This holiday weekend in the USA marks the 40th anniversary of the US Open, the largest open karate tournament in America. To celebrate this milestone, we are highlighting some of the most prestigious tournaments in modern martial arts history and the champions who emerged victorious.
These Are World's Most Prestigious Martial Arts Tournaments
JKA All Japan Karate ................................... 1957-present
The Internationals ........................................ 1964-present
Henry Cho’s All American............................. 1967-1989
World Taekwondo Championship................. 1973 - present
Battle of Atlanta............................................. 1970 - present
Karate World Championships ...................... .1970-present
WAKO World Championships ........................ 1977 - present
Diamond Nationals..........................................1978-present
US Capitol Classics ........................................ 1982 - present
US Open ...........................................................1984-present
JKA All Japan Karate Championships
1957-present
Japan’s first All-Japan Karate Championship was held in a Tokyo gymnasium in 1957. Since then, a yearly celebration of the All Japan Karate Championship has been conducted. It's considered one of the most prestigious martial arts tournaments in Japan. The JKA was founded by Gichin Funakoshi, known as the "father of modern karate".
Legendary Champions: Hirokazu Kanazawa, Mikami Takayuki
The Internationals
1964-present
The first International Karate Championships was organized by Kenpo Karate Grandmaster Ed Parker at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, in Los Angeles, California, on August 2, 1964, the crowned champion was Mike Stone.
The event was the original seen-and-be-seen event on the West Coast and often had celebrities showing up including Elvis Presley.
The event was known for the introduction of Bruce Lee who first demonstrated his Kata of Jun Fan Gung Fu with Taky Kimura, two-finger push-ups, and one-inch punch.
This continues today under the guidance of Steve Cooper.
Legendary champions: Mike Stone, Chuck Norris, Joe Lewis, Jim Kelly, Benny Urquidez, Chong Lee, and Steve Muhammad
Henry Cho’s All American
1967-1989
The All-American Open was held in Madison Square Garden Center in New York City for twenty-three consecutive years, from 1967 to 1989. It was at the 1967 All-American Open where Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee first met. The All-American Open has been continued and staged outside the Garden since 1989.
Legendary Champions: Chuck Norris, Chuck Norris, Mitchell Bobrow, Michael Warren, Albert Cheeks, Herb Perez, Mark Williams, George Thanos, Tony Blanchard, Keith Kelly and William Oliver.
World Karate Championships
1970-present
The Karate World Championships, also known as the World Karate Championships, are the highest level of competition for karate organized by the World Karate Federation (WKF).
The competition is held in a different city every two years. In 1980, women were first allowed to compete in the championships.
Legendary Champions: Rika Usami, Rafael Aghayev, Antonio Diaz
The Battle of Atlanta
1970-Present
Created by famed promoter Joe Corley in 1970, the tournament was originally called the SouthEast US Championship. Then karate master and writer Dirk Mosig coined the phrase “The Battle Atlanta” in an article written about the event.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the tournament was the premiere Karate event in America and was the most important tournament to win as the event also gained national television coverage on ESPN. It was also the first open tournament to feature full contact in the evening finals.
The tournament is held every year in Atlanta GA and is currently run by Greg, Toby, and Tommy Ruth, and features an 6A Rating in the NASKA organization making it one the most important American tournaments to win.
Champions include: Joe Lewis, Keith Vitali, Howard Jackson, Michael Warren, Haley Glass, and Cynthia Rothrock
World Taekwondo Championship
1973-present
The World Taekwondo Championship is held every two years by World Tae Kwon Do, and changes countries. Past events have been held in Seoul, Chicago, Mexico City, Manila, and Bangkok.
The World Championships includes athletes from 144 countries across 16 weight categories (8 men and 8 women) for the coveted world title as well as vital qualification points for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Outside of the Olympic Games, the World Championships is the premier Tae Kwon Do event which not only showcases the best of elite Taekwondo but also the globality and inclusivity of the sport.
Champions include: Herb Perez, Lynette Love, Jimmy Kim
WAKO World Championship
1977-present
Jeff Smith team coach WAKO 10th Annual World Championship circa 1980s
In 1977, WAKO was founded in Europe And formulated the rules and regulations acting as the Kickboxing Federation of the World. It was founded by American Kickboxing promoter Mike Anderson, and his friend, German Kickboxing promoter Georg Brueckner.
WAKO offers 7 different styles: Points Fighting, light-contact, full-contact, kick-light, low-kick, K1-style, and musical forms.
Today WAKO can count on 126 affiliated nations in the five continents, with 95 officially recognized by their respective Sports or Olympic Council.
W.A.K.O. held its first amateur world championships in 1978 in West Berlin, after having previously staged two European championships two years previously. It followed this with a second world championship a year later in Tampa, Florida.
During the 1980s the world championships were held every other year except for in 1985 when a feud within the W.A.K.O. organization led to two versions of the championships being held on the same date – one in London, the other in Budapest.
Today the US tournament or Tatami operations are overseen by Bill Viola Jr.
Chairman
Champions include: Mike Bernardo
Diamond Nationals
1978-present
In 1978 The first Diamond National Karate Championships was promoted in St. Paul, Minnesota. Approximately 550 competitors entered the event, which received great reviews due to the level of competition and organization. It grew to become North America’s largest and most prestigious martial arts tournament. It is named the Diamond Nationals because the Black Belt grand champions win a diamond ring. The Diamond Nationals have been voted the number 1 tournament in the United States for the last 18 years, and once recognized as the number 1 tournament in the world by Black Belt Magazine.
Today the tournament is conducted by JLB Productions.
Champions include: Dan Anderson, Keith Vitali, George Chung, John Chung, Keith Cooke, John Valera, Steve Anderson, Arlene Limas, Linda Denley
US Capitol Classics
China Open
1982-Present
The US Capitol Classics, a premier event in the martial arts community, has been held annually in Washington, DC since its inception in 1982 created by Wushu Master Dennis Brown. This prestigious tournament holds a NASKA 6A rating and is renowned for its unique focus on Chinese martial arts.
In 2007, the event expanded to include the China Open, reflecting its significant role in providing Chinese martial artists with greater opportunities to compete in diverse divisions. This expansion introduced categories not typically recognized by NASKA, such as Kung Fu, Taijiquan, Wu Shu, Sanda, Chinese Continuous Sparring, Pencak Silat, Self-Defense, and Kyokushin.
The US Capitol Classics serves as a cultural bridge, fostering goodwill and mutual respect through a shared passion for martial arts.
Champions include: Billy Blanks, Steve "Nasty" Anderson, Hakim Alston, Linda Denley, Helen Chung, George Chung, Charlie Lee, Cynthia Rothrock, and Caitlin Dechelle.
The US Open
1984-present
Starting in 1973 as the “East Coast Grand Nationals” by Ted and Kim Kresge. Between 1982 and 1983 the tournament was owned by Tampa area trophy manufacturer Brown's Trophies. Pro-Kick Productions, LLC, the promotion company owned by Mike McCoy and Mike Sawyer, purchased the event, which had been renamed the “US Open” and promoted it from 1984 to date.
The Open is a 6A-rated event, the largest tournament on the North American Karate Association (NASKA) Tour, and a strong anchor for that circuit. It also has been recognized since 1998 as the ISKA Annual Open Martial Arts World Championships, and the Premier Event on the global ISKA collection of tournament circuits on multiple continents.
Today the event operates from Disney's Coronado Springs Resort and includes television coverage with ESPN. With hundreds of divisions, the event is diversified in tournament competition as a pioneer in televising creative forms, demos, and breaking as part of the competition.
Champions include: Haley Glass, Esteban Tremblay, Devon Hopper and Justin Cuellar