Karate at the Summer Olympics will make its debut at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, Japan. Olympic karate will feature two types of events: Kumite and Kata. Sixty competitors from around the world will compete in the Kumite competition, and twenty will compete in the Kata competition. Both divisions of the competition will be split 50/50 between men and women.
The Olympic karate competition will put eight gold medals in dispute: six for the Kumite competition and two for the Kata competition. The main rules for Kumite and Kata competitions are as follows:
Kumite
The individual tournament for the Kumite competition at the World Karate FederationKarate World Championships is held under a weight class system comprising five divisions each for both men and women. However, the Kumite competition at the Summer Olympics will consist of just three divisions each, thus:
Weight classes for men: −67 kg, −75 kg, +75 kg
Weight classes for women: −55 kg, −61 kg, +61 kg
Kumite rules
In any category, fights last for up to three timed minutes. During that period, the winner is considered to be the who scores eight points more than their adversary. If this does not happen, the person with more points at the end of the fight is the winner. If the fight ends up tied, a decision will be given through the senshu rule, the contestant that scored the first unopposed point wins.
Assignment of points
Points are earned as follows:
Ippon : for hitting the head or neck of the opponent with a kick, or when any technique is applied to a fallen adversary.
Waza-ari : for applying a kick to the belly, side, back or torso of the opponent.
Yuko : for delivering a punch with closed hand to the head, neck, belly, side, back or torso of the opponent.
Strikes below the belt are strictly forbidden and strength must always be controlled as the fighter will receive a warning if they hurt their opponent, points may be lost or there may even be a disqualification if the resulting injury is severe. Knocking an opponent down to the floor without at least attempting to strike him/her is also liable to be punished. Warning levels:
Chukoku : for committing a minor infraction for the first time. As this is only the first warning, points are not awarded to the adversary.
Keikoku : for the same minor infraction, or for committing a medium infraction for the first time. One point is awarded to the adversary.
Hansoku-chui : for committing the same minor infraction for the third time, the same medium infraction for a second time, or for committing a major infraction for the first time. The victory is given to the opponent.
Hansoku : this not only gives victory to the opponent but makes it an 8−0 victory, inflicting serious damage on the team score as a whole.
Warnings and punishments are divided into two different categories, the first being for excessive and/or illegal contact and the other for technical violations, such as leaving the koto or faking an injury in order to make the referee give the opponent a warning.
Kata
Competitors are judged on the power and correctness of their techniques. Under conventional competition rules, one competitor is assigned a blue belt and the other a red belt, and each takes a turn in demonstrating his or her kata. The outcome of the competition is determined under a flag system, where five judges who each have a blue flag and a red flag raise either to signal which competitor, they believe, won: the one with more flags raised in his or her favour is declared the winner. However discussions are still ongoing into the judging system, including whether to use a scoring system rather than the flag system. Due to the immense number of karate styles, each with its own katas, only katas from the styles recognized by the WKF are allowed in the Olympics. The lack of representation of many karate styles in the kata competition generates much criticism from practitioners of these styles around the globe.
