• Sandra Sánchez A fierceness of gold

  • Interview The medal that cannot be escaped: "I know"

"It is not fair that the Olympic history of karate ends here," protests

Sandra Sánchez

, with gold around her neck. "We have shown the world that we have plenty of capacity. That they give us another chance," asks

Jesús del Moral

, their coach. Because in the Nippon Budokan karate is born and dies, so fleeting and so precious to Spain. Yesterday the medal of the talaverana, this Friday with many possibilities that of

Damián Quintero

, also a favorite, also with a Japanese as a great rival.

It is the great crusade of the Spanish karate men, their great vigilance, for which they trembled doubly when the pandemic called into question the celebration of Tokyo 2020. Because although he was born on the island of Okinawa in the 14th century - he arrived in mainland Japan already in In the twentieth century and in the 1960s it had already spread throughout the world - karate has long had a Spanish accent, power with champions with both a resume and little impact.

Karate, which emerged after the prohibition of the use of weapons by the samurai -the natives of the island created it to defend themselves-, is a martial art that is based on blocks, punches, kicks and throws that are carried out with the hands and the feet. It has two Olympic modalities, kumite, fighting - where Spain did not bring any representative to Tokyo -, three minutes for men and two for women. And the kata, "an imaginary combat", also of three minutes, a series of offensive and defensive movements directed to a virtual opponent.

Seven judges value the perfection of the kata -the two worst and the two best notes are discarded-, with 70% for the technical part and 30% for the physical part.

Participants must choose between the 102 options recognized by the World Federation and execute them in such a way that they value the strength, speed, balance and power of the punches and kicks, as well as the execution of the movements and the beauty of the technique .

That, the subjective plane, can tip the balance.

"Put your heart on the tatami. That you are not a robot, that the explosive part is seen, but also the technique and the feeling," explains Quintero, who highlights the capacity for abstraction and the level of mental concentration of which he must do Gala karate fighter: "Here we have no margin for error."

100 million practitioners

But karate, one of the most practically practiced martial arts in the world - there are 198 national federations on five continents and more than 100 million practically in the world - will not be in Paris 2024, excluded along with baseball and softball. (as a relay,

breakdancing

appears

). "We have not yet had the opportunity to show our value as an Olympic sport and it is not proposed to us for Paris 2024. Why not wait for the debut?" Quintero himself complained when the decision of the Organizing Committee was known in February 2019 .

"We have adapted our competition system in the two modalities of kata and kumite. We have adapted our refereeing system so that it is more equanimous and fair in view of these gentlemen. We have changed our classification system. We have demanded more from our athletes, to our technicians, our referees, our fans ... What else is needed? "

Antonio Moreno,

president of the Spanish Federation

, protested bitterly in a statement

.

And they well know the colossal difference between being an Olympic sport or not.

Scholarships, recognition, exposure ... There were anonymous Spanish world champions.

"

José Manuel Egea, Iván Leal, Óscar Vázquez

... They have been the ones who have paved the way. Because in the 90s there was already talk that karate was going to be Olympic and look what it has cost. The medal will be for everyone them, "challenged Quintero.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

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