. k 1 global holdings limited type private industry martial arts entertainment planning and promotion founded 1993 headquarters unit a 3 f queen s centre 58 64 queen s road east wan chai hong kong key people mike kim chairman ceo alin h lm gean director operations ned kuruc director operations owner k 1 global holdings limited slogan k 1 rising website k 1 global k 1 world gp k 1 began in 1993 and is a kickboxing platform and martial arts brand well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights . 1 on january 2012 k 1 global holdings limited a company registered in hong kong acquired the rights to k 1 and is the current organizer of k 1 events worldwide . contents 1 name 2 history 2.1 financial problems 2.2 k 1 global 2.3 list of k 1 events 3 tournament format 3.1 k 1 grand prix 3.2 k 1 world max and other 4 rules 4.1 fouls 5 reception 6 list of k 1 champions 6.1 current champions 7 see also 8 references 9 external links name edit the letter k in k 1 is officially designated as a representation of words karate kickboxing and kung fu . nevertheless some reports suggest that it represents the initial k found in competing disciplines such as karate kickboxing kung fu kempo kakutougi the generic japanese term for combat sports and tae kwon do . 2 yet another theory claims that the k simply comes from kakutougi and the 1 component pertains to the single weight division in earlier competition and the champion s unique position . 3 nevertheless the promotion held several tournaments under k 2 and k 3 banners from 1993 to 1995 . history edit main article history of k 1 k 1 s predecessor seidokaikan karate was formed in 1980 by kazuyoshi ishii a former kyokushin karate practitioner who had formed his own organization to help promote the best stand up martial artists . 4 seidokaikan arranged several successful challenge events against other martial arts organizations originally using rules based on the kyokushin knockdown karate rules but gradually adapting and changing closer to kickboxing rules . in 1993 mr. ishii founded the k 1 organization exclusively as a kickboxing organization closely cooperating with but independent from seidokaikan . 3 financial problems edit starting in 2010 multiple stories began to surface regarding the financial troubles of k 1 and their parent company feg . 5 simon rutz the owner of the dutch based kickboxing promotion it s showtime claimed in january 2011 that some fighters from it s showtime had not been paid for fights in k 1 . 6 in early 2011 feg publicly announced that they were facing financial problems and that the organization would take some months off to restructure . many fighters and managers spoke out against feg due to unpaid fight purses and objections to the direction that its owner was taking k 1 . it appeared that financial problems were severe and that feg could potentially lose ownership of k 1 . 7 the entire k 1 brand along with most of its trademarks with the exception of k 1 koshien k 1 max and dream were sold to japanese real estate firm barbizon corporation limited on july 28 2011 . 8 in february 1 2012 emcom entertainment inc. purchased k 1 from barbizon . 9 k 1 global edit in march 2012 it s showtime announced that emcom entertainment established a new company k 1 global holdings ltd. in hong kong . k 1 global holdings ltd. became the new official owner of the k 1 brand . k 1 global s agreement with promotion required that certain fighters signed under it s showtime appear in upcoming k 1 global events . 10 a number of events were already planned and scheduled for the 2012 calendar before new k 1 ownership took complete control of the company . it s showtime was the promoter of the first event presented by k 1 global holdings ltd. the k 1 world max final 16 . it took place on may 27 2012 at the palacio vistalegre in madrid spain . after the event controversy and rumors circulated over the fact that once again fighters were not paid for their performances . problems were compounded due to unpaid financial obligations of feg and the complete transfer of ownership of the k 1 name was not yet complete . as a result the k 1 world grand prix scheduled for 2012 would be cancelled if these issues were not resolved . 11 ultimately k 1 global holdings ltd. was blamed for the failure of an event they did not promote . they were also accused of not paying fighters when in fact the promoter and feg shared responsibilities in ensuring fighters were paid . the chairman of the new k 1 resolved the matter by paying fighters what was owed and including a 50 % bonus . 12 it was announced in june 2012 that it s showtime was purchased by glory sports international eventually to be merged in their new promotion glory . 13 on august 10 2012 k 1 s co promotion agreement with romanian based kickboxing promotion superkombat was announced . 14 eventually it was ended . early next year sk president eduard irimia stated that its company will be independent in 2013 but will still continue to have cooperation with any interested promotion including k 1 by offering fighters . 15 list of k 1 events edit main article list of k 1 events see also list of hero s events every year there are dozens of other k 1 qualifying tournaments and preliminaries all over the world . k 1 has held events in many countries around the world . the following is a list of countries that k 1 has held events in chronological order japan 1993 2012 2014 2016 netherlands 1994 2001 2003 2006 2010 france 1995 2002 2008 2010 switzerland 1995 2000 2003 united states 1998 2000 2008 2012 australia 2000 2005 2010 england 2000 2002 2004 2006 2007 2013 italy 2000 2008 germany 2000 2008 belarus 2000 2010 croatia 2000 2002 2007 2009 2010 2013 south africa 2000 2002 2006 new zealand 2000 2006 czech republic 2000 2001 2006 2009 denmark 2001 ukraine 2001 2002 2006 2010 spain 2002 2004 2005 2006 2012 2014 brazil 2002 2006 2013 sweden 2003 2010 russia 2003 2006 2010 bosnia and herzegovina 2003 2004 2009 scotland 2004 portugal 2004 2006 2013 poland 2004 2007 2010 south korea 2004 2010 2013 slovenia 2005 2006 2008 hungary 2005 2010 lithuania 2006 2007 2010 2013 latvia 2006 2008 turkey 2007 2010 belgium 2007 estonia 2007 2009 romania 2007 2009 2010 hong kong 2007 austria 2008 taiwan 2008 moldova 2009 2010 2013 china 2013 2015 greece 2012 canada 2013 ireland 2013 azerbaijan 2014 thailand 2014 tournament format edit k 1 qualifying system 2009 k 1 grand prix edit main article k 1 world grand prix original k 1 grand prix was a single event tournament held in japan where competitors participated on invitation . by 1998 k 1 introduced the k 1 world grand prix format composed of k 1 regional elimination tournaments theoretically amounting to six which qualify fighters for the k 1 world grand prix final along with licensed k 1 fighting network events designed to hold national preliminaries for regional qualification . however given the fact that k 1 s popularity differs greatly among six k 1 regions which may limit the number of actual elimination tournaments or change locations . for example k 1 attempted to gain popularity in the united states by holding two gps however only a few americans have ever qualified for the finals . in 2006 one of the american gps was relocated to auckland . additionally the k 1 paris gp lost its qualifying right in favor of amsterdam . eventually amsterdam lost it in favor of d and then d in favor of bucharest . k 1 world grand prix final eliminator final 16 is an event where 16 participants compete for the final eight spots in the final final 8 . eight participants from the final eliminator meet at the k 1 world grand prix final that was traditionally held at tokyo dome . it should be noted that lesser elements in the tournament format have been significantly modified in years . the 2012 final took place for the first time in history outside japan in zagreb croatia . k 1 world max and other edit by 2002 k 1 started the k 1 world max middleweight artistic xtreme tournament for 70 kg 154 lb middleweight division following a similar scheme to k 1 world grand prix with theoretically four regional eliminators . in 2007 k 1 introduced two new title belts separate from k 1 world gp champions super heavyweight world title for fighters over 100 kg 220 lbs and heavyweight world title for fighters under 100 kg 156 220 lbs . rules edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . december 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message each match is three or five rounds in duration with each round lasting three minutes . the match can end by knockout technical knockout decision disqualification draw or no contest . both the referee and the ring doctor have full authority to stop the fight . the fight is scored by three judges on a ten point must system the winner of each round receives ten points and the loser receives nine or less . if the round is even both competitors receive ten points . if there is a draw after three rounds the judges scores are thrown out and one or two extra three minute rounds are contested . the judges decision will then come from the scoring of each extra round only . if after the extra round s there is still a draw the judges will decide a winner based on the flow of the entire match considering even the slightest difference . a fight can only end in a draw if both fighters go down at the same time and can not get up or in the case of accidental injury in the late stages of the contest . the three knockdown rule is in effect three knockdowns in a round results in a technical knockout . the mandatory eight count is in effect the referee must count to at least eight on all knockdowns . the standing eight count is in effect the referee has the right to declare a knockdown on a fighter who appears to be in a dangerous condition to continue in the match . a fighter can be saved by the bell only in the last round . in k 1 single elimination tournament matches each match is three rounds in duration . the three knockdown rule becomes a two knockdown rule for all matches except the final . one or two reserve fights are held prior to the single elimination matches . if for any reason a fighter who wins and advances through the brackets is unable to continue a reserve match competitor or the fighter s opponent from the most recent match takes his place . there are certain exceptions to this rule i.e. a fighter who lost a match by knockout might not be eligible to replace another fighter . fouls edit the following actions in k 1 are considered fouls 16 using the head or elbow to deliver a blow attacking the opponent in the groin delivering wrestling or judo throwing or submission techniques thumbing choking or biting the opponent punching the opponent in the throat attacking the opponent while he is down or in the process of getting up attacking the