South Korean Martial Arts Association (SKMAA)

The South Korean Martial Arts Association organizes all national tournaments, professional and amateur Dojos, and professional and amateur fighters in South Korea. It is among the most influential Martial Arts Associations in the world along with the CMAA, USMAA, and BMAA. Like other martial arts associations, the SKMAA organize and fund national tournaments, professional Dojos, and professional fighters.

The types of professional individual tournaments that the SKMAA run are divided into two age categories: Senior and Junior.  Senior tournaments are tournaments that are open to all professional fighters over the age 15. Senior tournaments are approved competitions that can give monetary awards and can change the ranking of Japanese professional fighters. Junior Tournaments are competitions that only accept fighters 18 and under. They tend to have more safety rules and regulations.

## Hierarchy

### SKMAA Chairman

The SKMAA Chairman is the head of operations for all tournaments, individual and team. They answer directly to the Emperor. The Chairman helps discuss national competitive regulations. They can choose to amend certain regulations and change tournament rules, so long they are approved by the Emperor. The Chairman distributes the work to Tournament Organizers and the Ten Titans. A Chairman is voted through a majority vote by the current Ten Titans and by the Sensei Guild.

### Tournament Organizers (TOs)

TOs help run tournaments. They enforce regulations and can also request meetings for changes from the Master. The bigger the tournament, the more influence a TO has. TOs can also request funding to set new professional tournaments in new locations. Amateur TOs cannot get funding unless they are recognized by the Senior Dan TOs. During tournaments, TOs are expected to maintain security and safety in the tournaments. They can also host multiple side events in tournaments. TOs are usually retired and active fighters who want to make more money and spread their influence.

## Dojang

Professional Dojangs can register for professional status to get benefits and access to many resources the SKMAA provides. This includes real estate space, equipment, and budget expansion.

To be professionally registered a Dojang must:

* Have at least 12 active members who can compete
* Pay yearly dues to the SKMAA
* Have the legal space to operate a Dojang, which meets the health and size regulations
* Managed by a Sensei who has passed the Dojang management exam and is at least 8th Degree Black according to the Belt Ranking System.

Dojangs don't always have to be professionally register, even if they meet the requirements. These are Amateur Dojangs, which don't operate as professional ones. They cannot use the benefits of the SKMAA, nor can they compete during the League season. However, they do not have to pay dues and can have a many or as little members as possible.

## Tournaments

### Challenger Series

The Challenger Series are three very prestigious annual individual Mixed Martial Arts tournaments. They are the three biggest individual fighting tournaments in Japan. The three are held in different major Korean cities: Seoul, Gwangju and Busan. There are three ways to qualify for the limited space: The 75% ranked fighters automatically make it, but they can cancel at least a week before the tournament; the bottom 25% fight in a mini-tournament with non-ranked professional fighters and the top 16 make it; the last way is too be recommended by the Emperor or the national Sensei Guild. The Challenger Series have a huge impact on national rankings. The top 16 in the tournament are eligible for a rank change. All three serve as A-Tier events for international tournaments in the Association of Martial Arts.

### Regional

Regional Tournaments are small tournaments that open in small cities or big cities. There are at least 25 regional tournaments in South Korea. The top 3 winners have a chance in getting a rank change but this usually applies to lower ranked fighters. Thus, the top 30 fighters rarely do these fights since Regional tournaments don't really affect their rankings. Regional tournaments are open to all fighters to register. Some Regional tournaments serve as B-Tiers in the AMA tournament list.

### Under Black

Under Black tournaments are competitions that only accept under Black Belt Fighters, according to the official Belt Ranking System. The purpose of these tournaments is to help spur up competition at the early stages of a fighter. They also attempt to balance the fighting level by having non-Black Belts compete only. Under Black are open to all fighters of any age so long as they are not Black Belts. These tournaments do not affect rankings.

### Cadet Tournaments

In the Cadet Division, there are several tournaments for Cadet PMAs.