Tournament Rules

Age Categories

• Youth:            14 – 15 years old
• Juniors:         16 – 17 years old
• Seniors:         18 – 20 years old
• Adults:           21 years old and above

Definition of age: The age of contestants for each division is considered determined as that of the first day of the tournament, 8^th of May, 2026.

Kata Rules

• Until 16: Flag system: SHITEI KATA: Heian 2 – Tekki 1
• Until 8: Flag system: SENTEI KATA: Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai, Enpi, Jion
• Until 4: Point system: SENTEI KATA: Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai, Enpi, Jion

Finals (best 4): Point System

The top 4 from semifinals will be randomly ordered for the finals, as generated by the software.

Youth Individuals – Kata Choices

Participants may choose from:

BASSAI DAI – KANKU DAI – JION – ENPI – HANGETSU (kata in semi-final must be different from kata in final)

Juniors Individuals – Kata Choices

Participants may choose from:

BASSAI DAI – KANKU DAI – JION – ENPI – HANGETSU – TEKKI 2 – TEKKI 3 – JITTE – GANKAKU (kata in semi-final must be different from kata in final)

Seniors and Adults Individuals – Tokui Kata

• Participants will select from JKA Shotokan Kata (not Shitei Kata).

TEAM Kata – Youth

• One kata for eliminations
• One new kata in the finals (different from the elimination kata)

Participants may choose only from, both elimination and finals:

BASSAI DAI – KANKU DAI – JION – ENPI – HANGETSU

TEAM Kata – juniors

• One kata for eliminations
• One new kata in the finals (different from the elimination kata)

Participants may choose only from, both elimination and finals:

BASSAI DAI – KANKU DAI – JION – ENPI – HANGETSU – TEKKI 2 – TEKKI 3 – JITTE – GANKAKU

TEAM Kata – Seniors and Adults

• One kata for eliminations
• One new kata in the finals (different from the elimination kata)
• Choice of TOKUI KATA: JKA Shotokan Kata (not Shitei Kata)

Standardization of Kata

The standardization of Kata for these championships will adhere to the current JKA HQ Karate-Do Kata books: Kata Volume 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Kumite Rules

• Eliminations and Finals: IPPON SHOBU; JKA rules

Additional information:

• Except for senior men, which will be SANBON SHOBU (3 minutes) in the finals, the eliminations and finals will be:
  • 2 minutes
  • Sakidori shobu (2 minutes)

Number of Entries

Individual events:

• Kumite:           Men and women, maximum of 4 participants per category
• Kata:               Men and women, maximum of 4 participants per category

Team events:

• Kumite:           3 men (+ 1 reserve), 3 women (+ 1 reserve) per category
• Kata:               3 men (+ 1 reserve), 3 women (+ 1 reserve) per category

More details are found in the bulletin