The 30th All Japan Karate Championship Part.1

December 8, 2002 - Nippon Budokan

The milestone 30th All Japan Karate Championship. In the men's kumite, all eyes were on whether last year's and the year before's champion, Sawanobu Matsuzaki, would break the record with his third consecutive victory, or whether someone would stop his winning streak. However, Matsuzaki defeated strong opponents one after another, including Akira Mizutsuki in the quarterfinals, Takahiro Niki in the semifinals, and Daiki Higuchi in the finals, solidifying his title as the strongest.

In the women's kumite, Maki Ogasawara, who had previously placed second and third, defeated her formidable rival Eri Fujioka in the semifinals and overcame the highly-touted Tomoko Araga in the finals to achieve her long-awaited All Japan Championship victory.

In the men's kata, last year's champion, Hideto Tsuchiya, who had not performed notably in 2002 due to poor health, faced intense competition from Tetsuya Furukawa, the National Sports Festival champion, and Yukimitsu Hasegawa, the world champion in team kata. However, determined not to relinquish his All Japan title, Tsuchiya performed a masterful Sochin, achieving his third consecutive victory and making a complete comeback.

In the women's kata, while strong competitors like Azusa Tomishiro and Kasuga Wakabayashi were vying for the top spot, Atsuko Wakai of Japan, and indeed the world, achieved an overwhelming sixth consecutive victory with her specialty, Superinpei, further extending her record of consecutive All Japan Championships.

Contents

Men's Individual Kumite / Highlights from the First Half

Isao Matsuhisa (University League) vs. Kenichi Imai (Osaka)
Takuji Fujimura (Saitama) vs. Tetsuya Enokido (Tochigi)
Sawanobu Matsuzaki (Toyama) vs. Toshihito Kokubu (Chiba)
Takahiro Niki (Kagoshima) vs. Toshiro Mori (Fukuoka)
Takuji Fujimura (Saitama) vs. Daiki Higuchi (Nagano)

Women's Individual Kata / Finals4th place: Azusa Tomishiro (Corporate League) / Anan
3rd place: Chieko Nakamura (Shikoku) / Nipaipo
2nd place: Kasuga Wakabayashi (Chugoku) / Tomari Bassai
1st place: Atsuko Wakai (Corporate League) / Superinpei

Men's Individual Kata / Finals4th place: Kazutaka Yamamoto (University League) / Gankaku
3rd place: Tetsuya Furukawa (Hokushinetsu) / Superinpei
2nd place: Yukimitsu Hasegawa (Kanto) / Matsumura Bassai
1st place: Hideto Tsuchiya (Kanto) / Sochin

Demonstration

Women's Individual Kumite / Quarterfinals
Yuno Hirata (Ibaraki) vs. Tomoko Araga (High School League)
Sachiko Oyama (Fukushima) vs. Sachiko Miyamoto (Osaka)
Eri Fujioka (Miyagi) vs. Sayuri Maejima (Saitama)
Takako Hamada (Fukuoka) vs. Maki Ogasawara (Shizuoka)

Women's Individual Kumite / Semifinals & 3rd Place Match
Tomoko Araga (High School League) vs. Sachiko Oyama (Fukushima)
Eri Fujioka (Miyagi) vs. Maki Ogasawara (Shizuoka)
Sachiko Oyama (Fukushima) vs. Eri Fujioka (Miyagi)

Women's Individual Kumite / Finals
Tomoko Araga (High School League) vs. Maki Ogasawara (Shizuoka)

Men's Individual Kumite / Quarterfinals
Sawanobu Matsuzaki (Toyama) vs. Akira Mizutsuki (Kumamoto)
Takeshi Hosogai (Tokyo) vs. Takahiro Niki (Kagoshima)
Kenichi Imai (Osaka) vs. Nobuaki Kanazawa (Tokyo)
Daiki Higuchi (Nagano) vs. Ryosuke Shimizu (Kyoto)

Men's Individual Kumite / Semifinals & 3rd Place Match
Sawanobu Matsuzaki (Toyama) vs. Takahiro Niki (Kagoshima)
Kenichi Imai (Osaka) vs. Daiki Higuchi (Nagano)
Takahiro Niki (Kagoshima) vs. Kenichi Imai (Osaka)

Men's Individual Kumite / Finals
Sawanobu Matsuzaki (Toyama) vs. Daiki Higuchi (Nagano)

(Produced in 2003)