USA National Karate-do Federation is the

national governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...

(NGB) of

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 ...

for the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

and as such is the official Member National Association (MNA) of the

World Karate Federation The World Karate Federation (WKF) is the largest international governing body of sport karate with 198 member countries. It was formed in 1990, is the only karate organization recognised by the International Olympic Committee and has more than te ...

(WKF) in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The organization has complete authority over all decisions regarding U.S. national junior and senior team selections for World Karate Federation events. The tournaments that are held by the USA-NKF are big and nationwide and many famous martial artists attend the events. The USA Open is one of the largest international Black belt-only events in the world. Every year the USA-NKF holds a competition, generally referred to as Nationals, where all the people who qualified in one of the many Qualifiers around the USA compete in different categories for the National Champion title. The divisions are: *

Kata ''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements made to be practised alone. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practised ...

* Korean Kata * Okinawan Kata * Mandatory Kata * Kobudo *

Kumite Kumite ( ja, 組手, literally "grappling hands") is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which a person trains against an adversary. Kumite can be used to develop a partic ...

History

The

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) was the official organization responsible for the running of all amateur sports in the United States, established in 1888. The AAU was officially charged with the organization and operation of many sports in the US. During this time, Karate was one of the committees in the organization and was not an independent governing body. The

Amateur Sports Act of 1978 The Amateur Sports Act of 1978, signed by President Jimmy Carter, established the United States Olympic Committee and provides for national governing bodies for each Olympic sport. The Act provides important legal protection for individual athletes ...

enabled the governance of sports in the U.S. by organizations other than the AAU. This act made each sport set up its own National governing body (NGB). Each of these governing bodies would be part of the

United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

, but would not be run by the Committee. Thus, The USA Karate Federation was born. USA National Karate-do Federation is the latest of previous organizations to claim to represent Karate in the United States. USA National Karate-do Federation replaces USA Karate Federation. On April 24, 2021, the USOPC sent a demand letter to the USA-NKF for immediate reform and adoption of accountability measures. An investigation ordered by the USOPC found numerous actual and perceived conflicts of interest which show bias in favor of certain dojos' athletes. The USOPC has warned the USA-NKF their NGB status could be revoked if they fail to implement reforms.

References

External links

* {{World Karate Federation 1996 establishments in the United States Karate organizations Karate in the United States Organizations based in Colorado Springs, Colorado

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 ...

Sports organizations established in 1996