Karate Empowers Los Angeles Women Through Gender-Based Violence Prevention Program
by USA NKF Staff
Celebrities and special guests include Mr. Shin Koyamada (star from The Last Samurai), Mr. Ryo Kiyuna (Tokyo 2020 Olympics Gold Medalist and four-time World Karate Champions), Los Angeles Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles Kenko Sone, Secretary General of the World Karate Federation (WKF) Toshihisa Nagura and others.
This “Women’s Karate Self-Defense Seminar” is a part of the global efforts of the Guardian Girls Global Karate Project, created and launched by the Koyamada International Foundation (KIF), the World Karate Federation (WKF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The mission is to empower girls and women to defend themselves from any forms of violence through Karate training. KIF, WKF and UNFPA are launching the project of Guardian Girls Karate in Egypt, Spain, Morocco, Japan, Ireland and Hungary throughout 2023.
The Los Angeles event will be amplified globally by KIF, UNFPA and WKF through their combined global networks of nearly 200 countries, territories and areas with member national federations and country offices in which they have relationships in the fields of government, business, medical, academic, educational, media and entertainment and sports. In addition, the programs will potentially meet tens of millions of global followers and supporters through their combined social media outlets.
About the USA National Karate-Do Federation
USA National Karate-do Federation is the national governing body (NGB) of karate for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and as such is the official Member National Association (MNA) of the World Karate Federation (WKF) in the United States. As the largest Karate Organization in the United States in "nature, quality, scope and strength" as determined by the Amateur Sports Act and the USOC, the USANKF remains a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization open to all martial arts practitioners. It is an organization dedicated to the growth and promulgation of all types of Karate in our country.
About the Koyamada International Foundation USA
The Koyamada International Foundation USA (KIF USA) is a Los Angeles-based United States Chapter of the Koyamada International Foundation (KIF), an international nonprofit organization founded in 2008 by international celebrity Shin Koyamada and his wife, Nia Lyte. KIF USA manages numerous global initiatives, including its flagship program Guardian Girls, a gender-based violence prevention program, in the United States.
About the partnership of KIF/UNFPA/WKF
In 2019, the Koyamada International Foundation initially signed a partnership agreement with the United Nations Population Fund to develop the self-defense Guardian Girls program aimed at preventing gender-based violence for underprivileged girls and women as a means to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. In 2022, the Koyamada International Foundation and the World Karate Federation signed a global partnership to cooperate in fostering gender equality and to fight gender-based violence globally through the practice of Karate and the Guardian Girls program.
Media Contact
Kathy – kathy@kifusa.org
Director, Guardian Girls