Sunday, November 4, 2007

ISKA Australia


I have been a member of the International Sport Karate Association now for around 3 years.

ISKA Australia have been running tournaments now for a number of years in Australia and throughout the world.


About ISKA
Founded in 1986 the International Sport Karate Association (ISKA) was restructured in 1988 as a Florida corporation, and since that time has developed sport karate, and kickboxing in particular, beyond any level previously achieved.Launched in Europe on October 9th, 1986 its growth has spanned across the political map reaching into countries formerly located behind the Iron curtain. The first sanctioning body in eastern Countries and South Africa it is also established as the only body to sanction Muay-Thai fights in Thailand.Holding a 55% market share of World Wide market in Kickboxing sports, outside of Thailand, ISKA has a presence on all continents.ISKA events have been televised around the world by companies such as ESPN, SKYSPORT, CHANNEL+, NETWORK 7, SKY, FOX TV and EUROSPORT along with many other TV companies around the world. There is no doubt ISKA has become the most televised sanctioning body in the world.Active in about 60 countries ISKA boasts 3 world council representatives, and more than 100 officials. Combine this with 4000 plus professional fighters and it becomes obvious that the ratings are the largest for this sport.The directors of ISKA have been involved in the development of the sport as promoters, judges, referees, managers, rule makers and more, since the beginnings of professional karate-kickboxing in the 1970's.As a sanctioning body, three major responsibilities of ISKA are:1. The establishment and constant updating of the rules under which the sport is conducted.2. The maintenance of accurate world ratings (along with supporting regional, national and continental ratings), including awarding of titles at all levels and maintenance of appropriate title defense policies.3. The training, updating and upgrading of referees, judges and other officials. In addition to sanctioning, ISKA also functions as a matchmaker, event coordinator and television broker. Accreditation of approved clubs, and networking to assist these clubs to best achieve their goals is a primary function of ISKA.In order for martial arts to achieve status in the World as a mainstream sport, it is essential the best title matches have consistent coverage on live television and in sports pages of major newspapers and magazines. ISKA Entertainment Company (IEC) has the experience and talent to drive world class kickboxing into the forefront of sport entertainment television and pay-per-view arenas!

I reckon that ISKA runs one of the best Tournament circuits in Australia today. I have been to a number of other national tournaments and found that they are so paranoid about insurance issues that the fighting has become very weak.

If you are looking for a national or international asociation to belong to check out ISKA.

I recently competed in the ISKA world Championships and Us Open and found it one of the most exciting tournamnets I have ever been to. You can check out the results for this tournament on ISKA site http://www.iska.com.au/ for all your karate & martial arts uniforms http://www.mykarateuniform.com/

No comments: