About

The American Martial Arts Alliance Sport Karate League, LLC, led by Grand Master Jessie Bowen, was founded in 2006 and includes the Who's Who in the Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He was an important figure for sport karate in the state as a competitor and event promoter in Durham, North Carolina. One of the oldest martial arts competitions in North Carolina, he started the Durham Karate Open in 1999 and has since hosted 46 competitions. 

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For the first North Carolina Amateur Sports Martial Arts competition in 1982, Grand Master Bowen served as the sports coordinator. Until 1989, he oversaw the competitions for Taekwondo and Karate. He was the 1987 Olympic Festival's Taekwondo coordinator hosted in Raleigh, North Carolina, as well as the North Carolina Amateur Sports Coordinator for the USOC at that time.

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After traveling to Hawaii in 2002 to compete and what was falsely claimed as a US Olympic trials for karate Grand, Master Bowen decided to start the AMAA Sport karate League. The AMAA Sport Karate League and the AMAA Who's Who in the Martial Arts Hall of fame, along with his second tournament, the AMAA Nationals, was established in 2004. 

Master Bowen made the decision to start the AMAA Sport Karate League after traveling to Hawaii in 2002 to compete in what was falsely advertised as a US Olympic trials for karate Grand. In 2004, he founded the AMAA Sport Karate League, the AMAA Who's Who in the Martial Arts Hall of Fame, and the AMAA Nationals, his second sport karate event.