The International Traditional Karate Federation seated in Los Angeles, California (USA) came into being in 1972 after split at the World Union of Karate Organization (WUKO), which was caused by the admission of the Republic of South Africa – an apartheid country to participate at the world championships.

Sensei Hidetaka Nishiyama was the ITKF Chairman from the very beginning. Currently this function is performed by Mr. Richard Jorgensen from Canada. The ITKF structure includes continental (regional) federations.

The ITKF is an international governing body of traditional karate which sets up technical standards for that martial art. The ITKF is responsible for the technical supervision over the ITKF World Championships hosted since 1975 (Los Angeles), the ITKF World Cup and the Regional (Continental) Championships. The ITKF has been also continually developing technical aspects through e.g  creating new categories such as en-bu, fuku-go or kogo-kumite.

Traditional Karate Federation of Poland has been the ITKF member since 1990 when the Polish team participated at the ITKF World Championships in Lima (Peru) for the first time.

Representatives of the TKFP are involved in the works of the international traditional karate authorities. Mr. Wlodzimierz Kwiecinski, Chairman of the TKFP is the Vice-President of the ITKF and Vice-President of the European Traditional Karate Federation (ETKF) as well as member of the ITKF Technical Committee.