Karate World Championships

Template:Short description Template:Infobox martial arts tournament The Karate World Championships, also known as the World Karate Championships, are the highest level of competition for karate organized by the World Karate Federation (WKF). The competition is held in a different city every two years. Championships in the 2000s included Madrid in 2002, Monterrey in 2004, Tampere in 2006, Tokyo in 2008, and Belgrade in 2010. The competition was initially riddled with controversy regarding karate styles and the ruleset.

In 1980, women were first allowed to compete in the championships.

Competition and events

Kumite

• Individual kumite – men and women
• Team kumite – men and women

Kumite Rules

The result of a bout is determined by a contestant obtaining a clear lead of eight points, having the highest number of points at time-up, obtaining a decision (hantei ), or by an accumulation of prohibited behaviors imposed against a contestant.

Scoring & Penalties

• Ippon (three points)
  • Jodan (head, face, neck) kicks
  • Any scoring technique delivered on a thrown or fallen opponent
• Waza-ari (two points)
  • Chudan (abdomen, chest, back, side) kicks
• Yuko (one point)
  • Tsuki (punch)
  • Uchi (strike)
• Prohibited behavior
  • Category 1
    • Techniques which make excessive contact, in regards to the scoring area attacked, or make contact with the throat
    • Attacks to the arms or legs, groin, joints, or instep
    • Attacks to the face with open hand techniques
    • Dangerous or forbidden throwing techniques
  • Category 2
    • Feigning or exaggerating injury
    • Exit from the competition area (jogai ) not caused by the opponent
    • Self-endangerment by indulging in behavior which exposes the contestant to injury by the opponent, or failing to take adequate measures for self-protection (mubobi )
    • Avoiding combat as a means of preventing the opponent having the opportunity to score
    • Passivity – not attempting to engage in combat (cannot be given after less than the last 10 seconds of the match)
    • Clinching, wrestling, pushing, or standing chest-to-chest without attempting a scoring technique or takedown
    • Grabbing the opponent with both hands for any other reason than executing a takedown upon catching the opponent's kicking leg
    • Grabbing the opponent's arm or karategi (uniform) with one hand without immediately attempting a scoring technique or takedown
    • Techniques which, by their nature, cannot be controlled for the safety of the opponent, and other dangerous and uncontrolled attacks
    • Simulated attacks with the head, knees, or elbows
    • Talking to or goading the opponent
    • Failing to obey the orders of the referee
• Warnings and penalties
  • Chukoku is imposed for the first instance of a minor infraction in the applicable category.
  • Keikoku is imposed for the second instance of a minor infraction in that category, or for infractions not serious enough to merit hansoku-chui.
  • Hansoku-chui is a warning of disqualification usually imposed for infractions for which a keikoku has previously been given in that bout; it may be imposed directly for serious infringements which do not merit hansoku.
  • Hansoku is the penalty of disqualification following a very serious infraction or when a hansoku-chui has already been given. In team matches, the offender's score will be zeroed and the opponent's score will be set at eight points.
  • Shikkaku is a penalty of disqualification in which the offender is expelled from the entire tournament. Generally, it is given for particularly severe infringements, beyond that which would normally result in hansoku being given. In a team match, the offender’s score is set to zero, and the non-offender’s score is set to eight points, as with a normal hansoku.

Kata

• Individual kata – men and women
• Team kata (synchronized) – men and women
• Team kata with bunkai

Rules

1. Conformity - with standards in form and style (Ryu-ha)

2. Technical performance:

• Techniques
• Stances
• Transitional movements
• Timing/Synchronisation
• Correct breathing
• Focus (Kime)
• Technical difficulty

3. Athletic performance:

• Strength
• Speed
• Balance
• Rhythm

4. Fouls:

• Minor loss of balance
• Performing a movement in an incorrect or incomplete manner
• Asynchronous movement
• Use of audible cues
• Belt coming loose
• Time wasting
• Cause injury in the execution of Bunkai

List of Karate World Championships

Edition	Year	Host City	Country	Events
1	1970	Tokyo	Template:Flagcountry	2
2	1972	Paris [[association championnet]]		2
3	1975	Long Beach		2
4	1977	Tokyo	Template:Flagcountry	2
5	1980	Madrid	Template:Flagcountry	10
6	1982	Taipei		13
7	1984	Maastricht		13
8	1986	Sydney		15
9	1988	Cairo		16
10	1990	Mexico City		16
11	1992	Granada		16
12	1994	Kota Kinabalu		16
13	1996	Sun City	Template:SAF	17
14	1998	Rio de Janeiro		17
15	2000	Munich		17
16	2002	Madrid		17
17	2004	Monterrey		17
18	2006	Tampere		17
19	2008	Tokyo		17
20	2010	Belgrade	Template:Flagcountry	16
21	2012	Paris		16
22	2014	Bremen		16
23	2016	Linz		16
24	2018	Madrid		16
25	2021	Dubai		16
26	2023	Budapest		16
27	2025	Cairo		16

All-time gold medal table (1970-present)

The following reflects the all-time medal counts as of the 2023 World Karate Championships: Template:Medals table

See also

• Asian Karate Championships
• European Karate Championships

External links

• Official WKF site
• World Karate Federation Results
• Medal Table