Who carried karate round the world?

In 1965 the Japan Karate Association sent four of its instructors to Europe. Their names were Taiji Kase, Keinosuke Enoeda, Hirokazu Kanazawa and Hiroshi Shirai. ¹ Kase settled in France, Enoeda in England and Shirai in Italy. ¹

They were not the first travellers. After the Second World War, lots of soldiers from the United States learned karate in Okinawa and Japan and took it home. ¹ In 1945 Robert Trias opened a dojo in Phoenix, Arizona. It is said to be the first in the United States. ¹ Every founder sent his own people, too. Otsuka sent three Wado-ryu teachers abroad in 1963. ^5,22 Oyama sent Kyokushin teachers to open dojos. ⁸ Shigeru Kimura took Shukokai to Africa, then Europe, then America. ⁹

One world sport

In 1963 karate groups from across Europe met in Paris. ¹⁶ On 10 October 1970 a world body was born, and in 1992 it took the name it has now: the World Karate Federation, the WKF. ^16,54 In 1999 the Olympic Committee said the WKF was the one world body for sport karate. ^16,54 The WKF holds World Championships every two years. Women first competed in 1980. ³¹ Since 2014 there have been Para Karate World Championships too, for athletes with visual impairments, intellectual impairments and wheelchair users. ^16,31

There are two kinds of event. In kata you perform a form on your own and judges score it. In kumite two people spar and a referee gives points. ^16,50,51 Listen for the kiai, the short sharp shout as a technique lands. ³⁵ Competitors wear a white karategi, the karate uniform, and tie an obi, a belt. ^37,38

The long wait

Karate tried to get into the Olympics for a very long time. It started trying in the 1970s. ¹⁵ It lost a vote in 2009. It was not chosen for 2020 in 2013. ¹⁵ Then in 2016 the Olympic Committee said yes, but only for the Tokyo 2020 Games, not for ever. ^1,15

The Tokyo Games were held in 2021. There were eight karate events and 80 athletes. ¹⁵ The kata champions were Sandra Sánchez from Spain and Ryo Kiyuna from Japan. They performed at the Nippon Budokan, a famous martial arts hall in Tokyo. ⁵⁸

Then the wait began again. Karate was not in Paris 2024, and it was not picked for Los Angeles 2028. ^1,15,57 The WKF is now trying for Brisbane 2032. ⁵⁵ How many people do karate? Nobody really knows. One Japanese estimate says 50 million. The WKF guesses 100 million. ¹

One of the four men sent to Europe in 1965 stayed in England for the rest of his life. ^1,62 But someone had got there first, nine years before him. ¹ The last chapter is about him.