Karate - Fast Action + Low Light = Big Frustration

After weeks of arranging, our shoot with a local karate club finally arrived.  We didn't quite know what to expect, so this was more of a reconaisance session for us to see what went on and under what conditions.  The club could not have been more obliging, with members carrying out a variety of drills, Kata and sparring sessions for us.

However, the setup whilst fine for a karate training session, is less than great from a photography perspective, in fact it would be hard to think of a worse one.  The training sessions take place in a school gymnasium, sadly it is lit by horrid orange sodium lights and although the room appears bright to the naked eye, is to a camera quite dark.  So this required high ISO settings and slower shutter speeds to get light enough pictures.  Two issues are raised by this, higher ISO settings means more sensor noise and slower shutter speeds meant that the guys punching and kicking were at best "soft" and at worst completely blurred.  Those guys are fast!

To try to salvage something from the session, I tried to use a handheld Sigma wireless flash, and this worked to a degree as it was more effective in "freezing" the fighters.  unfortunately though, I then had a foreground with a blue light balance and a background that had a strong orange cast.  I also felt the flash was a bit harsh.

The other major problem was again down to the training hall.  The walls were festooned with climbing ladders, gym kit, posters etc etc which really spoiled the shots we were able to get.  So to get any kind of output at all meant cutting out in Photoshop and slotting in another background.

So all in all, a very frustrating but interesting challenge.  I'd be interested to hear ideas on how to improve shots in these circumstances as we've agreed with the club to have another go, they are very tolerant!