Karate Gets Its Own Showcase at the Tokyo Games

Karate made its debut as an official Olympic sport at the Tokyo Games on Thursday as 120 men and women from around the world vied for medals.

The Japanese organizers successfully lobbied for karate to be included as a medal sport, an upgrade from the cameo it made as a demonstration sport at the 1964 Tokyo Games.

Two-thirds of the athletes are competing in the kumite portion of the program, where two fighters face off and try to hit and kick their opponents to score points.

The other third will compete in kata, which includes the building blocks of karate performed against an imaginary opponent, traditional aspects of the martial art that purists relish. In kata, athletes perform alone,…