<p class="reg-lead">Guide to the elections at the 2026 Congress of the World Karate Federation, published 10 July 2026.</p>
<table class="reg-facts">
<tr><td>Publication</td><td><b>10 July 2026</b></td></tr>
<tr><td>Subject matter</td><td>Election of the members of the Executive Committee for the <b>2026–2030</b> term</td></tr>
<tr><td>Date of the Congress</td><td><b>13 October 2026</b></td></tr>
</table>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>What the document does</h2>
<p>It is the operational guide to one specific election: the deadlines, the eligibility conditions for candidacy and the voting procedure for the election of the Executive Committee at the 2026 Congress. Unlike the Statutes, which lay down permanent rules, this document is tied to a single event and acquires historical value thereafter.</p>
<p>Its statutory basis is Article 10 (conditions of candidacy) and Article 13 (Executive Committee) of the Federation's Statutes. For a national federation intending to put forward a candidate, the deadlines set out in this guide are conclusive.</p>
</div>

WKF Guidelines for the 2026 Congress Elections - 10 July 2026 edition

<p class="reg-lead">World Karate Federation Dan Grade Regulations, updated April 2026.</p>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>The core rule and the limit of authority</h2>
<p>The preamble to the document makes the limit of authority clear: all member national federations are authorised to apply to the World Karate Federation for diplomas for dan grades <strong>up to and including 8th dan</strong>, provided that the candidate has met the conditions of <strong>age</strong> and <strong>interval since the last grade</strong> laid down by the World Karate Federation's regulations.</p>
<p>Its statutory basis is Article 20 of the Statutes of the World Karate Federation. In cases concerning the validity of a grade certificate, this document and that article are cited together.</p>
</div>

WKF Dan Grade Regulations - April 2026

<p class="reg-lead">Guidelines for handling official protests at World Karate Federation events, updated 18 March 2026.</p>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>What the document does</h2>
<p>A five-page guide which — by its own terms — is written to prepare referees and event officials so that official protests are dealt with consistently. Its addressee is therefore the deciding body, not the protesting party.</p>
<p>For counsel lodging a protest on behalf of a federation or an athlete, however, this is the most useful document available: it shows by what route, within what time limit and in what form a protest must be brought if it is not to be rejected at the first stage. It is read alongside the kumite and kata rules.</p>
</div>

Guidelines for Handling Official Protests at WKF Events - 18 March 2026 edition

<p class="reg-lead">Concussion Protocol of the Medical Commission of the World Karate Federation, issued in March 2026.</p>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>What the document does</h2>
<p>A thirteen-page protocol setting out the diagnosis, immediate response and conditions for return to competition following a concussion. In a sport where blows to the head are part of the nature of the competition, this document draws the line between a "sporting accident" and a "failure of care".</p>
<p>For the lawyer, the value of this document lies in the fact that it supplies an <strong>objective standard</strong>: if the event physician has not followed the protocol, a claim of negligence acquires a documented basis; and if the physician has followed it, that same document is the defence.</p>
</div>

WKF Medical Commission Concussion Protocol — March 2026

<p class="reg-lead">World Karate Federation Conditions and Fees, 2026; schedule of membership fees and late-payment penalties.</p>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>What does this document do?</h2>
<p>A three-page document setting the annual membership fee and other charges payable by national federations for 2026. The annual membership fee is <strong>EUR 1,500</strong>, and the document provides for graduated penalties where payment is not made on time: the first penalty is <strong>EUR 300</strong> for payment not made by 31 March.</p>
</div>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>Why it matters to a national federation</h2>
<p>The Statutes of the World Karate Federation tie the enjoyment of membership rights — including the <strong>right to vote at Congress</strong> — to the settlement of financial obligations. The schedule is therefore financial in appearance but legal in effect: late payment may result in the loss of the right to vote at a Congress deciding on the Statutes or on the composition of the Executive Committee.</p>
</div>

WKF Conditions and Fees — 2026

<p class="reg-lead">World Karate Federation Travel Policy, January 2026 edition.</p>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>What the document does</h2>
<p>A ten-page policy setting out the travel booking process and the caps and conditions governing travel expenses of the federation's officials, referees and guests. It is an administrative and financial instrument, but in a dispute over reimbursement of expenses — which is not uncommon in practice — this text is the basis of the decision.</p>
</div>

WKF Travel Policy - January 2026

<p class="reg-lead">World Karate Federation Medical Regulations, January 2026 edition.</p>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>What the document does</h2>
<p>A nine-page instrument which, after the general provisions and the determination of the powers and competences of the <strong>Medical Commission</strong>, addresses the matter that is most important in liability cases: the <strong>minimum medical equipment and personnel</strong> that must be present at every event.</p>
<p>In a claim of liability arising from an injury at an event, the first question is whether the minimum requirements of this document were observed. The Concussion Protocol is a more specialised instrument to be read alongside this text, and the provision on the eligibility of transgender athletes likewise entrusts that determination to this same Commission.</p>
</div>

WKF Medical Rules - January 2026 edition

<p class="reg-lead">Para-Karate Kata Competition Rules, in force from 1 January 2026.</p>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>What this document does</h2>
<p>This is the parallel text of the Kata rules for <strong>Para-Karate</strong> competition and runs to thirty-four pages — that is, it is more detailed than the general edition, because in addition to the competition rules it must also cover the athlete <strong>classification</strong> system.</p>
<p>In Para-Karate cases, disputes turn more often on classification than on scoring; and the basis for determining them lies in this document and in the federation's medical regulations.</p>
</div>

WKF Para-Karate Kata Competition Rules - effective 1.1.2026

<p class="reg-lead">World Karate Federation Kata Competition Rules, in force from 1 January 2026 (rules version 2026.0).</p>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>What the document does</h2>
<p>A thirty-page document determining the rules of kata competition: the competition system, the assessment criteria, and the procedure for announcing the result. The cover of the document also carries the version number separately from the date of entry into force — <strong>version 2026.0</strong> — indicating that this family receives amended versions during the year, as is seen in the Kumite Competition Rules.</p>
<p>Alongside this document, the Para-Karate Kata Competition Rules are the parallel text for para-karate competition.</p>
</div>

WKF Kata Competition Rules - effective from 1 January 2026

<p class="reg-lead">World Karate Federation Kumite Competition Rules, in force from 1 January 2026.</p>
<table class="reg-facts">
<tr><td>Validity</td><td>From <b>1 January 2026</b></td></tr>
<tr><td>Length</td><td>59 pages</td></tr>
<tr><td>Status</td><td><strong>Current edition</strong> — with the amendments of 13 April 2026</td></tr>
</table>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>A point stated in the document itself</h2>
<p>The text carries a note dated <strong>13 April 2026</strong>: the amendment of the wording of Articles 3.5.8, 3.6.1, 8.11 (f) and 12.5.2 is marked in the text in <strong>blue</strong>. That is, the edition described as "in force from 1 January 2026" was amended in four provisions in April of the same year — and any citation of those four provisions must take that amendment into account.</p>
</div>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>What the document does</h2>
<p>It determines the rules of kumite bouts: the competition area, duration, scores, prohibited conduct and the sanctions for it, and the procedure for announcing the result. To challenge a refereeing decision in a bout, this text is cited together with the Guidelines for the Handling of Official Protests.</p>
</div>

WKF Kumite Competition Rules – effective 1.1.2026

<p class="reg-lead">World Karate Federation World Ranking Regulations, 2026 edition; the points system that determines competition entry and quotas.</p>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>Why a technical document is a legal one</h2>
<p>The world ranking is not merely a table; it is the input to decisive determinations — who gains entry to an event, how quotas are distributed, and what position an athlete receives in seeding. It is from this that a dispute over the calculation of points becomes a legal case.</p>
<p>The document runs to eighteen pages and opens with "General Regulations", then sets out how points are calculated and how long they remain valid. As with any annual document, the year of the edition must be cited alongside it.</p>
</div>

WKF World Ranking Regulations - 2026

<p class="reg-lead">The World Karate Federation Anti-Doping Regulations, in force from 1 January 2021 and updated on 17 December 2025.</p>
<table class="reg-facts">
<tr><td>In force</td><td><b>1 January 2021</b> — updated <b>17 December 2025</b></td></tr>
<tr><td>Length</td><td>66 pages</td></tr>
<tr><td>Status</td><td><strong>Current edition</strong> — a document not previously held on this site</td></tr>
</table>
<div class="reg-sec">
<h2>A note on the dates</h2>
<p>The cover carries two dates: the document has effect from <strong>1 January 2021</strong> and was updated on <strong>17 December 2025</strong>. This text is the adaptation of the <strong>World Anti-Doping Code</strong> for karate, so in interpreting it the text of the WADA Code and its International Standards are the governing upper layer.</p>
</div>
<div class="reg-sec hi">
<h2>The violations named in Article 2</h2>
<ol class="reg-tl">
<li><b class="t">Presence of a prohibited substance (2.1)</b>It is each athlete's personal duty to ensure that no prohibited substance enters their body — that is, strict liability, requiring no proof of intent.</li>
<li><b class="t">Use or attempted use (2.2)</b>Whether or not the use succeeds makes no difference.</li>
<li><b class="t">Failure to file whereabouts information (2.4)</b></li>
<li><b class="t">Tampering with doping control (2.5)</b>, <b>possession (2.6)</b>, <b>trafficking (2.7)</b> and <b>administration (2.8)</b>.</li>
<li><b class="t">Prohibited association (2.10)</b>An athlete's association with a person who is suspended on account of an anti-doping rule violation is itself a violation.</li>
<li><b class="t">Threats and retaliation (2.11)</b>Intimidating another person, or retaliating against someone who has reported information in good faith — the whistleblower protection provision.</li>
</ol>
<p>Article 3 sets the burden of proof and the standard applicable to it, which in defending a case is the first matter to be addressed.</p>
</div>

Sport Regulations Karate

WKF Guidelines for the 2026 Congress Elections - 10 July

WKF Dan Grade Regulations

Guidelines for Handling Official Protests at WKF Events - 18 March

WKF Medical Commission Concussion Protocol

WKF Conditions and Fees

WKF Travel Policy

WKF Medical Rules

WKF Para-Karate Kata Competition Rules - effective 1.1.2026

WKF Kata Competition Rules - effective from 1 January 2026

WKF Kumite Competition Rules – effective 1.1.2026

WKF World Ranking Regulations

WKF Anti-Doping Rules