World Kickboxing and Karate Union

Christine Theiss WKU World Champion at the 1st WKU World Championship 2012 in Berlin with ring announcer Matthias Killing

The World Kickboxing and Karate Union ( WKU ) is a professional association for kickboxing (full contact, light contact and semi-contact), as well as modern sport karate ( kata , freestyle and with traditional, Asian Budo weapons ). The WKU is based in Karlsruhe and is managed by multiple world champion Klaus Nonnemacher . World President of the WKU and responsible for karate is Toni Dietl .

history

After the WKA President and multiple martial arts world champion Klaus Nonnemacher had successfully headed the WKA for several years, he improved the structures and the organization and founded the WKU in 2012. Since most of the fighters, officials, referees and officials of the WKA switched to the WKU, the WKU was able to grow into one of the largest kickboxing and karate associations within a short time. On December 7, 2012, the WKU's first World Kickboxing Championship was held together with ISKA . It took place in the Berlin Adlershof studio . The live broadcast of SAT.1 reached an audience of millions. Nonnemacher also managed to win the martial arts series Steko's Fight Night for the WKU. In October 2013, the WKU World Championship was held on Crete . There were over 1,000 fighters at the start. After her victory against Olga Stavrova on December 13, 2013, Christine Theiss was inducted into the WKU Hall of Fame. In 2013, the WKU held more than 90 international championships. In 2014, two were alone Kickboxing - World Championships aligned. One in London and the other for full contact kickboxing in Hainan , China . In the meantime, even regional WKU competitions such as the open Baden-Württemberg championships in 2017 have over 1,430 starters.