Dedicated to the Promotion and Preservation of Shotokan Karate

The World Cup – the Japan Karate Association's Premier Event

What is the World Cup?

The JKA World Cup – also known as the "Shoto Cup", the "Shoto World Cup", and the "Funakoshi Gichin World Cup" – is the equivalent of Olympic competition for members of the JKA. Every three years, the global Shotokan community comes together to compete at this event, to which each country sends a select national team. Selections take place at a national tournament which draws athletes from dojos all over the country, all vying for a spot on either the kumite or kata squads.

To get a feel for the outstanding level of competition, watch this video from the 10th World Cup held in Sydney, Australia:

For more video examples, watch this Shotocup playlist on YouTube.

 

11th World Championship Tournament

The 11th Funakoshi Gichin World Cup, was originally scheduled for September 18-20, 2009 at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. According to an announcement posted on the JKA headquarters site on Feb 16, 2009, the event has been postponed.

 

JKA Boston Members on the 2009 U.S. Team

While JKA Boston members have competed in World Cups in past years, this year an unprecedented seven members of our dojo qualified to represent the U.S. at the 11th World Cup. They are:

  • Cynthia Toryu (kata, team kata)
  • Josh Wilber (kata)
  • Tina Ni Riain (kata, kumite, team kata, team kumite)
  • Inbal Sapir (kata, team kata)
  • Kate Birney (kumite, team kumite)
  • Marius Moisescu (team kumite)
  • Emma Gregorio (kumite, team kumite)

No other dojo in the country has ever placed so many members on the national team before.

Apart from the abilities of these individuals, this reflects the excellence of Sensei Toryu's teaching and the exceptional training environment at our Boston dojo.