DAGEKI WORLD KARATE CHAMPIONSHIP 2024
RULES – ELITE KATA
Saturday- May 18, 2024
- The Elite Kata competition is open to participants aged 16 years old and up and ranked from 1st Kyu to Black Belt.
- A competitor cannot be enrolled in both Elite Kata and Kata.
- A judging team consists of 5 judges, including the head judge who takes charge of the competition.
- Each participant introduces himself to the judges and announces the kata he will perform. It is not required to identify the selected kata before that moment.
- All participants must perform a traditional kata. A traditional kata is a sequence of traditional karate techniques that is learned and performed by all members of an organization; it is a required element at belt promotion tests and not a “custom made” kata for one or few members of the organization.
- Each participant is given a mark – between 5.0 and 10.0 – by each judge; the total of the allocated marks is used to rank the participant within the round.
- Should a participant choose to perform a “nontraditional” kata, he would be penalized – each judge giving him the minimal mark of 5 over 10 to point it out.
- Since traditional kata forms vary from one karate style to another, each participant is judged according to the following criteria:
- Flagrant mistakes, loss of balance, hesitation
- Basic stances
- Kicking techniques
- Punching, blocking, shuto techniques
- Consistency in the execution of techniques
- Balance and fluidity
- Spirit and intensity
- Speed and control
- For each division, a preliminary round establishes 6 finalists.
- In the event of a tie(*) for the 6th place during the preliminary round, the head judge asks the ex-aequo participants to perform a kata again to establish the winner of the 6th place.
- In the final round, only the scores of this final round are used to determine the 3 winners among the 6 finalists. The scores received in the preliminary round are not considered.
- A participant cannot present the same kata form in the preliminary and final round.
- In the event of a tie (*) for the 1st, 2nd or 3rd place during the final round, the head judge asks the ex-aequo participants to perform a kata again to establish the winner of the given place.
(*): In a tie breaker, participants can present the same kata form or choose another one. In the event of a second tie, the highest score and the lowest score are removed to determine the winner.