Project History

Signing Trilateral Partnerships in 2022

On October 7th, 2022, the Koyamada International Foundation (KIF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and World Karate Federation (WKF) have signed a groundbreaking Trilateral Memorandum during the VIP Reception Dinner "Karate Night" at the Official Residence of the Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles to officially launch the Guardian Girls Global Karate Project ("Guardian Girls Karate") in Los Angeles. The mission of the Guardian Girls Karate is to empower vulnerable girls and women to defend themselves from all forms of gender-based violence through Karate around the world. The signing was inked by KIF Global Chairman Shin Koyamada, WKF President Antonio Espinos from Madrid, Spain and UNFPA Chief Strategic Partnership Mariarosa Cutillo from New York to officially launch the Guardian Girls Karate in Los Angeles..

Launching in Los Angeles, U.S.A.

As part of the newly launched project Guardian Girls Karate by the global partners Koyamada International Foundation (KIF Global), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and World Karate Federation (WKF), the global partners have organized the first Guardian Girls Karate Self-Defense Seminar with approximately 50 diverse girls and women who signed up from Los Angeles area at the Terasaki Budokan in Downtown Los Angeles on October 8th, 2022.

The Seminar was coordinated by head instructor and three-time World champion Elisa Au, the seminar also had the participation of Olympians Sakura Kokumai and Irina Zaretska, and three-time World Champion Douglas Brose who joined the activity as assistant instructors. All instructors wore a brand new black Guardian Girls T-Shirts on.

All women participants in ages from 18 to 76 from different professional backgrounds and ethnics have been given brand new official Guardian Girls white T-Shirts and worn them during the Seminar to join this inaugural gender-based violence prevention program in Los Angeles.

Most of the participants had no martial arts experience in the past and were first time to ever participate in a self-defense seminar. Some of the participants brought their kids, husbands and friends with them to watch the Seminar. All participants were enthusiastic in learning about this new Gender-Based Violence Prevention program and getting a 90-minute training by the world's best female Karate instructors in the United States.

Launching Globally in 2023

Following the success of the Guardian Girls Karate Seminar in Los Angeles, the Guardian Girls Karate Seminar is being launched in countries such as Egypt, Spain, Morocco, Japan, Ireland and Hungary on the occasions of the Karate 1-Premier League event and other international Karate tournaments hosted by the World Karate Federation (WKF). Before every seminar in those hosting countries, each invitational V.I.P. Reception is being hosted by the WKF, KIF and UNFPA in partnerships with each Embassy of Japan with their distinguished guests such as the Ambassadors, Ministers, United Nations officials, local elected officials, NGO leaders and other women leaders at their Japanese Ambassador's Official Residence.