Kiyuna wins fourth straight victory at Japan Cup Karatedo

Kiyuna wins fourth straight victory at Japan Cup Karatedo

Ryo Kiyuna, champion of the Men’s Individual Kata Division, performs a powerful Suparimpei kata at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on December 13. (Photograph provided by Japan Karatedo Federation)


December 14, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo

The final competition of the Japan Cup Karatedo was held on December 13 at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. In the Men’s Individual Kata Division, Ryo Kiyuna (Ryuei-ryu and Kobudo-ryuhokai) won the championship title for the fourth consecutive time. Arata Kinjo (Ryuei-ryu and Kobudo-ryuhokai) came in fifth place. In the open weight Men’s Individual Kumite Division, Shintaro Kuniyoshi ranked in fifth place. In the Women’s Individual Kumite, twenty-three year old Ayumi Uekusa (Kouei Keibi Hosho Co., Ltd.) won her first ever crown in the national championships. Uekusa defeated her opponent, Kayo Someya (Theatre Academy Co., Ltd.), 10-7. Uekusa came in second place last year, while Someya was after her third straight win this year. In the Men’s Individual Kumite Division, Ryutaro Araga (Araga Dojo) won for the fourth time in a row, within these two consecutive years. Meanwhile, in the Women’s Individual Kumite Division, Kiyou Shimizu (Kansai University) made her third straight victory. According to the Japan Karatedo Federation, the finals drew a record-setting crowd of 13,000 spectators. The excitement over karate’s climb on the shortlist for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics seemed to ripple throughout the stadium.

(English translation by T&CT, Kaya Doi)

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