The karate events of World Games I were held on July 25–27, 1981, at the Toso Pavilion on the campus of Santa Clara University in California, United States.
Pool B: Jorge Castelli, Spain d. Gino McCulley, USA; M. Naito, Japan d. M. Gusti, Indonesia; Ivan Perez, Guatemala d. Rafael Franco, Dominican Republic; G. Tinniriello, Italy d. Chui Ching-Yen, Chinese Taipei Final – Mayayuki Naito, Japan, d. Fernando Rosuero, Spain for gold medal; Joseph Tierney, Britain, d. Giuseppe Tinnirello, Italy, for bronze.
Eliminations – Pool A: Tsai Ming-Shien, Chinese Taipei d. Cleveland Baxter, USA; Roberto DeLuca, Italy d. A. Pichardo, Dominican Republic; Z. Ono, Japan d. Ramon Malave, Sweden; Norbert Ayssi, France, bye Pool B: Ricardo Abad, Spain d. Joseph Goffin, France; B.T.
Final – Lin Chin, Taiwan, d. Fred Royers, Netherlands, for gold; Angel Lopez, Spain, d. Christian Gouze, France, for bronze.
Final – Ludwig Katzebue, Netherlands d. Chien Chen, Chinese Taipei, for gold; Claudio Guazzaroni, Italy d. Francisco Torres, Spain, for bronze.