Shihan Victor Fomin 7.Dan
/The International Karate Federation (IFK) on 8th April 2018, awarded Shihan Victor Fomin (Russia) 7th Dan for his work and merit in the development of Kyokushinkai Karate around the World. Congratulations. Osu!
IFK Kuwait 15th training camp with Shihan Terry Prescott
/We have completed our 15th training camp with Shihan Terry Prescott, it was held between the 8th to 10th of March 2018.
The level of techniques and spirit which Shihan Terry gave made this camp another successful camp of IFK Kuwait.
We are very proud to be instructed by Shihan Terry from the BKK and we look forward for more training with him in the near future.
IFK Poland 23rd Winter Camp held on 16th to 18th February
/IFK Poland held their 23rd Winter Camp with Vice President Shihan David Pickthall with Country Rep Sensei Dariusz Struski from the 16-18 February in Rzeszow.
Karateka from Poland IFK and Shinkyokushin and also visitors from Israel and Belarus took part in the camp that focused on all elements for the IFK. Thanks go to Sensei Jan Wac for organising the event
Happy 25th Anniversary IFK Ukraine
/IFK Ukraine their celebrated their 25th anniversary with a seminar at the headquarters in Kiev.
Country representative Shihan Oleg Sereda invited international instructors to the event with Vice President Shihan David Pickthall leading the main sessions with the assistance of Shihan Andrew Turner GB and Shihan Dmitry Aleknovich Belarus.
There was also a successful dan test and of a superb celebration meal in a traditional Ukrainian restaurant.
Norway Winter Camp with Shihan Janine Davies
/IFK Norway hosted the Norway Winter Camp under the guidance of Shihan Janine Davies at the dojo of Country representative Shihan Svein Dallavara. Students from Vadso, Kirkenes and Sensei Victor Rozhkov from Murmansk Russia participated
Christian Nugent (1958-2018)
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With deep sadness we announce the passing of the Christian Nugent the Country Representative of the Reunion Islands.
Originally a Godan in Shotokan Christian joined the IFK in 2013 working with the representative in Mauritius to integrate into the organisation he became a Nidan in Kyokushin in 2016.
Our condolences are with the family at this difficult time.
1958-2018
RIP
Happy New Year across the world!
/A new year, a new start, and way to go. The IFK wishes you all a successful and glorious New Year!
3rd KWU World Tournament, held in Ekaterinburg, Russia
/WHAT A SHOW!
As the IFK reflect on the success of the 3rd KWU World Championships in Ekaterinburg we can only marvel at the work of the organisers.
This event has set the bar as to where we would aim to be if we achieved Olympic status and it shows we are more than capable of doing it. The opening ceremony was an extravaganza of colour and sound that brought the stadium to life and we thank both the organisers and the creative directors for their vision.
This 3rd edition of the championships showed the KWU is learning from their mistakes in the past. Competitor check-in procedures were slicker, judging seminars focused on the main issues and as in so many events we didn't witness lots of long speeches by the dignitaries. The athletes were the stars and they rightly took centre stage.
242 competitors from 48 countries meant the majority of the weight categories had solid participation.
Of course the KWU could achieve much higher numbers by allowing more than one participant from a country in each division but this would defeat their aim. We all hold our own championships with our own rules, weights and participation levels. This must be different, the five kilogram categories are suitable for an Olympic programme and as with the other combat sports we follow the example of one athlete per country.
It is interesting to note that for Karate in the 2020 Olympics it is scheduled for each of the six weight categories to have a maximum of 10 athletes only. At the KWU Championships thirteen of fifteen categories achieved more than that number.
Focusing on the performance of the IFK once again we must be proud to have played a major role in its success. We had 52 fighters from 17 countries and topped the medal table with 6 different countries achieving prizes.
Of course our major contributor was the top team in the championships Russia, but we also gained medals from Great Britain, Ireland, Iran, Belarus and an amazing gold from Greece!
Emma Markwell - Silver medal winner
Maria Papadopoulou - Gold medal winner
Time to be United!
41st British Open 2017 incorp. 9th Cup of Europe - Results
/Results of the 41st British Open 2017 have been announced and can be found here...
Full results can be found here including replay of the live stream.
Shihan Koos van Berkel
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On behalf of the IFK Executive Board I would like to express our sadness of the news that Shihan Koos van Berkel has passed away.
Shihan Koos started his journey in Kyokushinkai Karate in the early sixties. He was a Country Representative for the IFK in the Netherlands for many years and was deeply respected by martial artists around the globe.
I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences to the family of Shihan Koos.
Hanshi Steve Arneil
President IFK Kyokushin
KWUCAMP: Reports from KWF and INTERNATIONAL KYOKUSHIN SUMMER CAMP VARNA 2017
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On 2-9 July 2017 the biggest in the World, International Kyokushin Summer Camp was held.
Nearly 1300 participants, representing IFK, Kan, KWF and AKR, were accommodated in six hotels and practiced at the Kamchiya Sports Center. The opening of the camp was made by: Sports Minister of Bulgaria Krasen Kralev, shihan Andre Drewniak, shihan Dawid Pickthall and shihan Ivo Kamenov (main organizer). The program included two obligatory training sessions per day, at 8am and 6pm.
The participants were grouped as follows: black belts, brown and green belts, yellow and blue belts, children and a separate group of fighters. Volunteers could also take part in a Iaido sword training.
Training sessions for black and brown belts were run daily by shihan A. Drewniak (KWF) and shihan D. Pickthall (IFK). World champions Zahari Damyanov (Kan) and Sergey Plekhanov (KWF) as well as other Bulgarian masters, such as shihan Asen Asenov, shihan Marin Mitev, sensei Nikolay Rachev and senpai Petar Martinov, led sessions for the sports group and others.
Shihan Ramil Gabbasov conducted daily training classes for 80 international KWU judges.
The Professional Grand Prix of Bulgaria was held on 5 July. The President of WFKO Aleksander Tanyushkin from Moscow opened the event and the main judge was shihan Andrey Bura. Fighters fought five rounds of 2 minutes each, with a minute’s rest. The first match was won by Aleksander Drozd (Russia) who defeated Andrey Andreev (Bulgaria). The second one was won by Nikolay Yorgov (Bulgaria) who defeated Naoki Morita (Japan). The organizer was the Kyokushin Bulgarian Federation led by shihan I. Kamenov.
Shihan Hatsuo Royama came at the end of the camp to take part in the International Youth Tournament, dan exams and a farewell photo session.
On 7 July was held the International KWU Youth Tournament “Varna Cup” with the participation of about 130 fighters from 16 countries. The main judge was shihan R. Gabbasov and it was opened by shihan A. Drewniak on the behalf of KWU. Prizes were given by shihan H. Royama, shihan A. Drewniak, shihan M. Mitev and sensei N. Rachev. The event was organized by the Bulgarian Kyokushin Federation headed by shihan I. Kamenov.
On 8 July dan examinations were held, supervised by Shihan H. Royama and shihan A. Drewniak.
In the evening the official closure of the camp and a photo session took place in which participated shihan H. Royama and shihan A. Drewniak, as well as all leading instructors. Late in the evening in Varna a Sayonara party for about 400 adult participants was organized in the Rappongi Restaurant.
David Pickthall 7th Dan Promotion
/Congratulations to Shihan David Pickthall who was promoted to 7th Dan by Hanshi Steve Arneil and the IFK Board at the recent World Tournament in Romania.
More information at http://gbkyokushinkai.com/newsblog/2017/7/18/david-pickthall-7th-dan-promotion
3rd IFK Tunisia seminar with Shihan David Pickthall and Sensei Moss Ageli
/IFK Tunisia hosted the 3rd seminar under the guidance of Shihan David Pickthall and Sensei Moss Ageli.
The Seminar was split into three regions with sessions held in Sousse, Tunis and finishing in Kairouan course with a grading test. All seminars were well attended with between 120-180 students in each.
Thanks must go to Country representative Sensei Fethi Nasra and his team who worked tirelessly to make the seminars a great success.
IFK Belarus Spring Seminar, and Budo Festival
/IFK Belarus hosted their spring seminar with Shihan David Pickthall and conducted a Budo Festival in the city of Brest.
Over one thousand students took part over the three day seminar focusing on kihon, kata and kumite sessions.
The Budo Festival was managed by Country Representative Dmitry Alehnovich who had seven hundred participants in their mass demonstration. The event also feature many of the different arts in the region and the Police and Army did combat demos with Kyokushin instructors.
Shihan Eddy Gabathuler was also a guest along with Country reps Shihan Oleg Sereda (Ukraine) and Sensei Dariusz Struski (Poland). Shihan Franz Slavinsky was their representing Russia and Vladimirs Talapins (Latvia)., including students form these countries at the seminar.
Slovakia joins the IFK
/Sensei Péter Molnár has joined the IFK as the country representative of IFK Slovakia forming another member of our European family.
Contact details can be found here
Welcome!
Uruguay Summer Camp 2017 with Shihan David Pickthall
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The 6th Uruguay Summer Camp was held in Salinas Montevideo from the 10th-12th March under the instruction of Shihan David Pickthall.
Participants from all the Uruguayan dojos attended along with the Country Representatives of Brazil Jeovaldo Barreto and Chile German Caru. Also in attendance was the VP of IFK Canada Jonathan Hemond and Planning committee member Pascal Hemond. Several students from these countries participated and it was good to see former Brazilian Champion and participant from the 5th World Tournament Shihan Luiz Feitoza train in the seminar. Its been 26 years since Shihan Pickthall and Feitoza fought in Japan together and the Brazilian fighters are certainly fortunate to have Shihan Luiz prepare them for our upcoming World Tournament in Romania.
The camp featured sessions in all aspects of the IFK and finished with a dan test for the Chile participants.
Thanks must go to Sensei German Carballo for organising such a good camp with his team of Noelia Carballo, Rocio Gonzalez, Santiago Mosco and Claudia Lopez.
Polish Winter Camp 2017 with Shihan Alexei Gorokhov
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The Polish Winter Camp took place in Luneia from 17th to 19th February. Shihan Alexei Gorokhov was the instructor for the fighting camp, which was attended by about 50 Karatekas from Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Switzerland. Organisations: IFK and Shinkyokushin
Country Representative Sensei Dariusz Struski was joined by Swiss Representative and IFK Board member Shihan Eddy Gabathuler and Belarus Country rep Dmitry Alechnovich in participating in this camp.
UAE 1st IFK Cup 2017
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UAE hosted the 1st IFK Cup at the Al Taneen Chinese Karate and Fitness centre in Sharjah. The event had participants from IFK, Shinkyokushin, Tezuka, Byakuren Karate and International Budokan Union.
Country Representative Shamseer CK had the assistance of Indian Representative Santanu Gangly in the running of the event which was the first of its kind in the region.
There was also the largest Martial Arts demonstration held in UAE with IFK participating.
