2019 U.S. OPEN Karate Tournament
[You are about to travel to another dimension. A dimension of sights that include jaw-dropping martial arts feats. A dimension of sounds that include boards and concrete blocks being shattered with ease. A dimension of performances that include combative skills that are almost beyond imagination.
Your destination is the world’s largest martial arts competition, an event called the U.S. Open ISKA World Martial Arts Championships, also known as the Highlight Zone.
Before you begin your journey, we will look back at how this event came into being and how it grew to regularly attract more than 6,000 competitors from 70 countries, not to mention some 10,000 people who attend as spectators.]
Held annually in Orlando, Florida, on the July 4th weekend, the U.S. Open was born in 1973, when it was known as the East Coast Grand Nationals. In those days, it took place under the direction of Robert Trias’ United States Karate Association banner. An American martial arts pioneer, Trias opened the first public karate school in the mainland United States in 1946.
In 1980 the East Coast Grand Nationals got a new name: the U.S. Open. Since then, the tournament has changed hands a few times. In one Twilight Zone–esque shift
