The Black Belt Magazine World Sport Karate Rankings

The Official Black Belt Magazine World Sport Karate Rankings have been created by a committee with the consideration of major leagues including but not limited to the ISKA, WAKO, NASKA, and WKC. In the adult sparring divisions, pay-per-view events like Virtual Fight Tour and Pro Point were also considered.

Most Recent Update - October 29, 2021

This update follows the WAKO senior world championships and WKC world championships. Several divisions have been updated to feature some of the winners of these prestigious titles. Not all WAKO and WKC world champions are featured, as depth of division and performance against BBM ranked competitors was weighed by the committee. No new divisions have been added in this update.

Previous Update - October 13, 2021

This update accounts for the results of the AmeriKick Internationals and Diamond Nationals, in addition to the results of the Battle of Atlanta and U.S. Open that determined the previous installment. The defending U.S. Open ISKA World Champions who were crowned prior to the last update are featured first, and these athletes will continue to be featured until their ISKA titles are back up for grabs. In the meantime, the active rankings below will be consistently updated to represent who the top-ranked athletes in sport karate are at a particular time. The Champions will move up or down in the rankings depending upon their performance, just like their competitors.

Since the rankings are now active rankings, inactivity at the last four major sport karate events has resulted in some athletes falling in the rankings. We understand that a few of these athletes live in countries outside the United States and have not been able to travel due to pandemic-related circumstances. However, that does not discredit the accomplishments of those who have been able to compete. The rankings will be adjusted accordingly when international travel returns to normalcy and those world class competitors will be ranked based on their performance.

A notable adjustment in this rankings update is that a few divisions that were formerly combined have been separated into traditional and CMX for increased consistency across age groups. Junior (14-17 years of age) sparring divisions are still included as well, but the athletes are featured in no particular order due to the lack of competition between age groups.

The Defending U.S. Open ISKA World Champions:

Men's Weapons

Women's Weapons

Men's CMX Forms

Women's CMX Forms

Men's Traditional Forms

Women's Traditional Forms

Men's Lightweight Fighting

Men's Heavyweight Fighting

Men's Open Weight Fighting

Women's Fighting

Junior Boys' CMX Weapons

Junior Boys' Traditional Weapons

Junior Girls' CMX Weapons

Junior Girls' Traditional Weapons

Junior Boys' CMX Forms

Junior Boys' Traditional Forms

Junior Girls' CMX Forms

Junior Girls' Traditional Forms

Youth Boys' Weapons

Youth Girls' Traditional Weapons

Youth Girls' CMX Weapons

Youth Boys' CMX Forms

Youth Boys' Traditional Forms

Youth Girls' CMX Forms

Youth Girls' Traditional Forms

Senior Men's Weapons

Senior Men's Forms

Senior Men's Fighting

Senior Women's Forms & Weapons

Synchronized Weapons

Synchronized Forms

Team Demonstration

Men's Team Fighting

Active World Black Belt Rankings

Men's CMX Weapons

Alex Mancillas
Connor Chasteen
Arturo Armendariz
Rashad Eugene
Alex Riggs

Men's Traditional Weapons

Jake Presley
Rashad Eugene
Samuel Diaz III
Joey Castro
Alex Riggs

Women's CMX Weapons

Haley Glass
Sammy Smith
Julia Plawker
Valeria Bolaños
Kyleigh Boyer