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How he got to here...
Created in August of 1992, the IKF experienced its main growth between 1997 and 1999 after the website, www.IKFKickboxing.com was created. Because of this growth, Mr. Fossum had an intense travel schedule and was on the road a lot, traveling to IKF events around the world. From this growth, Mr. Fossum was forced to make a decision as to where his time, energy and efforts would best be utilized best. Lucky for all of us in the IKF he choose the path of the IKF. However, his choice was not because he didn't like teaching martial arts. Instead it was due to 2 basic issues. 1: The loss of desire to compete competitively with what many of us know as "The Black Belt Factory Schools" or McDojos. When he first opened his school in Newcastle it was his 12th martial arts school. His competition was with 4 good schools in a 10 mile radius. By the time he closed his commercial karate school 8 years later in 1998, 11 schools had opened up within that 10 mile radius of his offering free uniforms, quick belt promotions, easy black belts and many more marketing incentives for new students to sign-up. If he wanted to compete with them he had to face the facts. Offer quicker belt promotions, make the requirements much easier and make black belt a lot easier. It was a move he didn't want to make. Faced with this reality he was also juggling his time with his karate school and the growth of the IKF. With these two issues at hand, in December of 1998 he choose to close his commercially operated karate school. In doing so, he kept a small handfull of students to train privatly. However, his main focus was no on the growth of the IKF. After several changes around the facility, he reopened in June of 1999 as a Private Club that was 11,000 square feet in size. The facility would be the new home for the IKF as well as his private Martial Arts school and Ringside Gym, (www.ringsidegym.com) operated by former IKF Champion Greg Kirkpatrick teaching both Kickboxing & Boxing. Eventually Mr. Fossum's top ranking MartialArts Student, Conrad Woodall opened his own commercial school, Woodall's Self Defense & Fitness using the 4,000 square feet that was utilized for the Private Karate school. Also in the facility is a chiropractor office operated by one of Fossum's former students, Dr. Bill Gillispie. In 1999, Fossum brought on the International Sport Combat Federation (ISCF) for his IKF Kickboxing Promoters who were looking for neutral regulation of what was then called No Hold Barred Fighting, later known as Mixed Martial Arts or MMA. In the early stages of the ISCF Fossum worked with ISCF World Advisor Mike Carlson in fine tuning the ISCF into the first non promoting, regulatory - sanctioning body for Mixed Martial Arts. Like the growth of the IKF, today the ISCF is the largest regulatory / sanctioning body for mixed martial arts in the world. As of 2011, the ISCF had sanctioned events and or ISCF Title bouts in Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, Nevada, Idaho, Louisiana, Virginia, Washington DC, Oklahoma, New Jersey, Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Alabama, Arkansas, North Dakota, Michigan, Massachusetts, Kansas, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, Ohio, Connecticut, South Carolina, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and California. The ISCF also sanctions events in Canada, South Africa, Mexico, England, Scotland, Australia, India, Iran and even an armed forces event in Iraq in 2009. In the spring of 2008 Fossum officially formed International Fight Sports (IFS - www.IFightSports.com ) IFS became the chief parent company that oversees all of his Fight Sport organizations & Companies. At this time, Boxing was a fight sport not included under the IFS unbrella. So in March of 2010 Fossum created the IAB - www.IABBoxing.com which was actually two different Boxing organizations. International Amateur Boxing for Amateur Boxing and the International Association of Boxing for Professional Boxing. All 3 regulatory / sanctioning bodies, IKF, ISCF & IAB were now under the worldwide unbrella of the International Fight Sports organization. | ||||
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TRAINING
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COMPETITION
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http://en.wikipedia.org/International_Fight_League
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Mr. Fossum
started his martial arts training in 1976 in Tae Kwon Do. He later studied
Shotokan, an American freestyle known as System 5 Combat Karate and a military
system known as STIHC (Pronounced Sti-Hick, Special Training In Hand to Hand
Combat.) Other styles he has trained in include Kenpo, JuJitsu and Aikido.
Today he holds ranks in several martial art styles including Black Belt ranks in
4 different styles of martial arts. He has also won numerous titles in karate
point fighting, full contact kickboxing and hand to hand combat competition.
He's been operating a martial arts school since 1982.
Between 1977 and 1985,
Sensei Steve Fossum along with 11 other individuals competed in a league
that was not sanctioned or licensed by any state athletic commission. The
matches they participated in were held on military bases. Although he was not in
the military himself, he was able to compete in many of the military
competitions due to the fact that he was a training assistant to his martial
arts instructor during this time who was a special forces military instructor.
Many of the matches were held before, during or after training of special
tactics groups. He and all ll other team members agreed not to use their
competition achievements or training for financial gain or prestige for 5 years
after their last competition. 
ADDITIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Hawaii
Martial Arts International Society Hall of Fame.
IFS -
International Fight Sports. ( www.IFightSports.com )
ADDITIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
