International Association of Korean Martial Arts

05/25/2026

05/21/2026

Just a reminder, the first quarterly IAKMA School Owners Meeting will be held this Saturday, May 23, 2026. For school owners that are unable to attend in person, you will be able to join via Zoom. We will be covering a number of topics. We look forward to your participation. Thank you!

03/25/2026

I have the distinct honor and privilege of inviting you on behalf of the International Association of Korean Martial Arts to join us and display their skills at our tournament, the Battle of Chicago, on Sunday, April 26, 2026.

The Battle of Chicago is a qualifier for Team USA.

If you or your athlete is interested in being a part of Team USA and competing in France on behalf of Team USA, then this tournament is for you! The top 3 medalists in any Professional Category, except Olympic Sparring, listed will qualify to be on Team USA and compete in France.

Please join us at Rolling Meadows High School on Sunday, April 26, 2026. Early registration ends on March 31. Register online to save money!

https://www.battlechicago.com/

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Grandmaster Marie Kennedy or myself. We hope to see you there.

01/27/2026

I am proud to announce that the International Association of Korean Martial Arts (IAKMA) is a Not-For-Profit (NFP) in the state of Illinois and has been designated as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization by the US Government.

What does this mean?
This will give the IAKMA access to larger fundraisers for the athletes that wish to compete internationally as a member of Team USA. These fundraisers could also be used for National, international, and World level competitions in Combat Sports.

For member school owners, this means that you will be eligible for NFP pricing when searching for a tournament venue. This should reduce the expenses for the tournament venue by roughly 40% to 75% depending upon the tournament venue. This is a great savings for our member school owners.

For our sponsors that donate to the IAKMA for an athlete or Team USA this means that all donations given will be recognized on your taxes and credited according to the IRS tax code. This is great news for individuals and business/corporate sponsors. We are super excited about these opportunities!

Lastly, the IAKMA will be hosting approximately five seminars/clinics this year in 2026. We are bringing out high level practitioners in Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, and Kong Soo Do (Shotokan Karate and Sh*to-ryu Karate).

I will be posting more about these clinics and seminars in the very near future! Stay tuned!

01/08/2026

I am proud to announce that Grandmaster Peter Paik will be conducting two clinics at Kennedy's Martial Arts Academy in Elk Grove Village, IL. The first one will be on Saturday, March 21 - Sunday, March 22. More details to follow.

For those of you that do not know Grandmaster Paik, he was a Point Sparring Champion in the 1970s and 1980s. He has appeared in magazines such as Karate Illustrated. He was at the initial meeting that formed NASKA. And he recently came out of retirement to win in Point Sparring and top 8 in Kata at the WUKF Worlds in 2022.

For those that do not know, the WUKF Worlds is the largest Karate federation with the most countries in the World represented.

Here are three photos of Grandmaster Peter Paik. One in action in 2022 at the WUKF Worlds. One with his team representing the USA for the USA Karate Federation. And one with me after a clinic he conducted last year at our school.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me or my wife, Grandmaster Marie Kennedy. Thank you!

01/07/2026

All students that will be working to make Team USA. The first practice will be Saturday, January 17, 2026 from 1 pm to 3 pm. Please bring doboks and belts, sparring gear, whatever you wish to take notes on such as a tablet or laptop, and water. I am looking forward to working with you to achieve your goals of representing Team USA on the World stage in France!

01/07/2026

A reminder that this Saturday will be our Referee and Judging Clinic. This is open to all adult volunteers, Students Red Belt and Up. We look forward to seeing you there!

12/27/2025

Information about the ICO World Championships 2026 in France.

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02/14/2025

We would like to cordially invite all Korean Martial Artists to join us and display their skills at our tournament, the Battle of Chicago, on Sunday, April 27, 2025.

Registration is online and will open soon. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Grandmaster Marie Kennedy or myself. We hope to see you there.

More information can be found at https://www.BattleChicago.com/.