Related Research Articles
Rick John Roufus is a retired American kickboxer. He 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. Rick Roufus is the Global Director of Fighter Development for PKA Worldwide. In 2012 Rick Roufus was inducted into the World Kickboxing League Hall of Fame.
Benny Urquidez is an American former professional kickboxer, martial arts choreographer and actor. Nicknamed "The Jet", Urquidez was a non-contact karate competitor who later pioneered full-contact fighting in the United States. He made the transition from point to full-contact karate in 1974, the year of its inception in the US, frequently fighting in bouts where the rules were ambiguous and contrasts in styles were dramatic. Urquidez is also known for once holding the rare achievement of six world titles in five different weight divisions, and remained largely undefeated in his 27-year career. His only loss came in a Muay Thai match which was shrouded in controversy, as Urquidez had only agreed to a no-decision exhibition, a clause which was ignored when the fight had ended.
Troy Glenn Dorsey is a former U.S. boxer and kickboxer who competed in the bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight divisions. Known predominantly for his indomitable spirit, excellent physical endurance, and a propensity to hammer an opponent with a withering constant barrage of punches, Dorsey began his martial arts training in karate and taekwondo at the age of ten before later making the switch to full contact kickboxing where he was a three-time world champion as well as a gold medalist of the WAKO Amateur World Championships in both 1985 (London) and 1987 (Munich). He began dedicating himself to boxing in 1989. He won the IBF World Featherweight Championship and IBO World Super Featherweight Championship before retiring in 1998.
The ISKA is one of the major international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing 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.
Dennis Raymond Alexio is an American former professional kickboxer and actor 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.
William Louis Wallace, nicknamed "Superfoot", is an American karateka, actor, and former professional kickboxer. Considered one of the first American superstars of kickboxing, he was the Professional Karate Association (PKA) World Full-Contact Champion, and the Middleweight Kickboxing Champion for six years, retiring with an undefeated 23-0-0 record. He is currently the International Ambassador for PKA Worldwide.
Joe Lewis was an American martial artist, professional kickboxer and actor. Originally a practitioner of Shōrin-ryū karate and champion in point sparring competitions, he became one of the fathers of full contact karate and kickboxing in the United States, and is credited with popularizing the combat sport in North America.
Donald Glen Wilson, nicknamed "The Dragon", is an American martial artist, former professional kickboxer, and actor. An 11-time 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". In 2015, he was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.
The Professional Karate Association (PKA), later Professional Karate & Kickboxing Association, now—effective March 1, 2022 PKA Worldwide--was originally a martial arts sanctioning organization, now transformed into a martial arts promotion company.
Dale Cook is an American former kickboxer who competed in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions. With a background in karate and taekwondo, Cook debuted professionally in 1977 and spent the early part of his career as a full contact rules fighter. In the 1980s, he began fighting under Oriental and Muay Thai rules and took two world titles under the WKA banner. A short stint in shoot boxing towards the end of his career in the mid-1990s resulted in another world title in that discipline.
Patrick Smith was an American Kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He started his mixed martial arts career by participating in the first two Ultimate Fighting Championship events.
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.
Karyn Turner is an American martial arts expert who has been variously known as “The Queen of Kata”, “First Lady of Kung Fu”, and “The Mother of U.S. Kickboxing”. Named as the “most outstanding woman in the history of martial arts” by Black Belt Magazine in 1978, she was the first woman to take a double victory in both fighting (kumite) and form (kata) in the International Women’s Karate Championship, a feat she accomplished in 1976. She was the first woman to enter men's divisions at the World Championships in kata and weapons, and to become World Champion in the men's division in both. At the peak of her career in 1977, she entered twenty-three tournaments and swept three divisions, including men’s weapons kata. In 1990, Turner was the first woman in history to be nominated into the Black Belt Hall of Fame as “Competitor of the Year”, the same year she was selected by Black Belt Magazine as their “Woman of the Year”. In 2009, she was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum “Hall of Fame”.
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. Joe Corley is CEO of PKA Worldwide.
George Spiro Thanos is a martial artist champion. Thanos was born in Bethesda, Maryland, in 1952. He began his martial arts training at the Kim Studio in Silver Spring, Maryland in 1965 at the age of 13.
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.
John Corcoran was an American non-fiction book author, magazine editor, screenwriter and martial arts historian.
Glenn R. Keeney was an American martial artist. He was born to Walter Russell and Lucy Puckett Keeney in Anderson, Indiana in 1942, and began his karate training in 1957.
Karate was first introduced to American service men after World War II by Japanese and Okinawan karate masters.
References
- ↑ "Black Belt June 1992". June 1992. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ↑ "Black Belt December 1972". December 1972. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ↑ "Black Belt October 1975". Internet Archive. p. 56 . Retrieved 13 January 2015.
jeff smith karate.
{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires|magazine=(help) - ↑ "Black Belt March 1985". March 1985. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ↑ "Black Belt July 1987". July 1987. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ↑ "Black Belt August 1991". August 1991. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ↑ "What is the Professional Kickboxing Association? Rules, format, athletes, ways to watch innovative kickboxing organization". www.sportingnews.com. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
