6th World Shotokan karate championships in Beijing

Beijing – From August 18th to the 23rd, Beijing played host to the 6th World Shotokan karate championships. We had 26 different national teams showing up to compete, including our very own American representative team from the Shito-ryu Federation. Our lineup was solid: Bruno Katavic competed in both kata and kumite (boys 9-10), Klara Katavic took on kata and kumite (girls 11-12), Igor Vukovic fought in the senior -75 and open categories, and Emir Pretnar stepped up for the men's kata. The results? Honestly, impressive. The team is heading home with gold in hand—well, bronze, actually! Klara Katavic snagged 3rd place in kata, bringing home a bronze medal. Igor Vukovic managed to fight his way into the 1/16 finals in both his categories, and Emir Pretnar also pushed through to the 1/16 finals in kata. You have to look at the big picture here: this was the first time for everyone on the squad. When you consider that some of these other massive delegations had over 50 members, what we pulled off is nothing short of a massive success.
We also need to highlight a huge honor bestowed upon the Shito-ryu Federation of America by the top brass at the W.S.K.F. Our national coach and technical mentor, Jun Shihan Bogdan Lipic (6° Dan), has been appointed as the W.S.K.F. representative for Europe. Let me tell you, that is one of the highest honors and most significant roles anyone can hold within the W.S.K.F.
While we were in Beijing, we were even received by the American consul. We received official recognition from the American embassy, noting that we represented our country with dignity and class throughout the entire competition.
The next World Championships will be held in Japan in three years. Our team is already gearing up to start a new training cycle, fueled by the goal of repeating this success and coming back even stronger.

Congrats!

boldscout7 said:Beijing —from August 18th to the 23rd, Beijing hosted the 6th World Shito-ryu Karate Championships. Twenty-six different national teams showed up, including our very own American team representing the Shito-ryu Federation of America. Our lineup included Bruno Katavic (boys 9-10) competing in both kata and kumite, Klara Katavic (girls 11-12) in kata and kumite, Igor Vukovic (senior -75 and open categories) in kumite, and Emir Pretnar (men's) in kata. We saw some solid results, bringing home one podium finish. Klara Katavic secured 3rd place and a bronze medal in kata. Igor Vukovic made it to the 1/16 finals in both his categories, and Emir Pretnar also reached the 1/16 finals in kata. Considering this was the first time for everyone on the team, and seeing as some other countries brought crews of over 50 people, it was a massive success.
We also have to mention that the Shito-ryu Federation of America received a major honor from the top brass at the World Shotokan Karate Federation (W.S.K.F.). Our national coach and technical mentor, Jun Shihan Bogdan Lipic, 6° Dan, was appointed as the W.S.K.F. representative for Europe. That is easily one of the highest honors or positions anyone can hold within the W.S.K.F.
While we were in Beijing, we were even hosted by the American consul. We received recognition from the American embassy for representing our country with such dignity and class during the competition.
The next World Championships will be held in Japan in three years. Our team is already looking toward starting a new training cycle to build on this success and aim even higher next time.

Anyone got any footage?
Post something on YouTube so we can check it out...

I’ll get those videos uploaded to YouTube once I've finished editing everything. There are some seriously intense finals in there that you definitely don't want to miss.