The World Karate Federation
The World Karate Federation, or W.K.F., was formed in 1990 from former W.U.K.O. (World Union of Karate-do Organisations) members and is the largest International Governing Body of Sport Karate with over 130 member countries.
It is the only Governing Body recognised by the International Olympic Committee and has more than ten million members. The WKF organises the Junior and Senior Karate World Championships, which are each held every other year. The President of the WKF is Antonio Espinós, and the Headquarters are currently located in Madrid, Spain.
Since Karate was only introduced into Europe in the 1950s it is to be expected that the governance of the sport (or Art) is not as clearly established as other popular sports such as cricket, football or tennis. Part of the ongoing incomplete world wide unity stems from the fundamental division of opinion as the whether Karate is a pure Art form, or way of life, or whether the sport and competition aspect has value. The fact that the W.K.F. is the only Governing Body recognised by the International Olympic Committee is in itself contentious since many members on a personal level would not welcome the inclusion of Karate in the Olympics.
Fallon's Karate is governed by the World Karate Federation - from the equipment she wears to the rules of competition. W.K.F. Rules and Regulations can be downloaded from the link below.
Click on the links below for the various WKF Rules and Statutes.
W.K.F. Rules, Regulations and Commissions 2007 (PDF)
W.K.F. Statutes 2007
W.K.F. Competition Rules - Version 6, Jan 2009
W.K.F. Summary of Rule Modifications for Implementation, Jan 2009
