December 3 marks the International Day of People with Disabilities. To celebrate the occasion, we review the history of the Para-Karate World Championships.

December 3 marks the International Day of People with Disabilities. To celebrate the occasion, we review the history of the Para-Karate World Championships.

The International Day of People with Disabilities (IDPWD) is a United Nations-sanctioned day that is celebrated internationally on 3 December. This year’s theme is “Not all Disabilities are Visible” and focuses on spreading awareness and understanding of disabilities that are not immediately apparent.

As karate is a sport of many values, many steps have been taken over the years to showcase the inclusivity of the discipline through Para-Karate categories. First launched on the occasion of the 2012 World Championships in Paris, Para-Karate has been constantly presented in all the World Championships ever since.

Moreover, the World Karate Federation was the first international sports organisation to introduce its modalities of people with disabilities within the programme of the Senior World Championships. In the last three editions of Karate’s biggest events, the Para-Karate World Championships has been part of the sports programme.

The first Para-Karate World Championships took place in Bremen (Germany), venue of the 22^nd Senior World Championships. Nearly 50 para-karate athletes from 20 countries gathered at the inaugural edition of the World Championships for people with disabilities. Salma Alaaeldin of Egypt and Germany’s Marvin Noeltge in the category of athletes with mental disabilities, Ukraine’s Uliana Smyrnova and Franck Duboisse of Belgium in wheelchair user, and Helga Balkie of Germany and Raymond Morcomb of Australia in visually impaired became the first Para-Karate World champions.

The second edition of the Para-Karate World Championships was even more remarkable. No less than 70 athletes from 26 countries participated in the event which took place in Linz (Austria) in 2016. Germany topped the medal table with four medals including two golds, followed by Canada and Ukraine.

A moving presentation of the Para-Karate discipline was showcased at the 2018 World Championships in Madrid (Spain), the last edition of the Para-Karate World Championships thus far. With 100 Para-Karate athletes from 33 countries participating, some of the biggest stars of the sport were crowned, such as Germany’s Helga Balkie in Blind/visually impaired female, Egypt’s Abdelaziz Abouelnaga in Wheelchair user male or Salma Alaeldin of Egypt in Intellectually impaired female, among others.

As more and more national and continental federations include Para-Karate events in their calendars, Para-Karate athletes await with anticipation the next edition of the Para-Karate World Championships to be held in Dubai (UAE) next year.

Three categories are currently included in Para-Karate: Wheelchair Athletes, Visually Impaired athletes, and Intellectually Impaired athletes.