The road to 13th World Karate Championship has began, two weeks ago Europe started to shape their team, now the Japan will do the same! With that focus,The 54 All Japan Open Karate Championship should be interesting for everyone across the world.
The most of us are satisfied with whats going on i our own region, and to hold an eye on that – but when we know that the lines will cross with others and larger challenges lays ahead – then it is time to set a wider focus.
This edition of The 13th World Championship in 2023 will now only be with a year in between from this years World Championship in weight-categories. We usually got two years in between -as you know. This mean that it will be a year shorter time to work up some surprises, new tactics or new fighters coming up.
With 80 fighters in the line up of the men division one have 6-7 fights to be the champion, as for the women we have 34 fighters, with 5-6 fights to the top. That is the numbers, that alone gives us a quality of it own, but on top of that the line up contains some really strong fighters – even if we measure them up against the World Wide level.
WOMEN DIVISION
In the Open-weight All Japan Open recent years we have seen so incredible tough fighters. Chihiro Kubota has been the champion for several editions – in the open-weight as well as the weight category division. Will she be able to defend her title one more time? In the line of challengers there are a mixed field of established fighters and young blood.
A year ago, we did get the final in the 53rd All Japan Open exactly like that, the established Kubota vs raising star Mihiro Suzuki – only 16 years at the time! (And if anyone should wonder: daughter of non other than Kunihiro Suzuki) All tough Kubota will be the heavy favorite, the draw gives us this possibility again this year – but not before the final. And many things can happen before the final in a championship so strong as this. Mihiro Suzuki ⇓
In the 7th World Championship in weight categories earlier this year, we saw several fighters at the podium – who are ready for the 54th All Japan Open – that will give us a direction of the sky high level. Honoka Inoue 3rd place, Sayaka Kato 3rd, Ramu Amikawa 3rd and Yuna Mokudai 3rd place ⇓ – just to mention some of them.
If we take a look back to the JFKO 7th All Japan Open weight Categories held this spring, we can see the top 4 in the heaviest category attend – top seeded. We have mention Kubota, Suzuki and Mokudai all ready, if we add another top fighter: Reimi Asako – we got probably some of the podium candidates this time as well.
MEN DIVISION
This division is stacked with top fighters, and in this line up we probably have some of the names that will be right there in the top, fighting for the absolute fame: to be the World Champion. But first they have to qualify trough this stone-hard tournament.
Recently top fighter of the World Kembu Iriki ⇑ made a statement that he was aiming to be the next World Champion. Being the runner up back in 2015 shows his capacity – did the same in 2017 in the 6th World Championship in weight categories, but as stopped in the semi-final this year, by another vice World Champion Maciej Mazur.
Iriki got some stiff competition in this version of the All Japan Open. Nariyoshi Tada met Iriki last year in the 53rd All Japan Open – and manage to reach the final int the 7th World Championship Weight categories now in September. Daiki Kato did it in the 52nd edition, and if we look at the JFKO All Japan Open, Shin Kameyama beat Iriki in 2001. Further on, fighters like Yuto Eguchi, Kosei Ochiai, Takashi Torihara, Hotaka Yoshizawa and Yusaku Watanabe ⇓ – just the top of the iceberg.
Beside that we have some very strong “outside entries” by Yuta Goto / MAC a good example. Been among top 4 three last time in the JFKO All Japan Open, and top 8 last two edition of the All Japan Open. Also fighting the very best – and been close to beat them! The “Phenom” Takahashi Yuta is another ace – the former IKO1 star fighter with razor-sharp technics , Daisuke Tada / BYAKUREN also in the top shift, Yuhei Ashitaka and Sho Shigematsu both top spots World Championship Rengokai.
Kembu Iriki vs Yuta Goto
So, just by watching the line up – one can easily confirm that top 8 in this party will be hard as the get, the level are extremely high and it will be very interesting to see how it turns out.
