The US Kempo Team Needs Your Contributions, Donations, and Sponsorships.

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What is a “Kempo Team” ?

Kempo is a Martial Art similar to modern Karate in many ways, though much older, but also akin to the grappling arts of Ju-jutsu, Judo and wrestling.  The techniques of Kempo cross the boundaries of the striking and grappling arts in a natural blend of styles and techniques.  While Kempo is an art that is enjoyed by traditional martial arts purists, it is also appealing to the new, modern breed of reality fighters who are drawn to the exciting new opportunities of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).  MMA is currently the fastest growing spectator sport in the world, with exploding popularity in the USA, Europe, and Asia.  Kempo is an art that fits into many categories and is broadly appealing to the general public and dedicated fan alike. 

Demographics

   The key demographics of Kempo participants, spectators, fans, and tertiary associates (parents, siblings, friends, and co-workers), range from groups as diverse as: a) 18-36 year old males, b) 21-45 year old males, c) the surprising 18-36 year old female market, d) and a remarkable surge in the unheard of 36-65 year old female market, make martial arts the fastest growing consumer friendly market in the world.  Kempo, Martial Arts, Full-contact Karate, and MMA are the fastest growing spectator sports currently out there, with growing popularity and increasing exposure to an ever widening group of consumer spectators.  Each of these demographic markets contains participants, spectators, fans, and the tertiary associates to varying degrees, and all of them are exposed to sponsor advertising, marketing, and endorsements. 

   These demographic markets are more likely to contain new and first time travelers who have not yet bonded with a specific airline, automobile company, hotel chain, travel agency, travel related business or other consumable product or service. The older, more experienced consumer, within these demographics, appreciates the exposure to new products and ideas and is willing and capable of trying new products.  This demographic market has a higher impulse buying rate than previous groups, is highly technical and visual oriented, and is a fast growing higher income category with disposable available income.  The association of “sponsor” to “activities they like” influences them tremendously.

Who we are

The United States Kempo Team (USKT) is a culturally diverse and ethnically mixed team of approximately 50 amateur martial artists from across the mainland USA and Hawaii, reflecting a cross section of American society.  The USKT promotes goodwill and sportsmanship around the world through regional, national and international competitions.  We do not discriminate by race, creed, color or gender.

   The USKT is comprised of members from many states, various walks of life, several Kempo organizations, and a diversified group of Kempo schools and clubs.  We are individuals, teams, small training groups and large organizations. We are men, women, teens, adults, seniors, masters and beginners alike.  We are established adults with good jobs and young, hard-working kids struggling to make it.  We are Americans.  Our common ground is a love for our Country and our Art – Kempo. 

What we do

We gather together to represent the USA in competition throughout the world and across the USA.  

   We compete, we make friends, we visit exotic places few people have the opportunity to see, we broaden our horizons, we look inside ourselves, we grow, we learn, we teach, we respect our opponents, and we cherish those we meet.  We have pride in our Team.

   Our Goals for 2008 and into 2009 are high and both International and Regional in scope. 

International Events

World Championship Tournament

1. Each Year we travel to the World Kempo Championship Tournament (WKC), hosted by The International Kempo Federation (IKF) to compete against the best Kempo fighters in the world. The past four WKC tournaments, usually held in April/May, have been held every two years.  Due to the increased popularity of Kempo and the strong spectator demand, the WKC tournament is now held every year, the first being in April 2008, in Faro, Portugal.  The WKC tournament brings together teams from over 30 countries. Usually held in Europe, we are vigorously working on bringing the WKC tournament to the USA in the near future.

1. During the last 4 WKC the USKT has won 23 Gold medals, 18 Silver medals, and 32 Bronze medals. 
   1. In 2003 at the WKC in Bucharest, Romania with a USKT of 11 members, we won 3 Gold (2 of which were Team gold medals), 2 Silver, and 16 Bronze medals (3 Team Bronze medals).  We also won the 3^rd Place Overall Team Cup in our very first outing at the World Kempo Championships.

1. In 2005, in Geneva, Switzerland, the USKT had 7 members and came away with 7 Gold medals (2 Team Gold medals), 7 Silver (2 Team Silver medals), and 2 Bronze medals (1 Team Bronze medal).

1. In 2007, in Budapest, Hungary, the USKT only had 4 members but came away with 5 Gold medals, 3 Silver medals, and 2 Bronze medals.

1. In 2008, in Faro, Portugal, a 6 member team USKT came away with 8 Gold, 6 Silver, and 12 Bronze medals.  We also won the 3^rd Place Overall Team Cup for the second time and placed 3^rd in the Traditional Divisions Team Cup, came in 5^th Place in the Fighting Divisions Team Cup, and when the scores were added together, the USKT won the 3^rd Place Overall Team Cup.  The 1^st Place team, Romania, had 60 members, the 2^nd Place team, Portugal, had 45 members, and the USA team had 6 members!  

1. In 2006, the USA vs Romania Team Challenge was held in 2 separate events in Hagerstown, Maryland and Charles Town, West Virginia.  The young, inexperienced US Kempo Team went head-to-head with the Romanian Kempo Team, considered to be the strongest Kempo Team in the world.  The fights were hard, fast, and furious, and in the end the USA won 2 Gold and 10 silver medals, as well as a tremendous amount of respect and lifelong friends.

1. Some European Teams are partially supported by their governments, through their Ministry of Sport.  The teams of Romania and Hungary typically have as many as 75 –100 members.  France, Russia, The Netherlands, Slovakia usually have Teams in the 25 – 40 range.  Other countries are similar. 

1. The USKT only gets support through its members and sponsors.

International ‘Team Challenge’ Cups

1. Each country hosts “Country vs. Country” team events. “USA vs. Romania” “France vs. Romania”, “Russia vs. Hungary”, are a few of the recent events.  The USKT is sought after heavily for these events.    We have been invited to participate in at least 11 of these events in the next 18 – 24 months.  Our challengers are: Romania, Hungary, Russia, France, Slovakia, Morocco, The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Bulgaria, and Germany.  We are eager to put our skills to the test.
1. The Team Challenges are widely celebrated in the host countries and are given extensive media coverage.

International Goodwill Ambassadors

1. We have also been asked to travel to various countries to teach our Art as Goodwill Ambassadors.  The interest in Kempo has swelled over the last several years and we have been contacted with requests to teach Kempo in Africa, Israel, Nepal, the Caribbean, US Virgin Islands, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Cuba, Tajikistan, India, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and other emerging countries with burgeoning economies.
1. We have already conducted Goodwill ambassador training seminars in Germany, Romania, Hungary, Belgium, and Slovakia.  The recipients have enjoyed what we have presented and have requested more sessions in the future.  We are currently scheduling requests for seminars projected into the next 18 – 24 months.

National, Regional and Local Events

Mixed Martial Arts Events

1. Members of the USKT also compete and officiate in Mixed Martial Arts events (MMA) throughout the year in order to keep their skills sharp and to help spread the word about Sport Kempo.  We are fighters, trainers, coaches and officials in events that are sanctioned by the International Sport Combat Federation (ISCF).  Members of the USKT are fighters and officials within the ISCF, and act as Referees and Judges for the many events held throughout the year. 

Traditional Karate Tournaments

1. USKT members also participate in regional and local traditional martial arts tournaments.  Here they showcase their traditional skills, and those of their students, in the hometown karate tournaments held throughout their local areas.  Team members compete, coach and act as referees and judges in these events in order to develop good sportsmanship and team spirit within the younger players, to help them grow as martial artists and become future USKT members themselves.  USKT members also act as referees and judges for many Traditional and Open tournaments.

Ju-Jutsu, Judo, and Submission Grappling Tournaments

1. USKT members continue to work on grappling skills by participating in various forms of grappling; ju-jutsu, judo, and submission wrestling tournaments to refine their ground game.
   

1.  Multiple style venues also help to emphasize the versatility of Kempo and its’ well rounded applications.

1. USKT members often act a referees and judges at the various grappling events held throughout the year.

What we need

Travel

Sponsor supplied airline tickets.

Travel related Sponsors such as airlines, travel agencies, and similar businesses are better able to obtain lower cost fares for airline tickets than the normal traveler.  This type of sponsorship would be ideal for such a business.

Monetary donations for airline tickets.

Airfare/Airline tickets

International travel

1. Typical International travel is from 5 - 10 days in the host country.        

2. Team membership for the World Championship tournament is expected to be about 50 members, including coaches, trainers and referees.

   1. Team Challenges with foreign teams usually have about 10 - 15 team members, including coaches, trainers, and referees.
   2. Goodwill Ambassador Missions range from 6 – 15 members.

Domestic long distance travel

1. Typical Domestic long distance travel is 12 – 25 person range, including Coaches, trainers, and referees. Typical stay in the host city is 2 – 3 days.

Local (one days drive) travel

1. The Local travel needs are for a sponsor supplied Airport Shuttle or Courtesy type van seating 20 + people and their luggage.  The USKT travels to many tournaments within a days drive.  This van is ideal for keeping all members together and promoting Team Spirit and recognizing the Sponsors of the USKT with large-scale sponsor graphics and logos on the sides of the van.

The van will display large-scale graphics and logos of the Sponsor along with the graphics and logos of the USKT. 

Hotel Accommodations

International Accommodations

1. Travel related Sponsors such as airlines, travel agencies, and similar businesses, are better able to obtain lower hotel rates than the normal traveler.  This type of sponsorship would be ideal for such a business.
2. Typically, the host country for an international WKC tournament or a Team Challenge event will make arrangements for the visiting team’s accommodations, usually at a reduced rate.  The only thing we would need to do is to pay this rate.  In my experiences in the past, these accommodations have always been clean, neat, safe, inexpensive, and close to the event venue.
3. Occasionally, the need may arise for the Sponsor to make arrangements for accommodation for the USKT.  Our only real requirement is that the accommodations be clean, neat, safe, and close to the event venue.

Domestic Accommodations

1. The domestic needs in accommodations are for hotels that are clean, neat, safe, and close to the event venue.
2. Many times events are held in hotel ballrooms and convention centers.  Having rooms in the same facility is ideal for convenience, time saving, and to save extra transportation and parking costs.

Food and Misc. travel expenses

1. Team members usually can eat for about $40 per day, on average, depending on location.  In some larger cities, the cost is considerably more than in some of the smaller cities and towns.  For international events, the food costs are more.
2. In some cities, additional travel to the various sport venues includes taxi, bus, tram, train, subway, or rental vehicle.  For the actual events it includes, to and from the hotel, and other publicity venues and events.

Team uniforms, warm-ups, fight and

training gear.

1. Team Uniforms used in the sanctioned tournaments.  Specific construction and style.  IKF approved black heavyweight top and white heavyweight bottom. Tournament competition Red corner belt and competition Blue corner belt.

1. Training uniforms used for common workouts and non-sanctioned tournaments.  Heavyweight karate, ju-jutsu, and judo uniforms.  White, black, red and blue.

1. Warm-up track suits.  With and without Team logos and embroidery name.  Sponsor logos and names may be put on suits.

1. Team jackets, all styles, all weather types: lightweight summer wear, middleweight spring and fall jackets, Heavyweight winter jackets, raingear, hoodies, sweatshirts, sweat pants, t-shirts, windbreakers, golf shirts, and sweaters.

1. Luggage, Gym Bags, Equipment bags, brief cases, totes.  All sponsor supplied team luggage will carry sponsor logos, names, and slogans, where appropriate.

1. Fight gear
   1. 8oz competition boxing gloves, 10 oz and higher training gloves, in Blue corner and Red corner colors.
   2. MMA grappling gloves, in Blue corner and Red corner colors.
   3. Hand wraps, athletic tape and pre-wrap.
   4. Shin, instep, elbow and kneepads.
   5. Medial First Aid Kits, medical supplies and Trainer’s Kits.
   6. Thai style training chest pads and heavyweight kicking pads.
   7. Kicking shields, heavy bags, standup kicking bags and dummies.
   8. Throwing dummies, ground and pound bags, tackling dummies.
   9. Judo and Ju-jutsu tatami style floor mats, wrestling mats.

What we will do for you.

Sponsor name, logos, and slogans.

1. In addition to the terms of the individual sponsor package the USKT will make every effort to give our sponsors the most value for their support.  We always welcome suggestions, ideas, and input from our sponsors and will do everything in our power to accommodate our sponsors wishes whenever possible.
2. Display sponsor name, logos, slogans, or additional advertising, in all USKT media.
3. Posters, brochures, flyers, media packets, newsletters, USKT Official website, linked Internet websites, web blogs, chat groups, fan blog sites.

 Team Wear Sponsor Logos and Sponsor name.

1. Feature sponsor name prominently on all USKT Team uniforms, jackets, luggage, gym bags, and vehicles, dependant on sponsor package.
2. Give sponsor t-shirts or products away, throw sponsor t-shirts into the crowd at events and use sponsor products as prizes, gifts, door prizes, and other types of give-a-ways at events.

 In character appearances in Sponsor TV commercials.

      1.  Appear, in USKT character, in sponsor TV and print commercials to promote sponsor products and services. 

 Public Appearances – Local and Regional

 The USKT members may also participate in:

1. 1. Local and regional County Fairs,
   2. Seasonal parades
   3. Festivals, carnivals, School demonstrations
   4. Public exhibitions
   5. Grand openings of all sorts throughout their local and regional Areas
   
   

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Corporate Sponsorships

Corporate Team Name Rights

Primary Exclusive Team named/branded $350,000

    i.    This is the ideal package for travel related businesses,               airlines, hotels, automobile companies, transportation               companies, and similar businesses that are committed to           long-term exposure in the MMA/Martial Arts                               demographics. This gives the sponsor the first inline spot           for sponsor recognition.

    ii. Examples of high impact branding might be:
        1. The Nextel United States Kempo Team;
        2. The United States Kempo Team powered by FORD;
        3. The United States Kempo Team travels the world with                 Travelocity; Do you know where your Gnome is?

    iii. This demographic is more likely to be new and first time             travelers who have not yet bonded with a specific airline,             automobile company, hotel chain, travel agency, or travel         related business.

    iv. This demographic has a higher impulse buying rate than             previous groups, is highly technical and visual oriented.             They are largely influenced by the association of sponsors         linked to the activities they like and participate in.

Semi-exclusive Team named/branded $200,000

    i.  This is the ideal package for travel related businesses,                 airlines, hotels, automobile companies and transportation             companies who are committed to long-term exposure in             the MMA/Martial Arts demographics, and don’t mind sharing         the spotlight with other sponsors. This gives the sponsor the         second inline spot for sponsor recognition.

    ii. Examples of high impact co-branding might be:

       1. The Nextel United States Kempo Team sleeps easy with             Hotels.com.
        2. The United States Kempo Team powered by FORD in                 partnership with Holiday Inn.

    iii. This demographic is more likely to be new and first time             travelers who have not yet bonded with a specific airline,             automobile company, hotel chain, travel agency, or travel         related business.

    iv. This demographic has a higher impulse buying rate than             previous groups, is highly technical and visually oriented.             They are largely influenced by the association of sponsors         linked to the activities they like and participate in.

2. Corporate Sponsorships Available

Diamond Package $150,000

    i.  This package enables the USKT to spread the donation                 around in various areas that need attention: transportation,         Team Wear, accommodations, food, supplies, equipment             and fight gear. The Sponsor can make recommendations,             suggestions, and/or meet specific donation needs of the             USKT, especially if the sponsor is a manufacturer of needed         equipment, Team Wear, or other related business.

    ii. This package is ideal for the sponsor who desires a high             profile and seeks to imprint their logo, brand or product with         the high-energy image of the USKT.

Platinum Package $100,000

    i. This package enables the USKT to spread the donation                around in various areas that need attention: transportation,        Team Wear, accommodations, food, supplies, equipment            and fight gear. The Sponsor can make recommendations,            suggestions, and/or meet specific donation needs of the            USKT, especially if the sponsor is a manufacturer of needed        equipment, Team Wear, or other related business.

    ii. This package is ideal for the sponsor who desires a high             profile and seeks to imprint their logo, brand or product with         the high-energy image of the USKT.

Gold Package $75,000

    i. This package enables the USKT to spread the donation                around in various areas that need attention: transportation,        Team Wear, accommodations, food, supplies, equipment            and fight gear. The Sponsor can make recommendations,            suggestions, and/or meet specific donation needs of the            USKT, especially if the sponsor is a manufacturer of needed        equipment, Team Wear, or other related business.

    ii. This package is ideal for the sponsor who desires a high             profile and seeks to imprint their logo, brand or product with         the high-energy image of the USKT.

    Small Business         and Personal Sponsorships

Small Business Industrial

All American package $50,000

    i. This package enables the USKT to spread the donation                around in various areas that need attention: transportation,        Team Wear, accommodations, food, supplies, equipment            and fight gear. The Sponsor can make recommendations,            suggestions, and/or meet specific donation needs of the            USKT, especially if the sponsor is a manufacturer of needed        equipment, Team Wear, or other related business.

    ii. This package is ideal for a company, or individual, who                 wants to help keep the American Ideas of Freedom and             Democracy alive throughout the World, by supporting the             USKT in their travels as Goodwill Ambassadors representing         the American people.

True Friend package $25,000

    i. This package enables the USKT to spread the donation                around in various areas that need attention: transportation,        Team Wear, accommodations, food, supplies, equipment and        fight gear. The Sponsor can make recommendations,                suggestions, and/or meet specific donation needs of the            USKT, especially if the sponsor is a manufacturer of needed        equipment, Team Wear, or other related business.

    ii. This package is ideal for a company to show their support to         the entire USKT through multiple True Friend packages                 spread within a certain geographic location, educational             level, or socio-economic need. Someone may also use it in         supporting a specific USKT team member or members.

Red, White and Blue Sponsor $10,000

    i. This package enables the USKT to spread the donation                 around in various areas that need attention: transportation,         Team Wear, accommodations, food, supplies, equipment             and fight gear. The Sponsor can make recommendations,             suggestions, and/or meet specific donation needs of the             USKT, especially if the sponsor is a manufacturer of needed         equipment, Team Wear, or other related business.

    ii. This package is ideal for community groups, churches, and         civic organizations, that desires to make a significant impact         on the USKT through their support and seeks to partner             their organization with the high-energy image of the USKT.

Small Business Personal

A. Small Business Personal is for those smaller businesses that         may not be able to donate large sums but are able to                 contribute amounts under $10,000.00.

Individual Personal Donations

    i. This package enables the USKT to spread the donation                 around in various areas that need attention: transportation,         Team Wear, accommodations, food, supplies, equipment             and fight gear.

    ii. This donation can be in the name of a                                        Gone-But-Not-Forgotten loved one, company name, sports         team, family member, friend, loved one, or anonymous.

Equipment and In-kind Donations
    i.  The sponsor donates various types of equipment: fight gear,         Team Wear, energy drinks, energy supplements, energy             bars, or other sponsor products.

        1. The sponsor donations can be used for resale at USKT                 events to help defray USKT costs.
        2. The sponsor donations can be consumed by the USKT                 during training and competition.
        3. The sponsor donations can be given away at USKT                     events as prizes, crowd participation awards,                             give-a-ways, donations, door prizes, or other such use.

Donations of

Vehicles, Boats and Airplanes 

    The USKT is set up to receive donated automobiles, vans, airport shuttle buses, and limosines, in good, working, condition.  Companies may also supply maintainance service plans for the upkeep of said vehicles, and these service plans shall be considered donations at their fair market value not included in the cost of the vehicles.  These vehicles, depending on our needs and the servicability of the vehicles, may be used by the USKT for transportation or sold by the USKT representative and the monies used by the USKT.