How Dimitri Nemegaire Is Making Kata Clearer for the Next Generation

Belgium’s Dimitri Nemegaire has spent years inside judo, but his current mission is not about chasing medals. It is about helping kata be seen, understood and judged with the respect it deserves.

Nemegaire began in the discipline at 15, after earning his 1st Dan early. Like many judoka, he first leaned toward Shiai, but kata soon became central to his life. Ahead of the 2026 European Judo Championships Kata in Sarajevo, he described that shift as the moment he started to fully appreciate the discipline’s precision.

His story did not stop when his competitive years ended. Nemegaire said he lived that phase to the fullest, with all the intensity that comes with competition, before returning to kata through a different role. Passing on knowledge and deepening his understanding brought him back, this time with a wider view of how the discipline could grow.

A key figure in that journey was the late Michel Kozlowski, a Belgian pioneer in kata. Nemegaire speaks about him with real admiration, not only as a mentor but as a visionary who helped shape kata’s development in Europe. Together, they worked to push the practice forward and give it more structure and recognition, and Nemegaire says he remains committed to carrying that legacy on.

For Nemegaire, kata is not a side path in judo, but part of its core.

Today, that work continues through one of the most demanding areas in the sport: judging. Nemegaire is responsible for kata judges in Belgium, with a focus on the officials evaluating performances. His aim is clear: impartiality, technical rigor and strong education for judges, so the standard of evaluation matches the dedication shown by the athletes on the tatami.

That responsibility has also pushed him and his colleagues toward innovation. They have helped build tools designed to modernise how kata is scored, analysed and taught. These include live scoring systems, feedback platforms for athletes and educational programs for future judges.

The purpose behind those systems is simple but important. Kata can be difficult for the wider audience to read, especially when scores are not immediately obvious. Nemegaire wants evaluation to be clearer, fairer and more transparent, so that people can better understand what they are watching and why the marks matter.

That effort could be important for kata’s future in Europe. Making the discipline more accessible may help new audiences connect with its beauty, timing and technical depth. For Nemegaire, that attraction is not only about perfect execution, but also about the shared experience between people who dedicate themselves to this side of judo.

He also pointed to Giovanni and Angelica Tarabelli, the reigning Ju no Kata European champions and world ranking leaders, as examples of the discipline at its best. In his view, they represent judo’s spirit through kindness, mastery built over time and precision.

He is chasing clarity in judging without losing the soul of kata.

As Sarajevo hosts the 2026 European Kata Championships from 16 to 17 May, Nemegaire is waiting for the kind of performances that leave a lasting impression. Not just polished routines, but those rare moments that make a whole arena stop and feel the depth of judo.

For him, that is where kata still hits hardest.

Source: EJU.net

Image source: EJU / European Judo Union