Karate, which is debuting on the Olympic program in 2020, features two disciplines: kata and kumite.
Kata
What kata is: a demonstration of karate techniques using pre-defined movements judged on speed, strength, focus, balance, rhythm, etc. Athletes choose from an official list of roughly 100 kata – while the timing of each kata varies, they are typically 3-4 minutes long. Athletes progress to the next round by outscoring their opponents.
Scoring: Athletes must perform a different kata each time. Technical and athletic performance are given separate scores using the same scale from 5.0 to 10.0 in increments of .2 (5.0 is the lowest score possible for a kata that is accepted as performed and 10.0 represents a perfect performance. A score of 0.0 would be given for a disqualification.
Seven judges will evaluate the performance based on:
-Technical performance (weighted 70% of the total score)
- Athletic performance (weighted 30% of the total score)
The system will eliminate the two highest and lowest scores for technical and athletic performance.
There are 3 rounds of competition in kata (detailed below):
- Elimination Round
- Ranking Round
- Medal Bouts
Elimination Round: Athletes are divided into two groups (A and B) of five athletes. Each athlete performs a kata one by one from a predefined kata list. All athletes then perform a second kata. The athletes are ranked according to the average score of the two kata. The top three athletes in each group qualify for the ranking round, while the two lowest-ranked athletes in each group are eliminated and will be classified based on the total of points they get in the two kata.
Tiebreaking: If two or more athletes have the same score, the criteria below will be used until the tie is broken:
- Highest score of the 2nd kata
- Highest total score of the technical criteria (before it is weighted as part of the total score)
- If there is still a tie, additional criteria are used. See the document called "kata - Rules and Regulations" for a full list of tie-breaking procedures.
Ranking Round: Consists of two groups (A and B) of three athletes. The athletes perform another kata one by one. Start order is determined by a draw. The winners in each group will compete for the gold medal. The 2nd-ranked athlete from Group A competes against the 3rd-ranked athlete from Group B, and the 2nd-ranked athlete from Group B competes against the 3rd-ranked athlete from Group A in the bronze medal bouts, so two bronze medals will be awarded in men’s and women’s kata.
Tiebreaking: If two or more athletes have the same score, the following criteria will be used to break the tie:
- Highest total score of the technical criteria (before it is weighted as part of the total score)
- The highest value of the technical criteria lowest score not included
- If there is still a tie, there are additional criteria that can be used.
Medal Bouts: Athletes perform a kata one by one from a predefined kata list, while the opponent waits outside of the bout area. After both athletes have performed, they will stand side by side to wait for the judges to cast their votes. Starting order is determined by their results in the previous round (the competitor who scored higher wears a red belt and goes first; the competitor who scored lower wears a blue belt and goes second). The athlete who receives the higher score wins the bout.
Tiebreaking: If two or more athletes have the same score, the following criteria will be used to break the tie:
- The highest total score of the technical criteria before the multiplication for the factor of the total score (70%)
- The highest value of the technical criteria lowest score not included
- If there is still a tie, there are additional criteria that can be used. See "Kata - Rules and Regulations" for a full list of tie-breaking procedures.
Kumite
What kumite is: The fighting discipline. Athletes compete head-to-head against each other using punching and kicking techniques performed on permitted parts of the body, aiming to earn a higher score than their opponent. Each kumite bout lasts three minutes.
Events at the Tokyo Games:
- Men’s -67 kg/147 lbs.
- Men’s -75 kg/165 lbs.
- Men’s +75 kg/165+ lbs.
- Women’s -55 kg/121 lbs.
- Women’s -61 kg/134 lbs.
- Women’s +61 kg/134+ lbs.
Scoring: Athletes receive points for correctly executed techniques. One referee, four judges and a match supervisor manage the bout. The winner is the athlete with the highest number of points at full time, or who gains an eight-point lead before full time. (For tie-breaking procedures, see below).
There are 3 rounds of competition in kumite (detailed below):
- Elimination Round
- Semifinals
- Final
Elimination round: Contested in two pools (A and B) of five athletes in each pool. Athletes compete against the other athletes in their pools and are ranked according to results achieved in their pool. An athlete receives two points for winning a bout and one point for a tie. The top two athletes from each pool (based on points earned for each bout) qualify for the semifinals.
If the score is equal at full time of a bout, the winner is the athlete who has scored first (which is called Senshu).
Tiebreaking: If there is a tie between two or more athletes to decide who will advance to the semifinals, the criteria below are used to break the tie:
- Winner of the bouts between the tied athletes
- Higher number of scores obtained in favor of each athlete in all bouts
- Lower number of scores against each athlete in all bouts
Semifinals and Final: The winner of pool A competes against the 2nd-ranked athlete from pool B, and the winner from pool B competes against the 2nd-ranked athlete from pool A. The winners of the semifinals compete for the gold medal; the semifinal losers are both awarded bronze medals (NOTE: there is no bronze medal bout).
If the score is equal at full time of a bout, the winner is the athlete who has scored first (Senshu).
Tiebreaking: In case the score is 0-0 during semifinals or the final, meaning no athlete has scored first (Senshu – see above), the winner is determined by majority vote of the four judges and the referee. If the score is tied beyond 0-0, the athlete who scores first (Senshu) will break the tie, unless the athletes loses the Senshu privilege due to infractions. In this case, the tie is broken by judges’ decision.