In one of the more diverse karate tournaments I’ve been to, competitors came out from across the southern region to showcase their weapon, kata, and kumite skills at the first ever Southern Open Karate Championships. The tournament was held at the Quality Inn and Conference Center in Hammond, Louisiana, and saw a variety of karate styles, from Shotokan to Isshin-Ryū. The tournament also included a demonstration of Traditional Japanese Aikido, which was interesting to see. I have to hand it to Sensei Joey Giluso for providing both spectators and competitors alike with a wonderful exhibition of skill and variety at the tournament.

From a photography standpoint, this was a fun event to shoot. The addition of weapons and Aikido made for a nice change from the traditional Shotokan tournaments I’m used to seeing. The different karate styles also added a twist, as I wasn’t as familiar with the katas as I am with Shotokan. The room that the tournament was held in was smaller than usual, but I think this added a more personal feel to the photographs, as the audience and competitors were much closer to the cameras and helped to fill the frame. As with any tournament, I strove for the highest shutter speeds possible, but found myself having to go a bit lower than usual depending on where the competitors were in the room and what color gi they wore. I shot with the fixed 135mm f/2.0, which added a nice bit of light. The image stabilizer on the 70-200mm f/2.8 came in handy also, as did the added wideness of the 24-70mm f/2.8. I think all of my equipment got a good workout throughout the day. Below you’ll find some of my favorite shots and, as always, the full set is available at the bottom of the page.

Below is the full set of images, including ones not posted above.

Click on any of the thumbnails below to see a larger version of the image. Use the arrows to navigate to the next or previous image, and the “X” to close. To buy prints, please visit: http://store.allysonokeefe.com/Sports/2011-Southern-Open-Karate/