A student with poor eyesight in Miyazaki Prefecture will be competing in the national karate competition for the individual kata (form) division, which will be held online following the cancellation of the national inter-high school athletic competition this summer.
"I want to do well and increase the number of disabled people practicing karate," said Kaito Goto, 17, a high school student at Myojo School for the Blind in Miyazaki Prefecture, because the sport has not been included as a Paralympic event, and there are still not many disabled people practicing karate.
Goto was born with small eyeballs and can barely see through his right eye, while the vision in his left eye is about 0.2.
The All Japan High School Athletic Federation's Section of Karatedo launched a national tournament for third-year high school students, as the competition this summer was canceled because of the coronavirus, giving Goto a chance to step onto the main stage.
When Goto was in fourth grade at a special needs school, his friend convinced him to take karate lessons, where Goto learned kata, with which athletes compete to display the beauty of martial arts. He went to a dojo and listened to detailed verbal explanations to learn the forms and sharpen his skills. Goto also fixed his habit of looking to the left because of his weak right eye. Currently, his mother Yukiko, 41, drops him off and picks him up at two dojo three days a week.
Several referees will score 212 men and 166 women entering the national competition by watching their videos and will decide the winner in July. Goto said he would film himself soon.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how good I really am. I want to perform while expressing my gratitude to the people around me," he said.
According to the Japan Karatedo Federation, there are about 200 karate athletes with disabilities nationwide, and the world championship is the sport's top event.
Goto will keep practicing to be more like Yasushi Oba, 41, the 2018 winner in the visually impaired division, and is also a Miyazaki native, like Goto.
"I feel like I've become more mature through karate, and I want people to see the appeal that karate has," Goto said.
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