Discover the latest across the mat and the octagon, from philosophical judo to high-stakes MMA.We start with Judo's history at the 2025 World Kata Championships in Paris, where Itsutsu-no-kata, the "unfinished kata" created by Jigoro Kano Shihan, made its program debut. This philosophical kata embodies the core judo principle of maximum efficiency, minimum effort. Olympian and British Judo development director, Karen Roberts Castle (7th dan), competed in Itsutsu-no-kata with uke Fiona Chan to promote judo as a vehicle for education and show the direct links between its principles and practical shiai applications, such as kaeshi-waza (counter techniques).In BJJ news, we celebrate Renzo Gracie's promotion to the BJJ coral belt, an honor bestowed upon him by his cousin, the legendary Rickson Gracie, recognizing Renzo's decades of global influence.We also explore the business side of martial arts management as Open Black Belt announced the transformation of its product to Lotus by Open Black Belt. The new name symbolizes the balance between martial arts tradition and modern, cutting-edge tools designed to streamline dojo managementFinally, we recap the thrilling action at UFC 322: the undefeated Michael Morales (18-0) secured a massive welterweight TKO victory over Sean Brady in Round 1 and called out for a title shot. In championship bouts, Islam Makhachev dominated to win the main event title, and Valentina Shevchenko successfully defended her flyweight title in a one-sided performance
