WKF Shitei Kata requirement removed rumor?

[Grenadier]

So far, there's only been one blog site, where the owner is claiming that he heard that the WKF is removing Shitei kata requirements from the competition, and that the entire kata competition would be Tokui (open).

http://www.karatebyjesse.com/wkf-shitei-kata-removed-nagamine-jkf-bonus/

No confirmation yet from other sources, but if it were true, is it really a good thing for competition?



I'll say this, that I'm against the removal, and furthermore, the guy in the above link seems to be ignorant of a few things.

At least with Shitei rounds, everyone is held to the same standards, where you cannot do any dojo-specific alterations. Everyone is now on the same page. This can help remove a lot of judging bias.

As to his assertion that Shitei kata are difficult to learn, I'd have to say that he's barking up the wrong tree. After all, if you're good enough to be a kata competitor at the WKF level, then you must have qualified using Shitei kata at the national level as well at the elite level.

 

[dancingalone]

I'll say this, that I'm against the removal, and furthermore, the guy in the above link seems to be ignorant of a few things.

At least with Shitei rounds, everyone is held to the same standards, where you cannot do any dojo-specific alterations. Everyone is now on the same page. This can help remove a lot of judging bias.

Does this really change things all that much? You'd likely still have to abide by the norms to win tournaments. Let me pose this scenario, and it could be entirely off the wall, so let me know if it is. Assuming you can enter competitions with any kata, do you really see someone winning with a Uechi-ryu kata like Kanchin or Sanseiryu. Or someone winning with an Isshin-ryu kata (pick any of them)? Or what if you do Bassai with the Korean Tang Soo Do variations?

My thought is that both the kata and the way they are performed today to win (overly long dramatic pauses, etc.) won't change much at all.