The Panamerican Karate Federation (PKF) is the governing body of
sport karate of about 37 countries of national karate federation in the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
. The PKF was founded in 1975 with original name PUKO (Panamerican Union of Karate Organization) with 13 countries founder the PUKO in Long Beach,
California, USA, and in 1995 it officially change the name to Panamerican Karate Federation. PKF is duly recognized by the
World Karate Federation, the largest international governing body of sport karate with over 130 member countries. It is the only karate organization recognised by the
International Olympic Committee and has more than ten million members. The PKF organized juniors and seniors Championship in many countries in Panamerica and participates in WKF
World Karate Championships. The President of the PKF is
William Millerson
William Millerson (10 January 1953 – 20 June 2020) was a Curaçaoan politician and Dutch karateka. He had an 8th Dan in karate, and was the winner of multiple European Karate Championships medals. Between 1998 and 2014 he was first vice-presi ...
.
History of PKF
The PUKO was founded in October 1975. The foundation act took place in the room “Mayfair” the Queen Hotel Mary in Long Beach,
California. The countries founders were
Argentina,
Bermuda, Canada,
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
,
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
, Mexico,
Panama,
Paraguay,
Dominican Republic,
Trinidad and Tobago, the United States and
Venezuela.
This first Championship of the PUKO was organized in the island of
Curaçao
Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...
on 1–3 May 1981, with the participation of 10 countries. It is remarkable that William Millerson was the organizer of the championship, was trainer and coach of his team, as well as he was competing. And it gained to
Billy Blanks in the end of the category +80 kg to him.
During the Pan-American championship of 1990 in
Niteroi,
Brazil, was where several countries of the South America, like
Argentina,
Chile,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
and
Uruguay, began to participate very actively in the championships of the PUKO. In 1991 there was a participation record of 26
countries
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, so ...
, in the organized Pan-American Championship in Curaçao.
The
Karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
participate for the first time in the Central American and Caribbean Games in 1993 in Ponce,
Puerto Rico and for the first time in the
Pan-American Games in 1995 in Mar del Plata,
Argentina. In 1995 during the Junior Pan-American Championship in
Medellín
Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...
, the new Statutes of the PUKO were approved and at the same time change the name of the organization to Panamerican Karate Federation P.K.F.
References
External links
Official websiteWorld Karate Federation official website
List of the Recognized members
{{World Karate Federation
Sports organizations established in 1975
Karate organizations