2. 20150817 Hopes high for karate's inclusion for 2020 Tokyo Olympics | The Herald
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Karate, a martial art consisting of punches, kicks and blocks, is among the sports Japan
is considering for inclusion on the Olympic program for the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Although karate has failed to win Olympic inclusion three times before — for the Beijing,
London and Rio Games — chances are a lot better this time for the traditional Japanese
sport.
Tokyo organizers, who are also considering the inclusion of baseball and softball, squash
and surfing, have until Sept. 30 to select one or more events to recommend to the
International Olympic Committee. The IOC's final decision comes in August 2016,
when it meets ahead of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
For 22-year-old Kawasaki, having a chance to compete at the Olympics would be the
ultimate reward for her daily 5.30 a.m. runs and countless hours of practice and
competition.
"I don't see anything I've gone through as sacrifices," the second-degree black belt said.
"I see myself first and foremost as a karate competitor."
If approved, karate would be contested in two categories; a solo performance called kata,
or "form," which demonstrates the choreographed sequences of karate techniques; the
other is sparring matches called kumite.
Kata must be precise, speedy and powerful as two contestants perform their katas and a
panel of five judges decides the winner. There are 86 designated katas, each lasting 3-5
minutes.
During a recent practice session at Tokyo's Kokushikan University, the 4-foot-11 (1.5-
meter), 113-pound (51-kilogram) Kawasaki practiced a kata routine called suparinpei,
jump-kicking in the air repeatedly.
Kumite consists of three-minute sparring for men, and two-minute matches for women.
For safety reasons, international competition usually mandates that punches and kicks
must be stopped before they make excessive direct contact with an opponent.
Those from karate schools that practice full contact would be allowed to take part in the
Olympics if the sport was included, but would have to abide by the rule over contact and
wear mouth guards, body protectors and padded gloves, as well as shin and foot guards.
Sergey Kushnir, a former coach for the U.S. karate team who runs Syracuse Martial Arts
Kenkyukai in upstate New York, said divisions among karate organizations have been an
obstacle in the past to the progress of the sport.
3. 20150817 Hopes high for karate's inclusion for 2020 Tokyo Olympics | The Herald
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"We are all separated even among ourselves. We cannot even agree what karate is,"
Kushnir said in a telephone interview. "Hopefully, we'll unite to get into the Olympics."
Misaki Oku, a 19-year-old first-degree black belt who is on Japan's national team, wants
to compete in kumite in 2020 and says karate's virtues of respect and courtesy make it a
good fit for the Olympics.
"We should never lose the basic values of our martial art," Oku, her face bruised from
training, said in an interview.
In a recent presentation to the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee, World Karate
Federation General Secretary Toshihisa Nagura emphasized that while karate has truly
become a global sport, it embodies the traditional Japanese values of Budo or "the
martial way," referring to the rigorous discipline and spiritual purity that is asked of the
practitioner.
"It has spread worldwide as a global sport, crossing the boundaries of nations, regions
and race." Nagura said. "But at the same time, our biggest appeal is that it originated in
Japan."
Adding to karate's momentum, the Tokyo city government unanimously adopted a
resolution in November calling for the inclusion of karate and the combined bid for
baseball and softball.
The Japan Karatedo Federation says more than 100 million people practice karate in
190 countries, more than baseball and softball's combined total of 65 million players in
141 countries.
Shuji Kusaka, JKF secretary general, believes karate meets all the criteria the IOC will be
looking at in a new event, including universality, roots in tradition and gender equality.
"All we need to do," Kusaka said, "is just wait for the happy news."
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