Lewis Hannington and Jim Crompton Set to Compete in IJF World Kata Series in Reims

Lewis Hannington and Jim Crompton of Army Judo are set to compete in the Reims IJF World Kata Series 2025, which will take place this weekend in France on April 12th.

Kata has seen tremendous growth in recent years, with both the European Judo Union (EJU) and International Judo Federation (IJF) now overseeing the European and World Championships.

This growth has led to the establishment of a full EJU kata competition circuit, the IJF Kata World Series, and an official world rankings list.

Jim Crompton (Uke) and Lewis Hannington (Tori) have been one of Britain’s most active pairs in this space. Over the past couple of years, the pair have participated in several international competitions in Katame-No Kata, progressively developing their skill.

Their kata performances have earned them a 16th-place finish at the 2024 World Championships in Las Vegas, as well as another 16th-place finish at the inaugural IJF Kata World Series event in Belgium.

Now, the duo is continuing their kata journey by competing in the upcoming IJF World Kata Series event in Reims.

“Short-term, the goal is to reach the final block, top 6-9 depending on the number of pools, at an EJU/IJF competition by the end of 2025,” said Lewis Hannington.

“Longer term we aim to be the first Senior GB pair to medal at an EJU/IJF kata competition.

“Our next competition is the 2nd IJF Kata World Series competition in Reims, France. The standard across the board is exceptionally high and the categories are packed, making it very tough.”

“Competing at this level has only been made possible with the support of the British Judo Association, Army Sport and the Army Sports Lottery.”

The Army Judo duo hope to inspire the next generation of judokas to get involved and take full advantage of the opportunities kata offers.

“Kata brings a whole avenue of opportunities to the sport and it is something we want to share more widely with the younger generation. It’s not about senior Dan grades performing a sequence of techniques for grading purposes – it’s a training mechanism that can be made just as much fun as any other type of judo training,” said Hannington.

“There are two things you will never get from standard Shiai that you can from kata. It brings a whole new team dynamic to the table where friends or even siblings/parents and children compete and work together.

“The other is mental preparedness. There are immense pressures in Shiai competition that for some can be too overwhelming.

“In kata, you walk on the mat to work with your partner, not defeat them, which removes a lot of pressure.

“We train a lot physically to prepare for shiai competitions, but I see kata competition as a way for the younger generation to train dealing with mental pressures for shiai competition.“

Good luck to both Lewis and Jim out in France!

Watch out for further news from British Judo by checking out our latest news section. You can also catch up via our official social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.