Martial Arts Japan Kickboxing Federation
Martial Arts Japan Kickboxing Federation (ja: マーシャルアーツ日本キックボクシング連盟, M.A.J.K.F.) is the Japan-based sanctioning and promoting body of professional kickboxing. It was established in 1985. "MA Nihon" or "MA Kick" are common names for the native Japanese kickboxing fans.
History
Establishment
Martial Arts Japan Kickboxing Federation (MAJKF) was established in 1985 by Katsumasa Ishikawa to leave for Japan Kickboxing Federation (JKF). He was a former chairman of JKF. After establishment, some members seceded from All Japan Martial Arts Federation (AJMAF), the rival organization of JKF, joined MAJKF.
Split (AJKF)
In June 1987, Jun Nishikawa who was an executive of MAJKF left there with many members, and he established All Japan Kickboxing Federation (AJKF). For this incident, all of the champions sanctioned by MAJKF were removed to AJKF.
Establishment of the unified championships and ratings
On January 11, 2009, MAJKF, New Japan Kickboxing Federation (NJKF), and Japan Professional Muay Thai Committee (JPMC) gave a press conference to announce establishment of the unified championships and ratings.
World Martial Arts Federation
World Martial Arts Federation(WMAF) is the championship title of Japanese kickboxing. It was established in 1998 by the promoters of MAJKF and other American promoters. WMAF stopped its management in 1998 just after sanctioning some world champions, and it started activity in 2005 again. WMAF is currently sanctioning some world champions of professional kickboxing. WMAF is controlled by MAJKF, so the head office is in the office of MAJKF in Tokyo.
Notable kickboxers from MAJKF
Commissioner
- Ichiro Ozawa (The 1st commissioner)
- Yasukazu Hamada (The current commissioner)
Trivia
- Although the correct translation of "連盟"(pronounced as "Renmei") was "Federation" in English, the logo mark of MAJKF were written as "Martial Arts Japapn Kickboxing Association" until August 2006 because of the designer's mistake in 1985.