Despite failing with three consecutive attempts to be added to the Olympics, in 2005, 2009 and most recently in 2013, where karate was eliminated at the first round stage before wrestling was eventually returned to the Games, the sport is growing and jostling for another attempt in the future.

Appearing on the European Games, alongside appearances at the Asian Games in Incheon and next year's Pan American Games in Toronto, is a major way to raise its profile.

"Baku 2015 will be very, very important for us," admitted World and European Karate Federation President, Antonio Espinós. "There will be opportunities for greater visibility and prestige, and, as the only non-Olympic discipline on the programme, we will have a unique opportunity to showcase the sport."

A WKF delegation, including Antonio Espinós, met with IOC President Thomas Bach and Sports Director Kit McConnell, in July ©IOC/Christophe Moratal



There will be some who will read this and no doubt be thinking: 'Do we need another martial art on a multi-sport programme?' Yet, as well as claiming to have a simpler-to-understand scoring system, fewer pads, and a more aggressive - and therefore entertaining - fighting style than taekwondo, karate is also surging in popularity among youth populations, something that deems it very much in the spirit of the times in the Olympic Movement.

President Espinós is far too polite to compare karate with taekwondo and judo, the two other martial arts featuring at the European Games and the Olympics, but he is keen to highlight the strengths of his sport.

"I would say karate is a universal sport," added the Spaniard, who has led the WKF since 1998. "It is very popular and is now a very strong sport in many European countries, and Patrick Hickey and the European Olympic Committees (EOC) know karate very well. I feel we can make a very good go of the opportunity provided by participating at Baku 2015, and we will certainly have added value for the EOC."

Since being formed in 1990, the WKF represents 188 National Federations and has more than 10 million members around the world. Although the sport was only introduced to Europe as recently as the 1950s and 1960s, when Japanese masters began to teach the art there, the old continent is now among the strongest global hubs for the sport. At the most recent World Championships, held in Paris in 2012, the 16 events produced winners from four different continents, and podium finishes from five, but France finished top of the pile, while Italy, Turkey, Spain, Croatia and Azerbaijan all secured multiple medals.

In Baku, the programme will consist of six events for men and women, with a total of 96 fighters participating. Five of these will consist of different kumite weight categories, ranging from under 60 kilograms to over 84kg for men, and from under 50kg to over 68kg for women. Literally translated as the "meeting of hands", kumite consists of sparring bouts of between two and four minutes, with competitiors receiving points for one of three kicks: ippon, waza-ari and yuko. Only kicks to the head and face are permitted.

The final two events, meanwhile, will be male and female kata competitions. Consisting of a formalised sequence of movements which represent various offensive and defensive postures based on idealised combat applications, competitors are awarded points by judges based on four criteria: conformance, technical performance, athletic performance and technical difficulty.

Although this will conjure images of other, exhibition style sports, such as figure skating and rhythmic gymnastics, the WKF emphasise that kata is "not a dance or theatrical performance". They add: "It must adhere to the traditional values and principles, be realistic in fighting terms and display concentration, power, and potential impact in its techniques, and must demonstrate strength, power, and speed, as well as grace, rhythm, and balance."

The French kumite team celebrate at the 2012 World Championships - only individual events will feature in Baku ©AFP/Getty Images



The karate competition at Baku 2015 will take place inside the Crystal Hall on the first weekend of the Games, June 13 to 14, thus providing an opportunity for the sport to be showcased before the taekwondo or judo competitions begin.

Next year's European Senior Championships, to be held in Istanbul from March 19 to 22, will act as the sole qualification competition, although the host nation Azerbaijan will automatically receive one slot across each of the 12 events.

It is hoped this will create a similar atmosphere to that seen at the 2012 World Championships, where a sell-out crowd of 16,000 packed into the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy to enjoy the action.

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