Upcoming WKF Karate 1 Premier League and Series A events feeding the world karate rankings.
Competitive karate under the World Karate Federation is split into two very different disciplines: kumite, which is sparring, and kata, which is a solo form judged on execution. The Karate 1 circuit is where the world rankings are decided.
Karate World Cup 2026
Senior team kumite and kata finals · WKF · in 32 days
Karate 1 Series A Tbilisi
Kumite & kata across all weight classes · WKF · in 81 days
Karate 1 Premier League Istanbul
Kumite & kata across all weight classes · WKF · in 102 days
Karate 1 Premier League Rome
Kumite & kata across all weight classes · WKF · in 143 days
2027 Karate One Premier League Rome
Kumite & kata across all weight classes · WKF · in 144 days
Karate 1 Series A Tarragona 2027
Kumite and kata, all categories · WKF · in 179 days
Karate 1 Premier League Astana 2027
Kumite and kata, all categories · WKF · in 200 days
Karate 1 Premier League Rabat 2027
Kumite and kata, all categories · WKF · in 228 days
Karate 1 Series A Amman 2027
Kumite and kata, all categories · WKF · in 277 days
Karate 1 Series A Salzburg 2027
Kumite and kata, all categories · WKF · in 333 days
Karate 1 Series A Salzburg
Kumite & kata across all weight classes · WKF · in -17 days
Kumite is fought to controlled contact and scored on technique: one point for a punch, two for a kick to the body, three for a kick to the head or for scoring after a takedown. Excessive contact is penalised, so the sport rewards precision and timing rather than power. Kata is performed solo — a set sequence of movements against imagined opponents — and judged on technical accuracy and athletic quality, with competitors going head to head and the better performance advancing.
The WKF runs two tiers. Premier League events are the top level and draw the strongest fields. Series A events sit below them and award fewer ranking points, which makes them the place where newer competitors build a ranking. Both feed the world rankings that determine seeding at the World Championships and continental events.
Karate appeared at the Olympic Games once, in Tokyo in 2020, and was not included in Paris 2024 or Los Angeles 2028. The WKF continues to run its own world championship cycle and the Karate 1 circuit independently of the Olympic programme, and the sport's ranking system remains built around them.