CHAPTER 86

Good day,

Congratulations! Your dojo has officially been entered into the Sekai Taikai World Karate Championship 2020. It is a high honor to be accepted into this incredibly exclusive tournament any year, even more so this year as it is the 50th anniversary of the Championship, so a huge congratulations to your dojo. The Sekai Taikai committee was thrilled at the exposure you were giving Karate in Los Angeles, which is why you were accepted into this extremely exclusive competition.

Now that congratulations are in order, there are several pieces of information that we feel important that you and your dojo know. Especially as first-time competitors in the tournament, we want to make sure everything is in order for you and your students to participate as conveniently as possible for all parties, so these are the things you need to know:

1. Firstly and arguably most importantly, right now, your dojo is without a name. We have you written down in our system as dojo #098, however we feel it would be better for all parties if you would be able to provide us with a name, as it would allow us to work easier logistically, and I'm sure it would be more special for all of you to be able to compete under your own dojo name. Our email address is (). Please email us with an official dojo name as soon as possible.

2. Number of fighters. Of course, the aim of the Taikai is to be inclusive for everyone. Karate is a sport that brings together different people with a common interest, and the Taikai is a competition that prides itself on bringing together people of all backgrounds. However, it is also important for us to maintain a strict number of competitors to make sure things are fair between all competing dojos.

For this reason, we'd like to inform you that your dojo is able to bring to the Taikai 6fighters under the age of 21. These can be fighters competing in either the male or female division. You do not have to bring equal numbers in both divisions - the only requirement is for there to be 6 U21 fighters altogether. In your email response to this letter, please include the names of your 6 fighters, so we can begin to organize everything accordingly.

Furthermore, we encourage - though it is strictly optional - Senseis to also compete in their own division of the Sekai Taikai. Provided they are physically able to, and their readiness will be confirmed by a doctor prior to competing, 2 senseis can compete per dojo in the Sensei division. To make it clear: you can bring as many senseis as you'd like to the tournament to coach the students. However, only 2 senseis are able to compete.

3. The details. Because it's your dojo's first time competing in the tournament, we felt it necessary to lay out a vague description of what the Sekai Taikai entails. Unlike any local tournament, the Sekai Taikai prides itself at being the largest International Karate Championship in the world. For the past 50 years, this tournament has taken place in Tokyo, Japan, and there will be no exception for this year's tournament. Flights will be up to the participating dojos to pay for, though accommodation in Tokyo upon arrival will be taken care of and funded by the Sekai Taikai Organization.

The tournament will take place over a 10 day period, between June 1st to June 10th inclusive. Competitors will all be staying together in a large facility close to the arena where the tournament takes place, courtesy of the Taikai Organization, so all accommodation fees, as well as food, will be paid for by the Organization. The 10 day schedule will be split up as shown:

Day 1 - OPENING DAY. On this day, competitors will be able to settle into their surroundings and begin to prepare for the tournament. They will all be given a quick check by our doctors to make sure there aren't any medical issues. As well as this, we are lucky enough to have the Taikai televised all over the world, so on this day fighters will do most of their media responsibilities: photoshoots, interviews and more. From our past experience, it is all a pretty overwhelming experience for the teenagers, but rest assured that there will be plenty of volunteer and hired help, there to assist the students in any way they can. In the evening, there will be a large opening banquet dinner for all dojos as a way of bonding and getting to know the other students and senseis, coming from dojos all over the world.

Day 2 - PREPARATION DAY. There is nothing planned for this day. There are no media or any other responsibilities. The Taikai Organization has reserved the arena where the tournament is going to be held, so dojos will have the entire day to prepare for the tournament that begins the next day.

Day 3 - PRELIMINARY ROUNDS BEGIN. As you probably already know, there will be nearly 100 competitors in each division, a number that is only getting larger each year. For this reason, preliminaries will be vital in selecting the top 16 fighters per division for the knockout rounds. Fighters will compete against others in their division in multiple fights, with the winner and score of each fight recorded. The fights are standard 5 point fights, and the fighters will be thoroughly briefed on the rules on day 1. The preliminary rounds will not be televised, though there are often up to 5000 spectators in attendance.

Day 4 - SECOND DAY OF PRELIMINARIES. No fighters will be eliminated during the first day of Preliminaries, so all fighters will fight again throughout the course of Day 4. After all fighters have fought an equal number of fights, the data will finish being collected, and the top 16 fighters in each division, who will be continuing onto the knockout rounds, will be announced.

Based on the Preliminary results, the top 1st-8th in each division will be seeded so they do not have to fight one another in the Round of 16, and will instead fight a randomly drawn competitor who placed between 9th-16th in the Preliminaries.

The draw to determine the matchups in the Round of 16 will occur that night so all competitors will go to sleep knowing who they are fighting the next day

Day 5 - ROUND OF 16. The matchups for the round of 16 in each division will have been determined the night before, so remaining fighters in the competition will all know who they are fighting. This will be the only fight they will have for this day

In the morning, fighters will be given time for final preparations. However, as we encourage fighters not to overwork themselves right before the fight, we require all competitors to report to a location for pre-fight interviews and press conferences that will be televised.

That evening will be the fights themselves. All competitors will be transported to the same arena where they took part in Preliminaries, although now there will be much more of an audience, with last year's numbers hitting close to 10,000. These fights will be televised not only to Japan, but on a much larger scale. Thanks to the generous donations of recent sponsors, we've been able to expand the scope of our viewership to not only Japan, but all over the world.

The Round of 16 fights will take place one at a time and will span for the entire evening. They will also be traditional first to 5 point sparring.

The last event of the night will be the winners of the round of 16 fights will all be placed in a pot and will be randomly drawn for their quarter final fight. There are no stipulations on who can fight whom, with there being no seeding this late in the competition.

DAY 6 - QUARTER FINALS. The format of this day will be almost identical to the round of 16. With only 8 fighters remaining in each division, fighters will initially have time to prepare in the morning, but will be called for interviews and pre-fight meetings in the afternoon prior to the fight.

The fights will take place one by one in the evening in the same arena, with what we expect to be a sellout crowd of 15,000 in attendance and cameras broadcasting the fight all over the world.

Only 4 fighters in each division will remain after the quarter finals. Once again, there will be a random draw at the end of the night to inform the fighters of their semi final opponent.

DAY 7 - SEMI FINALS. Once again, a similar format of the day will be incorporated. Preparation day in the morning, interviews and meetings in the afternoon and the fights in the evening.

By this late stage of the competition, there will be a lot more eyes on it, with similar numbers expected in attendance but many more viewers online. If you make it this far in the competition, you can expect to find you or your students trending on social media! More attention will most likely mean a more in-depth pre-fight press conference, but given that there aren't many more people left in the competition, it should take a similar amount of time.

By the end of the night, all 3 divisions will have their finals matchups set.

DAY 8 - BREAK DAY. We recognise the physical toll that this competition can take, especially on competitors who have made it this far. For this reason, it is tradition to give the competitors a bit of a break, physically at least.

Given how anticipated we expect the grand final to be, it is a reasonable assumption that there will be plenty of opportunities for competitors to participate in radio and television opportunities, as well as other media appearances during this day.

DAY 9 - THE GRAND FINAL. At this stage of the competition, this is where things begin to change. There are two extremely important changes to note for the final day of the competition: location and rules.

The location of the Grand final is different to previous rounds. Thanks to new sponsors, as well as the fact that this is the 50th year of the competition, we have managed to secure the Japan National Stadium, the largest multi-purpose arena in Tokyo and in Japan as a whole. The arena seats around 200,000 people at full capacity, and we expect every seat in the house to be filled. The final will also be televised, and for the first year yet, we've even secured rights with major American TV outlets such as ESPN and NBC to have the final being played on TV throughout your country. We guarantee that should you make it this far in the competition, the experience will be utterly unforgettable.

The second major change for the final are the rules. As per tradition of the Sekai Taikai for every year since its establishment, the final in each division will not use traditional 5 point Kumite rules. They will instead use free-sparring rules. Not too dissimilar to the UFC, fighters will compete in 5 five minute rounds, and can win by knocking out their opponent, holding them in a submission lock until the opponent taps, and the referee retains the right to stop the fight at any point if they believe it to be medically necessary. Should none of these happen by the end of the fifth round, there will be 3 expert judges to deliberate and decide on a winner. Though we understand these rules are different to the rules your dojo has competed with in the past, we assure you that it is completely safe. Our referees are well-trained and all know that the utmost priority is the safety of the fighters, so they won't hesitate to stop the fight if they deem it to be unsafe for either fighter, either allowing the dominating fighter a win if they've won cleanly, or a disqualification if they haven't.

After declaring winners in all divisions, there will be a televised closing ceremony, where all fighters will receive awards for participation and the top few fighters and teams will receive individual and team prizes. These prizes will be distributed by a few celebrities who have already agreed to appear for the event, celebrities that all of you will have the opportunity to meet throughout the entire Taikai. This prize-giving ceremony will conclude the Taikai.

DAY 10 - WRAP-UP DAY. On this day, the Sekai Taikai is officially over. We ask all dojos to be out of the accommodations by 5 pm, but any time before then is your own. In the past, many students have used this opportunity to make connections with the other students and senseis in other dojos, as well as unwind after a stressful week and a half.

That's the schedule. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out and ask. There will be a lot more information regarding details, rules and more that comes closer to the date of the tournament. We look forward to hearing your answers to the questions that we had written above.

All the best,

Sekai Taikai Organization