The first British Kata Championships to be held since the pandemic saw another good turnout and some very good kata skills.

Senior Nage-no-kata saw three very close pairs, all of good standard, two of them making their debut at kata competition. The gold and silver medalists in Katame-no-kata were also very close, just two marks between them (366 to 364) and in fact, 3^rd and 4^th places in that kata were exactly tied, with both pairs on 343. Shizentai Judo Club increased their number of gold medals from three in 2019 to four this year, including a clean sweep of the combat kata.

The junior Nage-no-kata saw four pairs of very varied ages, from 9 to 15 years, but still all four of a good standard, and there was a new category (for recent years) in junior Ju-no-kata, but the very best came last, with a wonderfully inspiring adaptive Nage-no-kata from wheelchair user Isabelle Everest and her partner Braydon Robus. Kata and adaptive judo are a perfect match, and the Kata Group are now going to have a permanent adaptive section.

Another change to the categories from next year will be the introduction of Itsutsu-no-kata to replace Gonosen-no-kata. The techniques in Gonosen will be familiar to all judo players, but it is not a Kodokan kata and the absence of an accepted standard makes it a difficult one for the British Championships. The possibility of having a Gonosen kata tournament as an online event will be considered.

Llyr Jones and Dave Horton-Jones were also making their debuts as national judges, along with four judges for the juniors, drawn from our top kata competitors, and also Trish Baron, a senior kata expert from Israel who attended the event as an observer.

Start practising now for the 2023 Championships!

Results

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Photo credit: Jim Crompton