The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association) is international bodies regulating

sport karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts. While moder ...

and

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

matches. It is based in the United States. It was established in 1985 as a response to legal and revenue issues that sent the Professional Karate Association (PKA) into decline.

History

From 1974 until 1985, the PKA had been the most recognized worldwide kickboxing sanctioning group. It was instrumental in establishing public relay of the sport via ESPN, helping to introduce the burgeoning sport to a wider audience, and had also developed the first fighter's ratings systems. Five major U.S.-based promoters and resigning PKA executives created the new body, the International Sport Karate Association (ISKA), with an official announcement on July 16, 1986. The first U.S. directors were Mike Sawyer, Karyn Turner, Tony Thompson, John Worley and Scott Coker. It currently runs the biggest martial arts tournament in the world, The U.S Open. Thousands of competitors from around the world participate every year. Many of the major PKA promoters began sanctioning their events with the ISKA and several also joined its administration. ISKA also secured ESPN broadcasts of its major title bouts in 1986, thus helping bring quick credibility and recognition to the new association. Since the

World Association of Kickboxing Organizations The World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (W.A.K.O or WAKO) is an international kickboxing organization counting over 120 affiliated countries representing all five continents. WAKO is a major governing body of amateur kickboxing and is ...

(WAKO) was mostly active in Europe and the World Kickboxing Association (WKA) in Asia, ISKA was quick to expand through its own European Directors starting October 1986 with Olivier Muller, Jérome Canabate and Mohamed Hosseini. American Richard Mayor oversaw the establishment of this European wing as European President between 1986 and 1988. By 1991, the worldwide control of the ISKA was shared by two co-chairmen: Mike Sawyer and Olivier Muller. International TV coverage was secured, and united separate organizations were formed worldwide to handle responsibility for international sanctioning and grading. In 1997, Cory Schafer was appointed ISKA President. By the early 2000s ISKA began sanctioning

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...

events such as K1-MAX and K-1 USA, and for several years they also sanctioned both kickboxing and MMA events for

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games *Strike Force (video game), ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *''Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *''Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *' ...

. Starting from 2012, ISKA sanctioned events for the kickboxing promotion GLORY.

Current activities

Professional competition

ISKA is the sanctioning body in the United States and over 50 countries worldwide which sanctions all styles of

which includes K-1 Rules, Full Contact, Oriental Rules, Muay Thai, Semi Contact, and Low kick.

Amateur competition

ISKA's

Martial Arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

World Championships are held yearly at the US Open of Martial Arts in Disney World,

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, Florida. The US Open ISKA World Martial Arts Championships is held annually every year on the Fourth of July weekend. More than 8,000 competitors and 12,000 spectators attend the two-day event each year. The event closes with the Night of Champions featuring the ISKA World Martial Arts Championships, which was featured on ESPN in both live and pre-recorded segments. The US Open was the longest continuously running martial arts event on ESPN until 2023, when it moved to FITE. The US Open highlights continue to air throughout the year on CSI Sports networks, reaching approximately 85 million households.

Notable fighters

* Rick Roufus * Ernesto Hoost * Andrew Tate * Ray Sefo * Javier Mendez * Marlon Hunt *

Conrad Pla Conrad Pla (born October 24, 1966) is a Spanish-Canadian actor and former professional kickboxer. He is best known for founding Tristar Gym and starring in the Canadian television series ''ReGenesis''. Early life Pla was born in Madrid and moved ...

* Giorgio Petrosyan *

Tenshin Nasukawa is a Japanese Professional Boxing, professional boxer, former kickboxer, professional kickboxer and mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. A generational talent, Nasukawa was regarded as a pound for pound talent throughout most of his caree ...

Jérôme Le Banner Jérôme Philippe Le Banner (; born December 26, 1972) is a French kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and professional wrestler. Le Banner fought for most of his career in K-1 and became known for his aggressive fighting style and knockout power. ...

* Maurice Smith * Jean-Claude Leuyer * Don Wilson * Jean-Yves Thériault * Jiří Žák * Kash Gill *

Dennis Alexio Dennis Alexio (born Dennis Raymond Dick;

Rob Kaman Robert Diem Kaman (5 June 1960 – 30 March 2024) was a Dutch nine-time kickboxing and Muay Thai world champion. He was often called "Mr. Low Kick" because of his feared low kicks which he used to set up his devastating offensive attacks. Biog ...

* Duke Roufus * Stan Longinidis * Alexey Ignashov * Freddy Kemayo * Arnold Oborotov * Peter Graham * Paul Slowinski * Hélène Connart * Andy Souwer * Mustapha Haida * Daniel Dawson * Chad Sugden * Enriko Kehl * Karim Ghajji * Jordan Watson *

Jonathan Haggerty Jonathan Haggerty (born 18 February 1997) is a British professional Muay Thai fighter and kickboxer currently signed with ONE Championship. He is the reigning ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion and former ONE Flyweight & Bantamweight ...

* Tim Thomas * Johnny Davis * Marek Piotrowski * Francis Farley * Jegish Yegoian * Stephen Thompson * Jorge Loren * Moisés Baute * Curtis Schuster * Rodney Glunder * Luke Sines * Steve Moxon * Keegan Robertsn * Joe Ryan * Alexander Oleinik * Jean-Luc Benoît * Tristan Tate * Vincent Petitjean * Andre Mannaart * Donald Cerrone * Scott Gibson * Paul Randall * Roberto Cocco *

Alex Gong Alexander James Gong (October 14, 1970 – August 1, 2003) was an American Muay Thai kickboxer. Early life Gong was born and raised in Boston. When he was 8, Alex Gong's parents went through an acrimonious divorce; during a dispute over cust ...

* Malaipet Sitprapom * Michael McDonald * Duane Ludwig * Ramon Dekkers * Derek Panza * Daniel Quigley * Lucy Payne * Daniel Hughes * Cyril Vetter * Farès Ziam * Jamie Bates * Teerapong Sitgolyoot * Nayanesh "Nenés el León" Parihk Pumba

History

Current activities

Professional competition

Amateur competition

Notable fighters

References

External links