The Karate Club won the All Japan Student Karate Championship Women's Kata and dominated the podium

On Sunday, July 6, 2025, at the 69th All Japan Student Karate Championships held at the Victorina Wink Gymnasium (Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture), Teikyo University Karate Club's Honoka Murayama (1st year, Faculty of Medical Technology) won the women's kata competition. In addition, Kotomi Sato (3rd year, Faculty of Medical Technology) came in runner-up, and Haruna Suzuki (4th year, Faculty of Medical Technology) and Yoshi Okamoto (1st year, Faculty of Medical Technology) came in third, making it a remarkable achievement for our university to monopolize the podium in the women's kata competition.
This tournament featured four events in total: kata and kumite for men and women, and 18 winners of the Kanto Student Karate Championship in May participated. Sato has competed in both kata and kumite for three consecutive years.

In response to the results of the kata, Masao Kagawa, head coach and instructor of the university's karate club, said, "As a result, the women's kata team monopolized the podium, and the men's team also performed well, with two students coming in third place. Furthermore, the students are serious about their training, and I fully understand their efforts. However, the results were affected by the difference of just one step, such as not being able to overcome the issues sufficiently or not being able to demonstrate the "extra" power to control the atmosphere of the match venue." Regarding the kumite, he also expressed his thoughts on the students' awareness and attitude, saying, "There were times when we were unable to win, and it was frustrating in terms of not being used to matches. In the women's kumite final, Sara Terazawa of Chubu Gakuin University and Mashiro Ikeda of Kyoto Sangyo University fought a heated and wonderful match, not giving in an inch. I wonder how our students felt about the fighting attitude of the two of them."

Master Kagawa has announced that he will retire from his position as coach in 2025. "The growth of the students' minds leads to their karate skills, so how we develop their minds is key. No matter who they face, they are expected to remain unshakable. I want to continue practicing hard, without getting too excited or upset, and look forward to seeing the students grow, as we look forward to the All Japan University Karate Championships in November," he said of his thoughts to the students. This decision has already been communicated to the students, who are showing their strong determination, saying, "For the sake of the master, we want to achieve a 'four crowns' by winning all events in the autumn team competition."

Please keep an eye on the further growth of the Karate Club, including the students who were disappointed that they were not able to participate in this tournament. Thank you for your warm support for the Karate Club.

Main results

Women's
[Winner] Honoka Murayama (1st year, Faculty of Medical Technology)
[Runner-up] Kotomi Sato (3rd year, Faculty of Medical Technology)
[3rd Place] Haruna Suzuki (4th year, Faculty of Medical Technology), Yoshiaki Okamoto (1st year, Faculty of Medical Technology)

male form
[3rd Place] Yoshida Daiwa (4th year, Faculty of Medical Technology), Kato Daisei (3rd year, Faculty of Medical Technology)
[Outstanding Player] Keiichiro Akagi (4th year, Faculty of Medical Technology)

Men's Kumite
[Excellent athlete] Takeuchi Takeuchi (4th year, Faculty of Education)

Click here for all-Japan student karate championship results

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