ISKA (sports governing body)

The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association ) 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.

History
From 1974 until 1985, the PKA had been the most recognized 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, 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.

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.

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 organizations were formed worldwide to handle responsibility for international sanctioning and grading.

In 1997, Cory Schafer was appointed ISKA President. By 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. Starting from 2012, ISKA sanctioned events for the kickboxing promotion GLORY.

Current activities
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 is held annually every year on the Fourth of July weekend. More than 8,000 competitors and 12,000 spectators attend the two-day event each year. The event closes with the Night of Champions featuring the ISKA World Martial Arts Championships, which was featured on ESPN in both live and pre-recorded segments. The US Open was the longest continuously running martial arts event on ESPN until 2023, when it moved to FITE. The US Open highlights continue to air throughout the year on CSI Sports networks, reaching approximately 85 million households.

Notable World Champions / European Champions/Amateur Champions

 * Rick Roufus- 3 Time World Kickboxing Champion
 * Ernesto Hoost - World Kickboxing Champion, 2 time European Champion in Kickboxing/Muai Thai
 * Andrew Tate - 3 time ISKA World Kickboxing Champion / English Kickboxing Champion
 * Tristan Tate- 2 time European Kickboxing Champion
 * Giorgio Petrosyan 2 Time World Kickboxing Champion
 * Ray Sefo 3 time World Kickboxing Champion
 * Javier Mendez 2 time World Kickboxing Champion
 * Marlon Hunt - World Kickboxing Champion and World Muay Thai Champion
 * Tenshin Nasukawa 3 time World Kickboxing Champion
 * Conrad Pla North American Kickboxing Champion
 * Jérôme Le Banner 9 time world champion in Kickboxing/ Muai Thai
 * Maurice Smith Muai Thai World Champion
 * Jean-Claude Leuyer Muai Thai World Champion ,Intercontinental KickboxingChampionship, World kickboxing Championship
 * Don Wilson World kickboxing Champion, North American Kickboxing Champion
 * Jean-Yves Thériault 4 time World Kickboxing Champion
 * Jiří Žák World Champion in Kickboxing and Muai Thai
 * Kash Gill World Kickboxing Champion
 * Dennis Alexio 2 time Kickboxing World Champion
 * Rob Kaman 2 time Kickboxing World Champion
 * Duke Roufus World Kickboxing Champion
 * Stan Longinidis 2 time World Kickboxing Champion
 * Alexey Ignashov 2 time World kickboxing Champion
 * Freddy Kemayo World kickboxing Champion
 * Arnold Oborotov European kickboxing Champion
 * Peter Graham World kickboxing Champion
 * Paul Slowinski World kickboxing Champion
 * Hélène Connart World kickboxing Champion, European Kickboxing Champion
 * Andy Souwer World kickboxing Champion
 * Mustapha Haida World kickboxing Champion
 * Daniel Dawson 4 time Muai Thai Champion
 * Chad Sugden World Kickboxing Champion/ Intercontinental Kickboxing Champion
 * Enriko Kehl World Kickboxing Champion
 * Karim Ghajji 27 time World Kickboxing Champion
 * Jordan Watson Muai Thai World Champion
 * Jonathan Haggerty Muai Thai World Champion
 * Tim Thomas 2 time Muai Thai World Champion
 * Johnny Davis Kickboxing World Champion
 * Marek Piotrowski 3 Time World Kickboxing Champion
 * Francis Farley -World Kickboxing Champion
 * Jegish Yegoian World kickboxing Champion
 * Stephen Thompson - 2X Amateur ISKA Champion
 * Jorge Loren European kickboxing Champion
 * Moisés Baute World kickboxing Champion
 * Curtis Schuster 6 time World Muai Thai Champion, 1 time World kickboxing Champion
 * Rodney Glunder World kickboxing Champion
 * Luke Sines- European Champion
 * Steve Moxon South Pacific Kickboxing Champion
 * Keegan Roberts -former youngest Kickboxing World Champion
 * Joe Ryan - Youngest World Kickboxing Champion
 * Alexander Oleinik World kickboxing Champion
 * Jean-Luc Benoît -World Kickboxing Champion
 * Vincent Petitjean - World Kickboxing Champion
 * Andre Mannaart - World Kickboxing Champion
 * Donald Cerrone - Amateur Colorado State Champion
 * Scott Gibson- 2 time British and once European Kickboxing Champion/ CommonWealth Kickboxing Champion
 * Paul Randall- English Kickboxing Champion
 * Roberto Cocco 6 time World Champion at Middleweight
 * Alex Gong 3 Time World Muay Thai Champion
 * Duane Ludwig- Muay Thai World Champion
 * Derek Panza World Kickboxing Champion
 * Daniel Quigley- World Kickboxing Champion
 * Lucy Payne- English Kickboxing Champion
 * Daniel Hughes- 6 time European Kickboxing Champion
 * Jamie Bates low kick champion