The 24-year-old from Hawaii has prevailed in the last two editions of the tournament and has reached the podium in every Championship since 2012.

Last year's silver medallist, Maria Dimitrova of the Dominican Republic, will be Kokumai's main rival as she harbours ambitions of regaining the crown that she won in 2014.

In the men's kata event, Venezuela's Antonio Diaz is the main draw.

He has been the biggest force in the category for over a decade, winning the gold medal on 14 occasions including the last nine.

Fellow Venezuelan and 2016 silver medallist Cleiver Casanova will be his biggest threat while last year's bronze medallists, Kenneth Lee of Canada and Joseph Martinez of the US, will also be contenders. 

In kumite competition, Brazil's Douglas Brose will be making his first appearance of the season.

The two-time world champion has won three consecutive golds in the under-60 kilograms category at the continental championships.

After his victory in the Karate 1-Premier League meeting in Dubai last month, American Thomas Scott will be hoping to improve on his bronze medal from last year in Rio de Janeiro in the under-75kg division. 

Defending champion Hernani Verissimo of Brazil and 2016 silver medallist Alexander Nicastro of Venezuela are other contenders in Scott's weight category.

Current champions Jorge Perez of the Dominican Republic and Rodrigo Rojas of Chile are set to defend their titles in the under-84kg and over-84kg competitions.

Giuliana Novak of Argentina, the reigning Pan American champion, will face fierce competition form World Championships runner-up Valeria Kumizaki of Brazil in the women's under-55kg event.

Ecuador’s Valeria Echever will also be competing as she aims to successfully defend her women's over-68kg crown from last year's Championships.