LOS ANGELES, April 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a global effort to combat gender-based violence, the USA National Karate-do Federation (USA-NKF) and the Koyamada International Foundation USA (KIF USA) will launch the “Guardian Girls Global Karate Project” in Los Angeles, bringing together diverse communities of women from the Greater Los Angeles area for a two-day Guardian Girls Women’s Karate Self-Defense Seminar in Los Angeles. The seminar will be taught by USA Karate Elisa Au, a three-time World Karate Champion and current USA Karate Chairperson, and by Ms. Sakura Kokumai, U.S. Karate Olympian. The event will be held Saturday, April 15 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm and Sunday, April 16 from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm at the Terasaki Budokan in Downtown Los Angeles. The event is free. Online registration and more details are available at GuardianGirls.org

Celebrity and special guests include Mr. Shin Koyamada (star from The Last Samurai), 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. A special performance will be given by Mr. Ryo Kiyuna, Tokyo 2020 Olympic Gold Medalist and four-time World Karate Champion.

This “Women’s Karate Self-Defense Seminar” is included in global efforts of the Guardian Girls Global Karate Project, created by UNFPA (the United Nations Sexual and Reproductive Health agency), the Koyamada International Foundation (KIF), and the World Karate Federation (WKF). The Guardian Girls Global Karate Project is a far-reaching initiative aiming to promote gender equality and empower women and girls through Karate. KIF, WKF and UNFPA are launching Guardian Girls Karate projects during World Karate Federation’s major events of 2023, with seminars scheduled in Egypt, Spain, Morocco, Japan, Ireland and Hungary.

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 between KIF/UNFPA/WKF
In 2019, the Koyamada International Foundation initially signed a strategic 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 Sakamoto – kathy@kifusa.org
Director, Guardian Girls

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5ce17092-70e9-4447-83c8-b9936a372187.  The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.

Women's Karate Self-Defense Seminar

The mission is to empower girls and women to defend themselves from all forms of violence through Karate.