Bahia came in 3rd place in the general ranking of the Brazilian Championship

21 Bahian athletes were called up to represent the state in the 16th World Karate Championship, between October 25th and 27th, at the Takasaki Arena, in Japan. It is estimated that 17 of the Bahians called up will be present among the 107 Brazilians who embark for the land of karate in order to compete among the best in the world.

The competition is divided into categories based on age and gender and has the modalities of Kata, which consists of a series of predetermined movements of different difficulties, and Kumitê (fighting), both of which can be group or individual. Currently, the only medalist from Bahia at the world championship is Diego Andrade, for the Kumitê Team, in 2011, when Brazil was runner-up.

“I was 22 years old. I was very young and I was going to my fourth international championship, my first world championship. In the prime of my skin, without believing in the call-up and without believing that I would be in the main team”, Diego recalls about his achievement in 2011. “We fought difficult fights, we caught the world champions of the time at first. The final was against Japan. It was an incredible world cup!”

Going into his fourth world championship, Diego – who teaches at Academia Sekai, in the Armação neighborhood – says that expectations are high. He is one of the captains of the Brazilian team and will compete in the Kumitê Team.

The athlete says he feels pride and joy with being called up. “Taking into consideration everything we go through to get called up in amateur sport, a movie plays in our heads of everything we have built to date. And there’s also that feeling of winning, of continuing to make history”, he hopes.

The call for the World Cup is made based on the results of the JKA Brazilian Karate Championship, in which the first and second place on the podium in the individual categories available qualify. For group categories, only the winning team is called up. In the XXIV JKA Brazilian Championship, held on June 1st and 2nd of this year, in Brasília, Bahia came in third place in the general ranking, behind Rio de Janeiro, first place, and Goiás, second.

“Expectations are the best possible”, says Daniela Baldini, president of JKA Bahia and athlete on the women’s Kata team. “Brazilian karate has evolved a lot. Before, it was a dream to visualize yourself on the podium of a JKA world championship. Today, that dream has become a possible reality”, he celebrates.

This will be her fourth world championship after being away from 2007 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2019. “Returning to the main team is definitely my biggest dream. In Japan, after 20 years, it’s fantastic!”, he declares. His passion for karate began at the age of five, when he did ballet and accompanied his mother to pick up his brother who practiced the martial art. She says she had to face her father, who believed that karate should be practiced by men, to enroll. Like Diego, today she trains and teaches at the Sekai Academy.

For Rivailton Veloso, the call-up came as a birthday present. Member of the men’s Kata team and karate teacher at the Samurai Ryu Karate Association, located at the Spanish Club, the athlete arrived in Japan on the date of his birth. “Being able to be at a world championship and, at the same time, get to know Japan, the birthplace of karate, is truly a gift!”, he says. Excited, Rivailton says he admires Japanese athletes and is excited to see them in action.

In addition to the competition itself, there are still issues of adapting to being in a country that takes more than a day to arrive by plane. Cultural customs, climate, time zone and the trip itself are factors taken into consideration. For Rivailton, for example, food and language will be challenges to be faced.

Between daily training, weight training and physiotherapy to treat injuries, the biggest difficulty reported among athletes is the lack of sponsorship. Amateur athletes usually do raffles, fundraisers, events and take money out of their own pockets to pay for their trips. Many do not make a living from karate and cannot bear the financial costs.

The Funakoshi Gichin Cup 16th Karate World Championship Tournament, the official name of the competition, takes place every three years and rotates around the world, this year being the birthplace of karate. It is organized by the Japanese Karate Association (JKA), in Portuguese, Japanese Karate Association, one of the most traditional karate associations in the Shotokan style world. Japan tends to get the best results overall.

Among the various karate dojos in the state, six are affiliated with the JKA: four in Salvador and two in Feira de Santana. The history of the association in Bahia began in 2000, the year in which JKA Brasil traveled with a team made up of youth and adult athletes for the first time.

Maria Valentina – Category 9 to 10 years old

Arthur Couto – Category 9 to 10 years old

Larissa Krakhecke – Category 13 to 14 years old

Laura Ribeiro – Category 15 to 16 years old

Yan Bastos – Category 15 to 16 years old

Daniela Baldini – Adult Category

Letícia Bastos – Adult Category

Jéssica Araújo – Adult Category

Martinna Rey – Adult Category

Diego Andrade – Adult Category

Lucas Coimbra – Adult Category

Rivailton Veloso – Adult Category

Lion Mazur – Adult Category

Nadia Cardozo – Master Category

Antônio Tanner – Master Category

Marcos Vogel – Master Category

Hermes Carvalho – Master Category

Rui Albuquerque – Category Master

Luís Eduardo Sena – Master Category

Valnei Seixas – Master Category

Maria Lapa – Master Category