
The USA Karate Federation is the first to establish the exciting new and unique event, the Anderson Cup. The Anderson Cup* andAnderson Cup Junior are designed to determine the best over-all kata competitor at the championships under a unique, new definition of athletic superiority. Winners of this event will receive the Anderson Cup Trophy.
The Anderson Cup is an open event. Competition will be in WKF Kata Divisions and Weapons Kata Divisions. Men will compete against women, boys against girls. There will be separate Senior and Junior (those 17 and under) Cups. The competition will be conducted in heats. For the WKF Cup, there will be four kata performances per heat - one for each category of the 4 major styles recognized by the WKF, except for the final heat where there will be an additional kata of choice. The 4 styles will be called categories and are goju-kai, wado-ryu, shito-ryu and shotokan. Representative kata for each heat will not be limited to the WKF shitei kata list. For the Kobudo Cup, there will be 3 kata per heat, one kata from each of the bo, sai, and tonfa. In the final heat a kobudo kata of choice may be formed from bo, sai, tonfa, kama, nunchaku, or eku.
Each heat will be conducted with all competitors on the floor presenting simultaneously their selected kata for each category as it is announced. In all but the final heat competitors will recieve a call back (CB) or no call back (NCB). The number of heats in each round will depend on the numbers of competitors entered in the Anderson Cup.
The winner of the Anderson Cup will be from those that succeed to the final round. Kata selection for each heat will be the choice of the competitor as long as they perform the representative kata category from the required styles. Thus for the WKF Cup, the same kata can be repeated in each heat or a different one from the same style can be substituted. Judges will use the kata standards of the WKF except that the kata for each style must exemplify the kihon of the style. In the final heat, there will be 5 kata with the last kata performed being the competitors choice from any recognized style or system. The Kobudo Cup will be judges based on Kobudokan standards and styles are open, but the choice of weapons is as outlined above.
It is the intent of the USA Karate Federation to continue to provide innovative tests of athletic abilities and the Anderson Cup will be a grueling challenge to the kata competitor and provide for a more discerning and difficult test for determining a true kata champion.