The 2nd Karate Champion of Champions – July 19, 2026. KCC the championship with limited fighters, more or less handpicked for the top 8 of the world.
The line up do not have big changes since last year – some. The framework is quite the same. Last time six fighters in the women’s division was ready – another two came after qualifying in the JFKO All Japan Open. This year, all eight names are released in the women’s category – but it is stated that the last spot is open to the winner of JFKO. WKO official site From what we can see, this could only count in the men’s division.
In short women’s category: Aneta Meškauskienė / Lithuania and Lily Mezo / Hungary have replaced Mirjam Björklund / Sweden and Ivanka Popova / Bulgaria ⇓ from last time. The rest of the names stays the same. Photo by the never resting: Okiem Sportowca
It means that we have the three European Champions in the three heaviest categories to represent Europe. Alina Ossipenko / Kazakhstan /Asia region) and the last four spots to Japan.
Mihiro Suzuki (Japan)
Momo Fujihara (Japan)
Ramu Amikawa (Japan)
Yuna Mokudai (Japan)
Brigita Gustaitytė (Lithuania)
Aneta Meškauskienė (Lithuania)
Lili Mezo (Hungary)
Alina Ossipenko (Kazakhstan) ⇓
In the men’s division we also have few changes from last edition. From the last edition, Maciej Mazur and Marek Wolny both Poland have been “replaced” with Kazushi Watanabe / Japan and Paulius Žimantas (Lithuania) The last name will be clear after The 10th JFKO All Japan Open 30/31 May 2026.
Yuki Okada (Japan)
Kazushi Watanabe (Japan)
Yusaku Watanabe (Japan)
Anjey Kinzerskiy (Kazakhstan)
Anton Zimarev (Kazakhstan)
Eventas Guzauskas (Lithuania)
Paulius Žimantas (Lithuania)
Last time the last spot was taken by Daisuke Tada – Byakuren-Kaikan. It is stated that the last spot will be the winner of the 10th JFKO All Japan Open heavyweight category. Notable names: Ryuji Toda / WKO, Yuto Eguchi / WKO, Daiya Katagiri / Kembukai, Shota Maeda /WKO, Yuta Goto / MAC ⇓ Picture from 空手道MAC横浜仲町台道場
This type of tournament is easy to sell. Short time, high quality – easy to hype up and give the fighters the attention they deserve. When that it said one could easily top the last edition with some minor changes. Photo by the never resting: Okiem Sportowca
When you have a tournament with the total of 10 fights – and in that case very limited time i total, and very limited time each fighter actually fights. This is a topic that could be worked with. In a World Championship – we can (up to a certain point) understand quick decisions in a fight with no points or warnings. ⇓ Photo by the eminent Piotr Sztencel see more: Pi.Sztencel
In this case, it would be far better to give the fighters more time to decide who is the best. The ordinary round: 2 minutes – women, 3 minutes men. In this case one could easily build more around each fight. One will always have a lot of possibilities to change the format. ⇓ Photo by the eminent Piotr Sztencel see more: Pi.Sztencel
If for example each match consists of three rounds. You judge the winner of each individual round. The one with the most rounds after the end of the match is the winner of the match, (or most flags in total for example) if draw – a 4th round with a mandatory winner. And of course – you win by points, Wazari, or Ippon as usual. If you don’t want a long fight – go for the knockout from the start 😉
Now – the above is just a superficial example, the point is that one should adjust to perfection every time. The fighters are there for one reason: to fight. The audience is there to watch the fight. There will always be a balance between too much and too little, as of today we think it is too little (fight time)
The results, and how it will turn out – we’ll be back when the “draw” has been done.
