Karate Combat Launches Up Only Gaming and $KARATE

Karate Combat is a brand that has been promoting the world's first professional full-contact karate league for the past three years. The league was founded by Michael DePietro and Robert Bryan, who established the offshore company Sensei Foundation.

Karate Combat promotes karate as a sport and martial art

Participants from different schools and styles, including classic Shotokan, Shito-Ryu, Wado-Ryu, and newer styles like Kyokushin-Kai, American Karate, Taekwondo, and Tansudo, compete in this league. Karatekas take part in a seasonal championship, and the winner is awarded a golden belt. Competitions are held in eight weight categories, and black belt holders, Olympic medalists, and national champions from all over the world are invited to participate.

Who will be crowned the Karate Combat Champion in 2023? Source: Instagram проекта

In 2020, Qatari company beIN SPORTS acquired the broadcasting rights for Karate Combat matches, dominating sports broadcasting in the Middle East and North Africa. The media group broadcasts Karate Combat seasons in 37 countries worldwide.

Before and after – this is what the new generation of combat sports looks like! Source: The project’s Twitter account

It's not just the raw emotions that come with full-contact karate – it's the cutting-edge technology that's transforming the sport. In Karate Combat, you can expect video game-style analytics, such as biometric data, nutrition information, and even real-time DNA analysis of the fighters. But that's not all – the immersive computer graphics powered by Unreal Engine create an unforgettable viewing experience. And if you catch a glimpse of a dinosaur on the screen during a fight broadcast, you can thank the geniuses behind the game engine, Epic Games. What's more, the spectacle is further enhanced by the star power of Danny Trejo, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (the “Strongest Man on the Planet”), former UFC champions Georges St-Pierre and Lyoto Machida, and Stephen Thompson – a top UFC fighter. It's a perfect storm of talent, technology, and creativity that makes for an awe-inspiring show.

One of the fights at Karate Combat Source: Karate Combat

Karate Combat's early fights were held offline in front of a select audience, but now they've gone all-out to attract younger viewers. The league now features computer graphics effects and original music to create a modern, high-energy vibe. One notable event was held on the 102nd floor of the World Trade Center One, where 100 of the league's top fighters squared off in front of a specially-selected audience dressed in black tie attire.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Karate Combat online, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The immersive technology used by the league made it easy to watch from home, and by the end of April 2023, the total number of views had surpassed 1 billion.

Karate Combat has become the first-ever cryptocurrency league

Impressive results and creative approach allowed Karate Combat to secure an $18 million funding round from Bitkraft Ventures, a renowned gaming and interactive media investment fund. Other notable investors include Delphi Digital, a leading crypto research and investment firm, The Operating Group, a reputable IT services and consulting company, global investment firm Alpha Wave Global, and several others.

The league is also sponsored by the HBAR Foundation, which supports the Hedera Hashgraph ecosystem.

The funding obtained will be used to further develop cutting-edge combat sports, which includes the launch of the Up Only Gaming app for iOS and the KARATE token on the Ethereum and Hedera networks. The project was launched in May 2023, and the Android app release is scheduled for June. Moreover, Karate Combat made history as the world's first sports league structured as a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).

New Up Only Gaming app Karate Combat Source: Karate Combat

With the new Up Only Gaming app, users can:

1. Collect free KARATE governance tokens. The amount of KARATE received is dependent on the user's impact on various league decisions, including fighter prize pools and match planning.
2. Watch fights, and analyze fan predictions.
3. Vote for their favorite karate fighters, and increase their prize pools beyond their contract pay. The more prize money a fighter has, the more KARATE they can earn if they emerge victorious in a match. 
4. receive additional KARATE from the prize pool when a karateka wins.
5. Stay up-to-date on when to vote and view the fight results.

Sports league value largely emerges from the quality of the competition, and the passion and loyalty of the fan base. Karate Combat is leveraging its Web3 tools and ethos to shift how fans engage with their favorite sports by building direct relationships, aligning incentives, and enabling influence over every aspect of the league

Carlos Pereira, Partner at Bitkraft Ventures, says