The two days of competition of the Kata World Championships Abu Dhabi 2023 ended with four new disciplines contested within the grounds of La Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi. The time for the first assessments has arrived.

For Jean-Luc Rougé, member of the IJF Executive Committee, "The competition had to find a place in the calendar but its evolution proves that it has reached maturity while respecting the tradition of judo. We attended a high-level competition with a very respectful atmosphere. For the IJF it is important to develop the practice of kata to promote the ideals of Kano Jigoro Shihan whose objectives are improvement through education for the development of society. On the world circuit, we attend competitions where the objective is to beat the opponent in kata, we do everything to promote the partner. Beyond the kata competition, there is an objective of solidarity. This is what we observed during these two days."

Daniel De Angelis, the Director of the Kata Commission, is also a happy man, "Above all, I am very satisfied with the participation. We saw Japanese domination but we also saw a lot of countries performing. This attracted the public and that's a very good thing.

Thanks to the support of the IJF, we now have the CARE system (video review) which allows us to be more precise in our judgments. I think we have reached the adolescence of our event and we will continue to grow. This year we welcomed ten new judges. I believe that this championship is now an expected and anticipated event. The project we are building with the IJF is very professional.

There is a very specific approach in kata where notions of tradition are well respected, such as the bow for example. We pay very close attention to the values of our sport. A team is a union and we proved it here in Abu Dhabi."

For Franco Capelletti, the IJF Kata Commission Chair, there are still many projects and this is what the commission will focus on, "We witnessed a very good competition. I think that kata goes beyond what we have seen. We can use it in many ways and in particular in clubs as a development tool for both young people and older people. Kata can, for example, be very useful for learning balance and preventing the risks associated with falls. We will continue to work in all sectors.”

In two days it will be the veterans' turn to meet on the tatami in Abu Dhabi, to complete this judo sequence rich in events which covered all aspects of our discipline. Stay tuned to follow us on https://judotv.com/

RESULTS, KIME-NO-KATA

RESULTS, GOSHIN-JUTSU

RESULTS, KATAME-NO-KATA U-23

RESULTS, JU-NO-KATA U-23

See also