2021 Olympics Fan Guide: Everything you need to know about karate

Being held as an Olympic sport for the first time ever, the various karate competitions will be worth having an eye on in Tokyo

Combat sports like judo and boxing have played a pivotal part in the Summer Olympics, and now a new one gets to enter the fray for 2021. The 2021 Games in Tokyo will feature the inaugural Olympic karate competitions.

All karate competitions for Tokyo 2021 will take place at the Nippon Budokan.

2021 Olympics: What is the format for karate? What are the rules?

At the Olympics, karate tournaments will be split into two different kinds of competitions: Kumite and kata.

In Kumite, two karatekas will compete against one another in an 8×8 area, trying to outland their opponent in strikes over a three-minute period. Karateka are awarded points for each strike landed. The point value — based on the form, power and control of the strikes — is either one point (Yuko), two points (Waza-ari) or three points (ippon).

Whoever has the most points at the end of three minutes will be declared the winner. A karateka can also win if they obtain a lead of eight points. In a draw, the karateka who scored the first point will be the winner. A scoreless draw goes to a judges’ decision.

Kumite participants will be divided into different weight classes: 67 kg, 75 kg and +75 kg for men, and 55 kg, 61 kg and +61 kg for women.

In kata, where there is one men’s and one women’s competition, karatekas step up individually to perform their kata (“demonstration of forms,” featuring both offensive and defensive maneuvers) in front of judges.

An Olympic karateka must pick one kata from 102 eligible katas recognized by the World Karate Federation — katas in either the Goju-Ryu, Shito-Ryu, Shotokan or Wado-Ryu styles of karate — to perform. They cannot perform the same kata twice in a tournament.

Seven judges will score the kata, with the two highest and two lowest scores being thrown out and the remaining three scores added together.

A Karateka’s kata will be judged based on seven technical areas (stances, techniques, transitional movements, timing, correct breathing, focus and conformance) and three athletic areas (strength, speed and balance).

2021 Olympics: Who are the athletes to know in karate?

One of the biggest names to watch for in men’s Kumite is France’s Steven Da Costa, who will be competing in the 67 kg weight class. He’s claimed gold medals in this event at the 2016 and 2019 European Championships, as well as the 2018 World Championships. Da Costa, who most recently claimed bronze at the 2021 European Championships, is a favorite to win the gold at 67 kg after Vincius Figueira failed to qualify.

One of the more prominent names competing at 75 kg, meanwhile, is Rafael Aghayev of Azerbaijan, widely considered one of the best karatekas in the world, both today and all-time. He’s won over 30 medals in his competitive career, including five World Championships gold medals and 11 European Championships gold medals, competing in Kumite at 65 kg, 70 kg, and 75 kg, as well as openweight and team competitions.

Ugur Aktas of Turkey is perhaps the biggest favorite to win in the +75 kg portion of Kumite. A competitor at 84 kg and team Kumite, Aktas has earned seven gold medals at the European Championships in his career, including gold at 84 kg at the 2021 event. Aktas also took a bronze in team Kumite at the 2014 World Championships and a silver in team Kumite and bronze in 84 kg at the 2018 Worlds.

The women’s 55 kg Kumite competition will feature one of the best female karatekas in the world in Anzhelika Terliuga of Ukraine. She was the grand winner of 55 kg female Kumite at the Karate 1 Premier League in 2017, won gold at 55 kg Kumite at the 2018 European Championships and took gold in team Kumite at the 2017 and 2019 European Championships.

Jovana Prekovic of Serbia is the karateka to watch at 61 kg. She recently won gold in this category at the 2021 European Championships, her second European Championships gold. She also won gold in the category at the 2018 World Championships, defeating Yin Xiaoyan of China, who will also be competing in this category in Tokyo.

Arguably the karateka to beat at women’s +61 kg is Irina Zaretska. Born in Ukraine but representing Azerbaijan, Zaretska also took home gold in her weight class’s Kumite competition at the 2018 World Championships. She recently also won her second gold medal in the category at the European Championships.

In men’s kata, the battle to watch will be between favorites Rio Kyuna of Japan and Damian Quintero of Spain. Kyuna has won many gold medals in individual and team kata at the World Championships and Asian Championships events since 2014. Quintero, who won gold in team kata at the 2014 World Championships, has claimed 10 gold medals between individual and team kata at the European Championships, most recently winning a silver at the 2021 event.

Finally, there is arguably the greatest female kata practitioner of all time in Spain’s Sandra Sanchez. She is recognized as having obtained a world record for the most medals earned in the  Karate1 Premier League, including 35 consecutive golds between January 2014. and February 2020. Sanchez is a six-time European champion, including the 2021 event, in individual kata, and she won gold at the 2018 World Championships.

2021 Olympics: The elevator pitch for karate

Karate is a beautiful martial art to watch and an even better one to learn. Karate, of course, helps teach self-defense techniques, can give you a workout and helps improve things like cardio, stamina and flexibility. But there’s so much more to it.

Karatekas are taught to look at their own their self-development and grow as an individual. They are told to be humble but confident. The martial art develops one’s self-esteem and puts an emphasis on focus, effort and energy. Karate helps an individual grow not just in an athletic sense, but also a spiritual one.

The kata competitors will gracefully display offensive and defensive positions and movements with an effective, and eloquent, flow. During kata, karatekas should show a perfect display of attributes like strength, skill, speed, balance, focus and concentration.

In Kumite, participants will show the perfect demonstration of trying to hit without getting hit. Audiences may be impressed by the power and speed of the strikes, as well as the techniques karatekas use in an effort to land.