The preliminaries of the European Judo Championships Kata Rijeka 2022 for Junior and Senior have concluded at the Zamat Center. For the Juniors competitors, the categories include Nage-no-Kata (category 1 and 2 – all kata, Katame- no- Kata and Ju-no-Kata and for the senior also includes Kime- no-kata and Kodokan Goshin-Jutsu.
The five disciplines included:
Nage- no- Kata: which is a form of throwing, where three representative techniques are chosen from each of five Nage-wazas: Te-waza, Koshi-waza, Ashi-waza, Ma-sutemi-waza and Yoko-sutemi-waza.
Katame- no- Kata: a form of grappling or holding. Five model techniques are chosen from each of three Katame-wazas: Osaekomi-waza, Shime-waza and Kansetsu-waza.
Ju No Kata: a form of gentleness and flexibility. This is an expressive, gymnastic composition of the methods of attack and defense in a series of slow and moderate actions. It consists of three components, Dai-ikkyo (Set 1), Dai-nikyo (Set 2) and Dai-sankyo (Set 3), each of them has five techniques.
Kime-no kata: This is to learn the techniques for serious combative fight. It consists of the techniques in a kneeling position (Idori, 8 techniques) and in a standing position (Tachiai, 12 techniques).
Kodokan Goshin Jutsu: a form of Self-Defense. This consists of an “Unarmed section” and a “Weapons section”. The “Unarmed section” consists of twelve techniques while the “Weapons section” consists of nine techniques.
13 nations will be advancing to the finals, with France, having the biggest opportunity with 16 pairs participating, followed by Spain with 10 pairs and Italy with 5 pairs. Other countries advancing to the final with a chance for a place on the podium include: Poland, Slovenia, The Netherlands, Bosnia Hercegovina, Romania, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, and home nation Croatia.
Head Kata Commissioner Michael KOZLOWSKI remarks on Day one of the competition are encouraging:
“The competition is getting stronger. The performance and level have increased from past years. There are only minimal point differences within the groups.”
We look forward to seeing the new and old generation of kata athletes claim the European title tomorrow, Sunday May 15th at 10am (local time). Following the opening ceremony the first special needs kata competition will take place in the afternoon from 14:30- 15:30.
Author: Hannah Martin