The United States Karate Association (USKA) was the first karate
organization
An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose.
The word is derived from ...
on the mainland United States, founded by Robert Trias in 1948.
[ Corcoran, John and Farkas, Emil. Martial Arts: Traditions, History, People. Gallery Books, New York (1983) p. 230.]
The USKA became one of the largest associations of karate instructors in the nation, and through this organization Trias was also instrumental in setting up and promoting some of the first karate
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
s in the US in 1955, as well as national and worldwide competitions. The USKA rules for tournament competition are still used today in the United States with only slight variation.
At its height the USKA had more than a half-million members worldwide and conducted an annual national
championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
competition in the United States.
This competition was called the USKA National Championship in 1966 and became the USKA Grand National Championship in 1968.
Trias died in 1989 of cancer, leaving the Shuri-ryu system to his daughter Roberta Trias-Kelley and precipitating a struggle for succession within the USKA. Both
John Pachivas, regional USKA director for the Southeastern US, and George E. Anderson (1931-2009), president of the United States Amateur Karate Federation, produced documents naming themselves as Trias' successor.
[Vandehey, Tim. "Power Struggle in the USKA: Who Will Succeed Robert Trias?" ''Black Belt Magazine''. December 1989, p. 34.] However, Trias-Kelley dissolved the organization in 1999, thus ending the strife.
References
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External links
Martial Arts Books
Karate organizations
Karate in the United States
Traditional karate
1948 establishments in the United States
1999 disestablishments in Arizona
Sports organizations established in 1948
Organizations disestablished in 1999