WEDNESDAY July 8th, 2020, AT 8:50 PM / PST

It is with great sadness that we as the IKF have made the hard decision to cancel this years
2020 IKF World Classic.

From IKF President Steve Fossum
As most reading this know, this years 2020 Tournament had been scheduled for late July and had been rescheduled to November due to the surge of medical issues and restrictions related to the current Covid 19 pandemic.

This was not an easy decision to make and although the number one reason for it was based on the issues surrounding the Covid 19 situation there were other factors that played into it as well. Although we did not accept and register all those fighters and trainers who sent their registration in for this years Tournament, we did list some.
Of those listed on the 2020 Tournament pages, all will be offered a choice of either a 100% refund or a direct transfer of fees to the
2021 IKF World Classic

The 2021 IKF World Classic will be held at the same hotel in the later part of July 2021.
We have also confirmed that the hotel will still be able to offer all our attendees the same low room rate as it was this year of only $139.00.
More news to follow as we know more.

Special from IKF World Ambassador Brooks Mason.
This afternoon I spoke to our IKF president, Steve Fossum. He called to talk about the 2020 IKF World Classic and his decision to cancel it for this year. His concerns were simple and predictable for a man who has put safety and fairness ahead of all other concerns throughout his tenure as our president and founder of the IKF.
Could the tournament be held safely? We do not think so. Congregating fighters, trainers, officials, and family in an enclosed area for an extended time could well lend itself to the spread of the virus, a risk the IKF is not willing to take.
Could it be done fairly? Once again, we do not think so. With the variety of restrictions imposed on gyms in different states, it would be impossible for everyone to have equal availability to train properly.
The IKF is an organization that values our roots as martial artists and the tenets martial artists live by. The IKF started as an organization that places the well-being of fighters, trainers, and officials over any concerns of money or promotion. It is in this vein of commitment to the IKF family that we has made this decision.
Rest assured that the World Classic will be back, and with it, our dedicated officials, and the fighters and trainers who are willing to Walk the Walk. The World Classic has been a showcase for the best the martial art world has to offer for over two decades, and God willing, it will again. Stay safe, train hard, and support your gym.

But Wait... There's MORE...

FIGHT SPORT SUMMIT / EXPO IDEA...
It's obvious that pretty much everyone has been out of the mix since March of this year and will be so even longer. Because of this, the IKF in conjunction with its parent company, International Fight Sports has been thinking that this may provide a great opportunity to launce an idea the IKF has been considering doing here in California for the past 4 years, but are now considering doing it in Orlando, Florida. This idea is the possibility of hosting a "Fight Sport" World Summit or Expo that would be an event of all three fight sports of Kickboxing / Muay Thai, MMA and Boxing but no fights being held. If it happens and with such a short notice of the idea, the event may just focus on Kickboxing and Muay Thai and if so, the goal would be to grow the event to all fight sports if successful.

This was an idea IKF President Steve Fossum had pitched to Century Martial Arts back in 2002 when he visited Century's headquarters in Oklahoma while in discussions about having Century create a line of IKF Kickboxing and Muay Thai equipment as well as becoming a sponsor of IKF events and the IKF Tournament. Soon after, Century decided to take the idea and create their own Martial Arts event which has become a great success for the Martial Arts industry known as the "Martial Arts SuperShow" which is held in Las Vegas Nevada every summer.

Ever since then the IKF has always kicked around the idea of hosting their own "Fight Sport Super Show / Expo" event. The overall idea was always to include any other sanctioning bodies that wished to attend along with various fight sport equipment vendors as part of the event. The event would be a two day event featuring special guest such as fight trainers, fighters, officials and even top promoters giving seminars on all kinds of things from understanding of the rules and regulations of fight sports, fighter training, cornerman training, coach training, operating a fight gym among other things all the way to being a fight promoter. If the idea becomes a reality it would be a great opportunity to get everyone ready for what would hope to be a new beginning for fight sports in 2021.

The IKF is currently in discussions with the hotel and is looking at either an early November (November 7th & 8th or 14th & 15th) or early December date (December 5th & 6th or 12th & 13th). Although this idea is still in the discussion stage here, we do know that the hotel has offered us space for the training summit and at a great room rate of only $99.00 a night. As the IKF continues to discuss this possibility they will keep everyone posted on the IKF News page as well as on the two main IKF Facebook pages.

IKF NEWS PAGE - CLICK HERE!

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