Kumite is
AFAIK Chinese (don't know which
dialect) for
bloodsport. The latter is the name of a most excellent
Jean-Claude Van Damme film; see its node for more details. I should note that all the detail below springs from that movie, which of course is of questionable accuracy at best. :-) This may or may not correspond at all with the
meatspace.
In the film, the Kumite is a tournament held regularly (I think like every five years?) in which the Ko Ko Ru Kai or Black Dragon Society of Hong Kong invites the best hand-to-hand fighters from around the world (usually a representative from each major school or style) to compete for the title of Master and a katana. All fighters fight in a single-elimination tournament. The end of a fight is determined by unconsciousness, death or the plea for mercy (Mate! pronounced Ma-Tay) on the part of the loser.
I love this badflique. I think during one reading period before exams, some friends and I watched it like forty times. It grew to have its own series of rituals, theater, rules, requirements and in fact just plain needs.
I miss college.