Ichiban Karate Excels at 1st World Championship

Ichiban Karate was founded in January 2017 and always had an aspiration of creating a strong competitive team. Having attended their first competitions in 2018 the squad, even with the interruption of Covid have worked hard and were able to attend their 1st World Championships just 4 years later in 2022. 

At the end of June 2022, 8 members of our karate team who were selected to represent, Dokan Karate England travelled to the USA to take part in their first World Championships. The 10th WUKF World Championships were held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Attended by over 34 countries and more than 1340 competitors this was the biggest stage yet for the young karate team.

The expectations for the championships, were simply to attend, compete, give it their best and enjoy the experience. Medals would be a bonus, and were certainly not an expectation given the big step up to International competition abroad. 

The team exceeded all expectations across the pond, bringing back 6 World Medals. 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 3 Bronze and in so doing, crowning the first Ichiban Karate World Champions. 

This was an exceptional achievement by the young squad, especially considering every one of them were attending their 1st World Championships and that the squad consisted of relatively young members between the ages of 7 and 15 who all had only between 1 and 5 year’s experience. 

Not many children get the opportunity to travel abroad with friends, and compete at the highest level in a sport that they love. The whole experience was amazing both for coaches and competitors and the parents that were able to travel with and support the team. 
 

The effort to get the team to Florida was a monumental team effort, as the team, coaches and parents needed to raise all funds required for the team to compete. Without the successful fundraising, the team would not have been able to attend. Thank you to all those that donated, and sponsored the team!