History
WUKO and 1972 Controversy
In 1970, Ryoichi Sasakawa (at the time president of the Federation of All Japan Karatedo Organization) travelled to Paris to meet Jacques Delcourt, who formed the European Karate Union, in an effort to standardize and regulate international karate competition. The result was the creation of the World Union of Karate-do Organizations (WUKO), which would later become the World Karate Federation (WKF) in 1998. [1] The first WUKO World Karate Championships was held later that year in Tokyo, Japan, with delegations from thirty-three nations. [2]
The 1972 WUKO World Karate Championship held in Paris was riddled with controversy. Three countries withdrew in protest of apartheid, because South Africa was allowed to compete. In the middle of the tournament, the teams from the United States and Japan walked out due to complaints with officiating, and were later followed by five other teams. [3] Masatoshi Nakayama, who was Chief Referee for the tournament, Hirokazu Kanazawa, Masahiko Tanaka, Takeshi Oishi, and other Japanese athletes and officials were banned from any future events hosted by WUKO, many of whom were members of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) at the time. [4]
1973 Commemoration Tournament
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the popularization of karate by Gichin Funakoshi, the JKA hosted a commemorative world tournament. This is the first instance of the Funakoshi name used as a tournament title. Japan dominated the competition, defeating Italy in two finals to win both the kata and kumite titles. [5] Current JKA Chief Instructor Takeshi Oishi won in individual kumite. [6]
IAKF World Championships
The All American Karate Federation (AAKF), founded by Hidetaka Nishiyama in 1961 after arriving in the United States, had become one of the most influential karate organizations in the country after being called on by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) to select the American team for the 1972 WUKO World Karate Championships. However, fearing Nishiyama's rising influence and his goal of usurping the AAU's position as the American representative in WUKO, AAU president David Rivenes severed all ties to Nishiyama. [7]
In response, Nishiyama formed the International Amateur Karate Federation (IAKF) in 1974 and was subsequently named executive director. [8]
In the wake of Nakayama's expulsion from WUKO, the JKA aligned itself with the IAKF, with most of the national representatives made up of the JKA branches in the respective countries. [7] [9] With the support of the JKA, the 1975 IAKF World Karate Championship was held in Los Angeles, United States. Over three hundred officials and participants represented twenty-eight countries in front of a crowd of under 6500. Nakayama once again was Chief Judge. [10] Masahiko Tanaka, who won the All Japan that year, took home the gold for men's kumite. [11] Women were not allowed to compete at the first championships. A women's kata division was later created for the 1977 IAKF World Championships, but it was not until 1990 at the 3rd Shoto World Cup that women could finally compete in kumite. [12] [13]
The IAKF continued to hold more World Championships until it's transition to the International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF) in 1985. [14]
Shoto World Cup
As the IAKF/ITKF diverged from the JKA to seek Olympic recognition, the JKA moved to continue the series of tournaments by sponsoring its own World Championships. Aptly named after Funakoshi's pen name, Shōtō (松涛), the Shoto World Cup surpassed the JKA's own All Japan Championships to become one of the largest karate tournaments in the world. [15]
The 1st Shoto World Cup was subsequently held at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan, in 1985. No longer were third place matches held. Instead, semifinalists were given joint bronze medals. [16] During the Shoto Cup era, championships were held roughly every two years, up until the 9th Shoto World Cup in 2004. The longevity of this name is why the tournament is still often referred to as the Shoto Cup today. [17]
1990 Championships
The 3rd Shoto World Cup, held in Sunderland, England, allowed women to compete in kumite for the first time. [12]
The team kumite final was fought between Japan and England. Since the walk out at the 1972 Championships, the Japanese national kumite team went undefeated at international tournaments. The lineup in 1990 included well-known karateka like Tomio Imamura and Masao Kagawa. However the English team was particularly strong that year as well, including Elwyn Hall and Frank Brennan. The match was close fought, but England ultimately won 3–2 to clinch the title, with victories from Hall, Brennan, and Dean Hodgkin. It was one of the few times Japan failed to win a team event at the Funakoshi Gichin Cup, and showed that the gap between Japan and the rest of the world was closing. [18]
1994 Championships
The 5th Shoto World Cup was held in the Philadelphia Civic Center, being first time the United States hosted the championships since the first IAKF tournament in 1975. [19] Pavlo Protopapa of South Africa became the first non-Japanese to win a title at the championships. It was a particularly weak year for Japanese men's kumite, where Katsutoshi Shiina was the only member of the team to break into the top four. Japan placed third in team kumite, behind Sweden and Germany. [20]
Funakoshi Gichin Cup
At the 2006 World Championships the tournament was renamed a final time. Officially now the Funakoshi Gichin Cup, the tournament maintains the name to this day.
Two Funakoshi Gichin Cups have been cancelled, once in 2009 and once again in 2020. [21] [22]
The 2024 championships saw a record 1800 athletes compete, and was the first time the tournament returned since 2017, before the COVID-19 pandemic. [23]
