PORTRAITS OF JAPANthe winners. The waves are foreverchanging with the wind and tides,
so no surfer ever rides the samekind twice. In addition to showing
off their skillful maneuvers atop
the board, surfers also have to pickthe right wave to seize, a talentthat requires a winner’s instincts.
The event at the Tokyo 2020
Games will have a four-person heatstructure, where four surfers ride
it out in the water at a time andthe best two of each heat advanceto the next round. As only one
rider can ride a surge at any giventime—a common rule amongsurfers—a big highlight of theevent is watching the surfers jostle
for position to catch the best wave.
While surfing is all aboutmaneuvering a surfboard on awave, karate fascinates audienceswith its impressive control of thebody. This Japanese martial art isthought to have originated from theself-defense techniques developedby the warrior class of the Ryukyu
Kingdom, which ruled over theSURFING
IGARASHI Kanoa, who represents Japan at the Tokyo 2020
Games. Surfing is a unique sport in which athletes ride the waves inan ever-shifting natural environment. Watch how the surfers display
their skills so effortlessly that they seem to be one with the wave.

EXCITING
NEW SPORTS
TO DEBUT AT TOKYO 2020

Four new events have been added to the Tokyo 2020 Games,
all of them showcasing the power and grace of movement. The Japanesemartial art of karate and the aquatic sport of surfing are two of
the additions bringing a fresh sparkle to the Summer Games.
Starting with the Tokyo 2020
Games, a new policy has been
inaugurated that allows hostcities to propose additional
sports for the Olympic programs.
At this year’s Games, karate,
sport climbing, surfing, andskateboarding will make their
Olympic debuts. All four of these
sports feature graceful agility
and dynamic maneuverability.

KarateSpectators will be dazzled by theskateboarders’ spectacular aerial
moves and the physical prowess ofthe climbers.
With the splash of rolling waves
comes the feel of summer. The
sport of surfing involves athletes
riding waves on shortboards 170 to190 cm in length, competing with
one another on such criteria astechnique and originality. Surfing

Skateboarding

SportClimbing

Okinawa Islands until the end of
the 19th century. Today, karate
is practiced in more than 190countries. A key element of karate
in Japan, reflecting its origin as aform of self-defense, is its focus on
training the mind. For this reason,taking karate lessons is popular as
an extra-curricular activity.
Remarkable for its mental
toughness is the discipline of kata,a set of offensive and defensivemovements. Competitors, orkarateka, choose the kata theywish to demonstrate from amongthe 102 that are recognized by
the World Karate Federation.
The karateka then demonstratethese kata as if they are fighting
an adversary. Their punches andkicks are judged on a range of
criteria, from conformance andtiming to strength and speed. The
fluid motions of the karateka are athrill to see.
For those who want to see
karateka actually fighting it
out with each other, the morecompetitive discipline within
karate is that of kumite. Whilein kata, the two competitorsscore points for the quality of
their movement, in kumite,they gain points when landing
punches, kicks, or strikes on theiropponent, and win by amassing
more points than their adversary.
Karate at the Tokyo 2020 Games
is based on a traditional style thatobserves sundome (non-contact)
rules, which impose penalties
if a karateka should make fullcontact with his or her opponent.
The speedy exchanges of blows
attempting to catch one anotheroff guard, as well as the stunningagility of their high kicks andother bold moves, are a sight not
to be missed.
New events brimming withyouthful energy and traditional
skills should bring a fresh breathof air to the Olympic spectacle
and take it to a new stage. Alleyes will be on these exciting
competitions.

Surfing

is not only a sport, but an entireculture of beach music, art, andfashion, and is especially popularwith the younger generation.
The surfing event at the Tokyo
2020 Games has athletes in thewater for 20 to 30 minutes, during
which they catch as many as 10waves or more. Points are scoredfor each wave caught, with the best
two performances determining

KARATESHIMIZU Kiyou (left), representing Japan in kata,and SAGO Naoto (top, on the right), representing
Japan in kumite. Karate features two disciplines; kata
is a choreographed pattern of moves against an
invisible adversary, while kumite involves two fighters
sparring with one another to decide the winner.