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Draft:Yuki Ujihara

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Yuki Ujihara
Yuki Ujihara in 2022
Personal information
Full nameYuki Matteo Ujihara
National teamSwitzerland
CitizenshipSwitzerland, Japan, Italy
BornJanuary 13, 2001
Zurich
EducationUniversity of Zurich[1]
Years active2013-present
Sport
SportKarate
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking7[2]
Medal record
Men's karate
Representing  Switzerland
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Poreč Individual Kata
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Gaziantep Individual Kata
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Guadalajara Individual Kata
European Games
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Bielsko-Biała Individual Kata
Juniors European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2017 Sofia Individual Kata
Silver medal – second place 2018 Sochi Individual Kata
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Tampere Individual Kata
Karate1 Premier League
Silver medal – second place 2021 Lisbon Individual Kata

Yuki Matteo Ujihara (January 13, 2001)[3] is a Swiss karateka who specializes in the discipline kata.

He was the first Swiss karateka in this discipline to win a bronze medal at three consecutive European Championships, as well as achieving a 5th place at the World Championships[4] and winning a bronze medal at the European Games.[5][2]

Early life

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Yuki Ujihara was born on January 13, 2001 in Zurich to a Japanese father and a Swiss mother with Italian roots.[6]

In his early childhood, he was not particularly active in sport until 2011, when he joined a Shito-ryu-style Dojo alongside a friend, partly to counteract the bullying he experienced at elementary school. "I was immediately fascinated by the unique worldview of the ancient martial arts, and its artistic-philosophical elements in the never-ending process of pursuing perfection" he says in an interview.[7] He became a member of the junior national team in 2016 and has been a member of the seniors national team since 2018.[2]

Career

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In 2017, he was selected for his first Junior European Karate Championships and finished second in the U18 category. The following year, he secured another silver medal at this event and won his first gold medal at a World Cup at the Karate1 Youth League in Umag.[8] In 2021, he brought the Swiss national karate team several achievements that no Swiss karateka had ever achieved in kata before: after winning a silver medal at the Karate1 Premier League in Lisbon [9], he also won a bronze medal at the Senior European Championships in Poreč[10], as well as a fifth place at the World Championships in Dubai [4] and a bronze medal at the U21 European Championships in Tampere[11]. In the same year, he also took part in the 2022 edition of the World Games in Birmingham as one of the eight qualified athletes.[3] He secured bronze medals at the two subsequent European Championships[12][13] and, with his third place at the 2023 edition of the European Games, won the first medal for the Swiss team at this competition as wells as his first personal medal at a multi-sport event.[14][15] Yuki Ujihara became National Champion (kata) in the U14 category for the first time in 2013. Since then, he has been national champion in every age category (U16, U18, U21, Seniors), a record that no other Swiss male karateka has ever achieved.[2]

Personal life

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Since 2016, he has been training twice a year under the Okinawan karate master Takahiro Shinjo, whom he looks up to as his own teacher.[15] He also received his 3rd dan title in karate from him in 2024.[1] At the same time, he has been a member of the Swiss karate club “Bushido Baden” since 2019.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Ujihara’s Instagram Page"
  2. ^ a b c d e Bushido Baden. Profile Yuki Ujihara
  3. ^ a b "Entry List by Country" (PDF). 2022 World Games. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Karate Results Book" (PDF). World Karate Federation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  5. ^ Karate at the 2023 European Games
  6. ^ Simone Tormen (25 March 2019). "Il 'fonzasino' Yuki Ujihara". Bellunesi nel mondo (in Italian). Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  7. ^ Nicola Abt (25 June 2022). "Vom Mobbing-Opfer zum Karate-Star". Blick (in German). Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  8. ^ "World Karate Federation Official Ranking | WKF". Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  9. ^ Swiss Karate Federation (2 May 2021). "Elena Quirici und Yuki Ujihara im Finale Luca Spitz um Bronze". Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  10. ^ 2021 European Karate Championships
  11. ^ 2021 European Junior Karate Championships
  12. ^ 2022 European Karate Championships
  13. ^ 2023 European Karate Championships
  14. ^ SRF Sport (22 June 2023). "Karateka Ujihara sorgt für erste Schweizer Medaille"
  15. ^ a b World Karate Federation (22 June 2023). "I have shown that everything is possible". Retrieved 27 July 2024.
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