do a simple block and punch combination in the air, or with a partner that you know is going to do one specific attack at a defined time. But can you do it when you have two possible attacks and have to choose the correct defence? Or while moving around the dojo and being attacked at random distances and times?
Limited randori allows you to practice timing, distance, footwork, attack, defence, and so much more, while not overloading your brain with the fact that anything could happen.
This type of randori is often done with no or minimal protective equipment, and at a speed calibrated to the experience of the people involved. If you’re the attacker (and in beginner-level randori the attacker and defender roles are often specified), try to go at a speed that your partner finds challenging but not impossible – that’s how they’ll improve, and it’ll give you good practice at reading your opponent.
As your experience increases, your randori will evolve.
At the other end of the spectrum you’ll find full competition-style randori. This is done with full protective equipment – helmet, body armour, gloves, groin protection, and so on. It’s still calibrated to your experience – if you’re a yellow belt you should never worry that you’ll have to compete against a 4th Dan black belt, for example – but it’s a little less cooperative. Your opponent won’t be trying to make it “challenging but not impossible”, they’ll be trying to score points – and so will you.
In Shorinji Kempo, scoring points in randori follows our philosophy. You get more points for a good solid defensive technique followed by a counter attack than you do for just hitting the other person.
What’s the reason for this type of randori? It has several. It puts you under more pressure than you would be in training, gets your adrenaline up and helps you learn how to deal with stressful situations. It lets you know what having a fist come towards your face actually feels like. It allows you to test yourself to see where your weaknesses truly are – when under stress, people fall back into habits they thought they had broken, and identifying those points is helpful.
Of course there are many ways to do randori between these extremes. And each one teaches something valuable.
Who should do randori?
Everyone should do randori! From the very first class. If you get stuck in the habit of only doing static drills or compliant practice, you’ll struggle to make techniques work on anyone who isn’t helping you. Better to put in some randomness from the beginning.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying that the first class you attend should have full competition-style randori with helmets and body armour. But limited randori, with defined aims and rules? Absolutely yes.