Karate World Championships
| Competition details | |
|---|---|
| Discipline | Karate |
| Type | Kumite and Kata, biennial |
| Organiser | World Karate Federation (WKF) |
| Divisions | |
| Current weight divisions | Male -60Kg,-67Kg, -75Kg, -84Kg and +84Kg. Female -50Kg, -55Kg, -61Kg, -68Kg and +68Kg. |
| History | |
| First edition | 1970 in Tokyo, Japan |
| Editions | 26 (2023) |
| Final edition | 2023 in Budapest, Hungary |
| Most wins | Japan (188 medals) |
The Karate World Championships, also known as the World Karate Championships, are the highest level of competition for karate organized by the World Karate Federation (WKF). The competition is held in a different city every two years. Championships in the 2000s included Madrid in 2002, Monterrey in 2004, Tampere in 2006, Tokyo in 2008, and Belgrade in 2010. The competition was initially riddled with controversy regarding karate styles and the ruleset.
In 1980, women were first allowed to compete in the championships.