Karate (空手) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fujian White Crane. Karate is now predominantly a striking art using punching, kicking, knee strikes, elbow strikes and open-hand techniques such as knife-hands, spear-hands and palm-heel strikes. Historically, and in some modern styles, grappling, throws, joint locks, restraints and vital-point strikes are also taught. A karate practitioner is called a karateka (空手家).
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 ten million members. The WKF organizes the Junior and Senior Karate World Championships, which are each held every other year. The President of the WKF is Antonio Espinos, and the headquarters are located in Madrid, Spain. All the styles are officially recognised by the WKF.
The Japan Karate Federation (JKF), a.k.a. Japan Karatedo Federation, is a national governing body of sport karate in Japan. The JKF is officially affiliated with the Japan Olympic Association (JOC), World Karate Federation (WKF), Japan Sports Association (JSA) and Japanese Budō Association (JBA). The styles recognized by the JKF are Wadō-ryū, Shotokan, Shito-ryu and Goju-ryu. The headquarters is located in Tokyo, Japan.
The International Traditional Karate Federation or ITKF is the international governing body for Traditional Karate. This organisation was founded by Hidetaka Nishiyama. In the early 1990s, Nishiyama's refusal to align his ITKF organization with the World Union of Karate-Do Organizations (WUKO) caused the International Olympic Committee to suspend its recognition of WUKO as amateur karate's international governing body. According to the IOC decision 101 from 1993 the ITKF and WUKO had been due to merge and form a unified karate organization under the IOC suggested name of WKF. The IOC further indicated its intention to recognize the merged WKF should ITKF and WUKO successfully fulfill the IOC 101 decision guidelines, but this did not eventuate. The WUKO eventually became the World Union of Karate-Do Federations in late 2008.
Seigokan (正剛館) is the Goju-Ryu Karate-do organization founded in 1945 by Seigo Tada (1922-1997) Hanshi. With its Hombu Dojo (headquarters) in Himeji, Japan, the Seigokan All Japan Karate-do Association (SAJKA) — its official name — has branches in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Italy, the Philippines, Portugal, Sri Lanka, the United States, England, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia and Venezuela.
The European Karate Federation (EKF) is the governing body of competitive karate in more than 50 countries across Europe. The EKF's stated goal is to promote, organize, regulate, and popularize the sport of karate. It is one of the five continental federations recognized by the World Karate Federation. Since 1966, it has organized the European Karate Championships. Additionally, it now organizes Junior, Cadet, and Under-21 Championships(European Juniors Karate Championships).
The Panamerican Karate Federation (PKF) is the governing body of sport karate of about 37 countries of national karate federation in the Americas. The PKF was founded in 1975 with original name PUKO 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.
The Asian Karatedo Championships are the highest level of competition for sport karate in Asia. The competition is held in a different country every two years organized by the Asian Karatedo Federation (AKF) under the supervision of World Karate Federation (WKF), the largest international governing body of sport karate with over 180 member countries. It is the only karate organization recognised by the International Olympic Committee and has more than fifty million members. The AKF organizes the Junior and Senior Asian Karatedo Championships in every two years in between the Olympic and Asian Games and participates in WKF World Karate Championships which its member Japan play as a powerhouse country when it comes to sport karate vying for world titles with counterpart opponents from the powerful nations such as France, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Spain and Italy in many world championships.
The Philippine Karatedo Federation N.S.A., Inc. (PKF-NSA) is the governing body claiming jurisdiction over the sport of karate in the Philippines.
José Martins Achiam (1944–2008) was a Portuguese born in Macau.
USA National Karate-do Federation is the national governing body (NGB) of karate for the United States Olympic Committee and as such is the official Member National Association (MNA) of the World Karate Federation (WKF) in the United States.
Australian Karate Federation is the governing body for the sport of Karate in Australia.
The Pakistan Karate Federation is the national governing body to develop and promote the sport of Karate in the Pakistan.
The 1976 European Karate Championships were held in Tehran from 5 - 7 May 1976 and were the 11th championship in the series. The event was organized by the European Karate Union.
Karate began in the 14th century on the island of Okinawa. Karate as a word first emerged due to Gichin Funakoshi. Karate was introduced to mainland Japan in the 1920s.
Karate Pilipinas Sports Federation, Inc., simply known as Karate Philippines, is the local governing body for the sport of Karate in the Philippines. KP was formed in early 2018, and subsequently recognized by the World Karate Federation as a temporary member in July 2018, potentially replacing the embattled NSA for Karate, the Philippine Karatedo Federation–N.S.A., Inc. (PKF-NSA), which was withdrawn in April 2018 from WKF due to alleged malversation of training allowance of athletes competed in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games. KP is also recognized by the Asian Karatedo Federation.
Polish Karate Federation is a Polish organization associating among others shōtōkan karate clubs. It belongs to the World Karate Federation committee.
The Karate India Organisation(KIO) replaced Karate Association of India(KAI) as the national governing body for Karate in India on confirmation from World Karate Federation (WKF) on 15 November 2021.
The 2021 Asian Karate Championships were the 17th edition of the Senior Asian Karate Championship and were held in Almaty, Kazakhstan from 20 to 22, December 2021. The event was held at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace.
The World Union of Karate Do Federations (WUKF) is the international governing body of sport karate with 45 member countries. The main headquarters of the organization is located in Herstal under the supervision of Belgium Ministry of Justice and Belgium Royal House. The events of this federation are held regularly every year in the member countries.
