BODY WEIGHT · 体重

Your weight class is a tactical decision.

Walking into a kumite weigh-in 50 grams over the bracket disqualifies you instantly. Cutting 4kg in 48 hours arrives you fatigued, dehydrated, and slow. The athletes who win consistently in kumite live within 1.5kg of their fight weight year-round and treat weight-class selection as a multi-year strategic choice — not a last-minute scramble.

20 WEIGHT BRACKETS · 8-STEP WEIGH-IN PROTOCOL · 7 PRACTICES TO AVOID · 4 ATHLETE TIERS

WEIGHT CATEGORIES

Find your bracket.

Category	Range	Age Group	Notes
-60 kg	under 60 kg	Senior 18+	Lightest senior bracket. Speed and reach disproportionately matter.
-67 kg	60–67 kg	Senior 18+	Most-contested international bracket. Deepest field.
-75 kg	67–75 kg	Senior 18+	Balanced power and mobility. Common transition bracket from junior.
-84 kg	75–84 kg	Senior 18+	Power weight class. Reach often above 1.85m at elite level.
+84 kg	over 84 kg	Senior 18+	Heavyweight. Strong kohaku competitors. Reach-and-distance fight dominant.

WEIGH-IN PROTOCOL

The 48 hours before.

T-48h

Final weight check at the dojo. If more than 1.5kg above target, sensei must approve a cut plan or withdraw the entry.

T-24h

Travel day. Hydration normalised. No salt loading. No diuretics — these are tested-for substances.

T-12h

Last full meal. Plain carbohydrate-based. No new foods on competition days.

T-6h

Light breakfast, water sips only after 4h pre-weigh-in.

T-2h

Arrive at venue. Locate weigh-in station. Greet officials.

T-30min

Strip to undergarments (gender-segregated weigh-in). Use the venue scale, not your own.

T-0

Weigh-in. Number recorded by 2 officials. If over by even 50g — disqualified or moved up a class.

T+15min

Rehydrate immediately. Electrolyte drink, banana, dates. Begin recovery for first bout.

PRACTICES TO AVOID

What harms more than it helps.

banned

Diuretic use

Banned. Always tested for. Career-ending sanction risk for a fight you might lose anyway.

severe

Extreme dehydration

A 5%+ dehydration cut reduces reaction time by 12% and grip strength by 7%. You arrive at the fight weaker than you would have been one class up.

severe

Long-distance running on weigh-in day

Loses muscle, not fat. Wrong tactic. Walk only.

high

Saunas and sweat suits

Functional but dangerous. Cardiac strain on athletes who lack supervision. Never alone.

high

Multi-day water cuts

Multi-day water restriction harms cognitive function. The fight needs your brain, not just your body.

banned

Last-minute laxative use

Both ineffective and dangerous. Causes cramping and electrolyte imbalance during competition.

chronic

Repeated extreme cuts season-after-season

Endocrine and metabolic damage. Many female athletes lose menstruation. Male athletes lose testosterone. Reduced bone density.

THE STRATEGY

Live at your fight weight. Cut nothing in the final week.

The elite-level approach: stay within 1.5kg of your bracket year-round. Eat your meals. Sleep well. Train. The athlete who lives at 67.8kg and walks into the -68kg category fresh, full, and hydrated beats the athlete who walked in at 71kg three weeks ago and arrived at 68 kg via misery — every time.

If you cannot make a weight class with this approach, you are not in your weight class. Move up one. You will win more fights and stay in the sport longer.

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