Karate at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Two competitors face each other in a matted competition area of 8m x 8m. Each match is competed for 3 minutes, unless one competitor amasses eight points more than their opponent.[7] A competitor wins by amassing eight points more than their opponent or by gaining more points than their opponent in the allotted time of 3 minutes. In the event of a tie, the competitor who scored the first point is the winner. In the case of a scoreless bout, the winner will be declared by decision of the five judges.[7][6]

Scores vary from one to three points. Ippon for 3 points, Waza-ari for 2 points and Yuko for 1 point.[6]

Penalties are divided into two categories. If 4 warnings are received in either category, the competitor is disqualified.[6] A competitor can also be disqualified with less than 4 warnings for being deemed an act done maliciously.[6]

Each of seven judges judges the performance individually within the scale of 5.0 to 10.0 in increments of 0.2 for technical points and athletic points respectively. The two highest and two lowest scores out of the seven scores of each group are eliminated and all the remaining scores were added to make up the final scores, which is weighed 70% for technical points and 30% for athletic points. In the case of draw, the competitors perform additional choice of Kata to be judged.[6]

There are 7 criteria of evaluation for technical points : stances, techniques, transitional movements, timing, correct breathing, focus and conformance. 3 evaluation criteria for athletic points are : strength, speed and balance.[6]

The 10 competitors in each event qualify as follows:

• 1 from the host nation, Japan
• 4 from the Olympic Standing ranking as of 5 April 2021
• 3 from a qualification tournament
• 2 from continental representation or Tripartite Commission invitation

Because World Karate Federation rankings are based on five weight classes instead of the three weight classes featured in the 2020 Olympics, some of the Olympic events are based on a combination of two WKF classes. In those cases, the top 2 from each of the WKF classes qualify for the combined Olympic class (for a total of 4). Where the Olympic class matches the WKF class, the top 4 in that class qualify.

The qualification tournament features the same weight classes as the Olympic weight classes. Only National Olympic Committees (NOCs) that have not qualified through Olympic standing for a given division are eligible to enter an athlete in the qualification tournament. The top three finishers in each division at the qualification tournament qualify for the Olympics.

A total of 12 quota places, distributed among the eight events, are available through continental representation. The selection order is as follows:

For each continent, all of the gold medalists at the continental games are considered together. The highest ranked among this group earns the qualification spot unless that competitor is already qualified or otherwise cannot be selected without violating any of the following limitations: 10 athletes per division, 1 athlete per NOC per division, 2 athletes per NOC through continental representation (affecting only Africa and the Americas). If the highest-ranked gold medalist cannot be entered, then the next-highest ranked gold medalist qualifies if possible. This process goes through all gold medalists by ranking, then all silver medalists by ranking, then all bronze medalists by ranking until the continent's qualifying spots are filled. If none of the medalists can be entered, the highest-ranked eligible athlete from that continent in the rankings (regardless of finish at the continental games) qualifies.