 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Kickboxing promotion |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Website | http://www.iskaworldhq.com/ |
The International Sport Karate Association (ISKA) is one of the major international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches, and 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. [1]
From 1974 until 1985, the PKA had been the most recognised 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, [2] 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. [3]
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 (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. [4]
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 organisations were formed worldwide to handle responsibility for international sanctioning and grading. ISKA has conducted its official activities under ISKA ASIA since 2008 with Dr. S. A. Moinshirazi the President of ISKA ASIA. Paul Zadro is the President of ISKA Australia, which is the biggest martial arts tournament circuit in Australia. [5]
In the early 2000s ISKA began sanctioning K-1 events such as K1-MAX and K-1 USA, and for several years they also sanctioned both kickboxing and MMA events for Strikeforce. [6] Starting from 2012, ISKA sanctioned events for the kickboxing promotion Glory. [6]
ISKA is a sport karate, all styles kickboxing, mixed martial arts (MMA) sanctioning body in the United States and over 50 countries worldwide.
ISKA's Martial Arts World Championships are held yearly at the US Open of Martial Arts in Disney World, Orlando, Florida. The US Open ISKA World Martial Arts Championships celebrated its 40th anniversary the July 4 weekend, 2013. More than 4,000 competitors and 10,000 spectators attend the two-day event each year. The event closes with the Night of Champions featuring the ISKA World Martial Arts Championships. The Night of Champions airs live on ESPN3, while a highlights show airs later on ESPN2. The US Open is the longest continuously running martial arts event on ESPN. The US Open highlights continue to air throughout the year on CSI Sports networks, reaching approximately 85 million households. [7]
| Style | Flyweight | Bantamweight | Featherweight | Super Featherweight | Lightweight | Super Lightweight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oriental Rules | Vacant |  Tenshin Nasukawa |  Franck Gross |  Miguel Martinez |  Adam Bouarourou |  Benjamin Horvath |
| Full Contact Kickboxing | Mathieu Damiano | Vacant | Jerome Ardissone | Jonathan Pastorino | Yoann Portaller |  Vladislav Melmik |
| Freestyle Kickboxing | Vacant |  Martin Blanco | Tenshin Nasukawa | Vacant | Mohamed Karbal | Enzo Bonio |
| Muay Thai | Andrii Mezentsev | Vacant | Carlos Coello |  Jonathan Haggerty | Vacant | Shunsuke Oishi |
| K-1 Rules | Akram Hamidi | Eisaku Ogasawara | Yanis Goucef |  Ján Szajko | Koji | Yannick Reine |
| Style | Light Welterweight | Welterweight | Super Welterweight | Light Middleweight | Middleweight | Super Middleweight |
| Oriental Rules |  Mo Abdurahman | Vacant |  Armen Petrosyan | Mustapha Haida | Karim Ghajji | Karim Ghajji |
| Full Contact Kickboxing | Vladislav Melmik | Vacant | Gaetan Delacher | José Rodríguez | Mehdi Kada | Mondhor Yacoubi |
| Freestyle Kickboxing | Modibo Diarra | David Mejia | Sergio Sanchez | Edouard Bernadou |  Cedric de Keirsmaeker |  Lukasz Plawecki |
| Muay Thai |  Khumsab | Malker Garcia | Fabio Pinca | Nauzet Trujillo | Youssef Boughanem | Patrick Madisse |
| K-1 Rules | Roberto Gheorghita | Malker Garcia | Giorgio Petrosyan |  Youssef Assouik | Mickael Lopes De Veiga | Patrick Madisse |
| Style | Light Heavyweight | Light Cruiserweight | Cruiserweight | Super Cruiserweight | Heavyweight | Super Heavyweight |
| Oriental Rules | Cyril Benzaquen | Reda Ougdou | Alberto Tapia | Moises Baute | Vacant |  Murat Aygün |
| Full Contact Kickboxing | Jon Durrant | Emmanuel Mahout | James Green | Riyadh Al-Azzawi | Vacant | Vacant |
| Freestyle Kickboxing | Frederic Kowatz | Luca Adreani | Florent Kaouachi | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant |
| Muay Thai | Atakan Arslan | Henry Bannert | Bejan Ahmedi | Emmanuel Payet |  Randy Blake | Thomas Froschauer |
| K-1 Rules | Kevin Ward | Madani Rahmani | Francis Jorge |  Turpal Tokaev |  Mamoudou Keita | Frederic Sinistra |
As of July 14, 2020
| Style | Atomweight | Strawweight | Flyweight | Super Flyweight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oriental Rules | Vacant | Michelle Newell | Gloria Peritore |  Serin Murray |
| Full Contact Kickboxing | Emilie Machut | Djouarha Chafia | Gloria Peritore | Lizzie Largillière |
| Freestyle Kickboxing | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant |
| Muay Thai | Anna Shiratsuki |  Amy Pirnie | Kim Townsend | Vacant |
| K-1 Rules | Cristina Morales | Ludivine Lasnier | Djouarha Chafia |  Cynthia Gonzalez |
| Style | Bantamweight | Featherweight | Super Featherweight | Lightweight |
| Oriental Rules | Vacant |  Mellony Geugjes | Lara Fernandez | Deniz Batinli |
| Full Contact Kickboxing | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant |
| Freestyle Kickboxing | Vacant | Chiara Vincis | Aurélie Froment |  Nili Block |
| Muay Thai | Melillo Sveva | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant |
| K-1 Rules | Anissa Meksen | Martine Michieletto | Sabriye Şengül | Aurélie Froment |
| Style | Super Lightweight | Light Welterweight | Welterweight | Super Welterweight |
| Oriental Rules | Deniz Batinli | Anke Van Gestel | Vacant | Vacant |
| Full Contact Kickboxing | Irene Mertens | Vacant | Vacant | Cathy LeMee |
| Freestyle Kickboxing | Cindy Perros | Cindy Perros | Vacant | Vacant |
| Muay Thai | Veronica Vernocchi | Vacant | Vacant |  Anna Rantanen |
| K-1 Rules | Anke Van Gestel |  Johanna Kruse | Vacant | Vacant |
As of August 31, 2020
Kickboxing is a group of stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate mixed with boxing. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defence, general fitness, or as a contact sport.
Rick John Roufus is a retired American kickboxer. He is one of the most famous kickboxers in America, and has also competed professionally in boxing and mixed martial arts. An accomplished professional fighter throughout his competitive career Roufus has won multiple world championships across the globe in several weight classes, he was world champion as a super middle weight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. Roufus held titles for all the major kickboxing associations worldwide, and is known for his boxing skills and powerful kicks. He is the older brother of Duke Roufus who is also a kickboxer and a Muay Thai and mixed martial arts instructor.
Kashmir Singh Gill popularly known as Kash "The Flash" Gill, is a retired British professional kickboxer who is a former four-time world champion.
Dennis Raymond Alexio is an American former Undisputed World Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion who competed in the light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. Starting out as a light heavyweight, Alexio kicked off his career with an extensive, knockout-laden undefeated streak before losing a decision to Don "The Dragon" Wilson in a World Kickboxing Association (WKA) World Super Light Heavyweight Full Contact Championship match in 1984. He rebounded from this by winning the Professional Karate Association (PKA) World Light Heavyweight title that same year before moving up to cruiserweight and taking the International Sport Karate Association (ISKA) World Cruiserweight Full Contact strap. In the late 1980s, he began his transition to the heavyweight division where he won six world titles and was considered the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion. He faced the two toughest tests of his career in 1992 against Branko Cikatić and Stan Longinidis - both of whom were heavier fighters - fighting to a controversial draw with Cikatić and losing to Longinidis via an early low kick KO which resulted in a broken leg.
Joe Lewis was an American kickboxer, point karate fighter and actor. As a fighter, Lewis gained fame for his matches in the 1960s and 1970s. He has twice been voted the greatest fighter in karate history, having won innumerable karate tournaments, and has attained the titles of "United States Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion," "World Heavyweight Full Contact Karate Champion," and "United States National Black Belt Kata Champion." Bruce Lee also considered him "The Greatest Karate Fighter Of All Time" and The Iron Sheik assented that "Joe Lewis was no jabroni." and "The Greatest Fighter Of His Time". He was also named by the STAR System Records as the "STAR Historic Undisputed Heavyweight World Champion" and is credited on their site as the "Father of Modern Kickboxing".
Donald Glen Wilson, nicknamed "The Dragon", is an American martial artist and actor. An 11-time professional kickboxing world champion who scored 47 knockouts in four decades, he has been called by the STAR System Ratings as "perhaps the greatest kickboxer in American history. He has disposed of more quality competition than anyone we've ever ranked". He is an entrant into the European Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
Kickboxing weight classes are weight classes that pertain to the sport of kickboxing.
Stan "The Man" Longinidis is an Australian retired heavyweight kickboxer and 8-time world kickboxing champion. Born in Melbourne of Greek ethnicity, Longinidis is one of the few fighters to win world titles in four different styles of kickboxing competition: international rules, Oriental rules, full contact and Muay Thai. He holds notable victories over Branko Cikatić, Adam Watt, Peter Graham, Musashi and Dennis Alexio.
The Professional Karate Association (PKA), later Professional Karate & Kickboxing Association, was originally a martial arts sanctioning organization, now transformed into a martial arts promotion company. Through the 1970s, the PKA was the major professional kickboxing organization in the United States and in Europe, featuring such fighters as Bill "Superfoot" Wallace, Joe Lewis, Benny "the Jet" Urquidez, The Iceman Jean-Yves Thériault, Dennis "the Terminator" Alexio, Rick "the Jet" Roufus, Scott "The Hammer" Bennington, Jerry Trimble and Jeff Smith.
The World Kickboxing Association (WKA) is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning organizations of kickboxing in the world for the sport. Its official name is "World Kickboxing and Karate Association, however the logo uses World Karate and Kickboxing Association".
Lee Hasdell is a British martial artist, promoter and former professional kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Hasdell is considered by many to be a pioneer of mixed martial arts in the United Kingdom, particularly in the 1990s, when he drove a great deal of innovation in the field. Hasdell promoted the first professional mixed martial arts events in the UK and helped develop many of the standards within the British MMA scene of today.
Johnny Morris Davis is an American former kickboxer who competed in the welterweight and middleweight divisions. Nicknamed "Superfoot", Davis held numerous titles including two world championships.
Anthony Young is an American martial artist, teacher, and practitioner of the Goju Ryu Karate style and founder of the Tony Young All-Star Karate Academy. He is also a sport karate competitor.
Derek Panza is an American kickboxer and boxer from Queens, New York. He was the ISKA World Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion and is undefeated as a professional boxer with a record of 7-0. He currently trains fighters at Panza MMA, located inside world champion power lifter and bodybuilder Bev Francis' Powerhouse Gym in Syosset, New York.
Joe Corley is an American karate and kickboxing competitor, instructor, broadcaster and promoter who helped achieve the success of the Professional Karate Association and the early establishment of professional kickboxing in the United States.
Kevin Rosier was an American kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He had much success as a kickboxer, winning a number of titles, but did not transition particularly well into the world of boxing and was mostly seen as a journeyman fighter. Notably, he also took part at the inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship event in 1993 where he reached the semi-finals.
The first American sanctioning body to regulate kickboxing matches, the United States Kickboxing Association (USKA) was established in early 1970 by former Green Beret Lee Faulkner following his promotion of North America’s debut kickboxing bout featuring Joe Lewis’ knockout victory over Greg Baines. The USKA’s rules permitted kicking, punching, knee and elbow strikes, and footsweeps. Only crescent kicks and round kicks were allowed to the head. Hitting below the belt and striking-and-holding were prohibited. Bouts consisted of four by three-minute rounds inside a boxing ring, with one-minute rest periods. Contestants wore twelve-ounce gloves and elective gym shoes or no shoes.
Glenn R. Keeney is an American martial artist. He was born in Anderson, Indiana in 1942, and began his karate training in 1957.
Jasminka Cive is an Austrian female kickboxer and mixed martial artist, based in Austria. She competes professionally since 2005 and is the current ISKA Flyweight champion and mixed martial artist.
Emory Andrew Tate III is a British-American kickboxer, combat sports and businessman.
Web resources
Books and articles
