Martial arts awards carry a different weight than awards for most other sports. A trophy from a regional karate open or a plaque from a black belt promotion ends up on a wall, in a dojo, on a parent’s mantle for decades. The pieces need to look the part of a discipline that takes itself seriously. Below are the providers we recommend for tournament hardware and belt promotion recognition, starting with our own shop and then a short list of well known national suppliers worth considering.
Viking Awards has been producing custom trophies, plaques, and medals out of Westchester, Illinois since 1973. We work with karate schools, taekwondo academies, BJJ gyms, MMA clubs, and judo programs across Chicagoland and ship nationally. The providers below are listed in approximate order of relevance to martial arts programs, though every program has different priorities and any of these will do solid work.
Top Providers for Martial Arts Trophies and Medals
1. Viking Awards
Viking Awards has spent more than 50 years engraving recognition pieces for sports programs, corporate clients, and community groups across the Midwest, with a particular depth in martial arts. Our in house laser and rotary engraving handles everything from a single black belt plaque to bulk tournament orders running into the hundreds of medals. For tournament directors who need 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies in matching styles across multiple divisions, we carry deep trophy lines and pair them with coordinated medals at every price tier.
On the medal side, our medal collection includes star medals, shooting star designs, high relief sculpted medals, and victory medals in gold, silver, and bronze finishes. We add ribbons in your school colors, engrave the back with event name and division, and ship with individual ribbon boxes when the tournament wants the presentation to feel polished. For belt promotions, we produce plaques with walnut, oak, and modern composite backers, often paired with a small engraved plate listing the student’s name, rank, and date.
Pricing scales for tournament volume, and we handle rush orders when registration counts come in late. Most custom orders ship in one to two weeks. Schools sending students to recurring tournaments can keep a template on file with us so the next order is a phone call rather than a rebuild. Walk in clients at our Westchester showroom can see samples in hand before committing to a design.
10405 W Cermak Rd, Westchester, IL 60154
☎️ (630) 833-1733
viking-awards.com
2. Crown Awards
Crown Awards is the largest awards manufacturer in the United States, headquartered in Hawthorne, New York and operating a 250,000 square foot facility there. They carry an extensive martial arts catalog with karate, taekwondo, judo, and jiu jitsu trophies in stock styles, plus free engraving up to 40 characters on standard orders. Volume buyers and tournament directors with large multi division events often go to Crown for the combination of selection breadth and standard turnaround. Custom logos and school crests are supported, though their strength is high volume stock orders rather than highly bespoke pieces.
Located at 9 Skyline Drive, Hawthorne, NY 10532.
Phone (800) 227-1557.
Website crownawards.com.
3. K2 Awards
K2 Awards is a Richmond, Virginia based supplier that has built a strong reputation for martial arts trophies and medals since opening in 2002. Their martial arts collection covers karate, taekwondo, BJJ, and mixed martial arts with styles tuned to each discipline. They handle custom engraving in house and offer logo printing for medal centers and trophy plates. K2 tends to do well with mid sized tournament orders and dojos that want a more personal customer service experience than a national giant offers.
Located at 4128 Jacque St, Richmond, VA 23230.
Phone (804) 784-7298 or toll free (866) 794-4122.
Website k2awards.com.
4. Trophy Depot
Trophy Depot operates out of Hauppauge, New York with an additional facility in Belmont, North Carolina. They serve tournament directors and schools nationally with a broad martial arts catalog covering trophies, medals, plaques, and ribbons. Their site supports online customization with proofs, which works well for buyers who want to handle most of the order remotely. Lead times are generally reasonable and they offer phone support for complex orders.
Located at 400 Rabro Drive, Hauppauge, NY 11788.
Phone (800) 286-7096.
Website trophydepot.com.
5. Dinn Trophy
Dinn Trophy, also known as Dinn Bros, is a long established awards company based in West Springfield, Massachusetts, operating from a 72,000 square foot facility with showroom locations in West Springfield and New Haven, Connecticut. Their martial arts catalog includes trophies, plaques, and medals across all major disciplines, sold through their website, direct mail catalogs, and showrooms. Dinn is a solid pick for schools and tournaments that want a traditional awards supplier with deep stock and consistent quality.
The companies listed above reflect editorial opinion only and are not ranked in any particular order of preference or quality beyond the first position. This list is independent and should not be taken as an official endorsement or paid ranking.
Located in West Springfield, MA.
Phone 1-800-828-3466.
Website dinntrophy.com.
Tournament Awards: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Grand Champion, and Sportsmanship
Tournament structures vary by promoter, but most martial arts events run divisions by age, rank, and discipline. The standard award set includes 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies or medals per division, sometimes with 4th place medals added when divisions are large. Grand champion awards go to the winners of championship rounds across divisions, typically larger and more dramatic pieces. Sportsmanship and outstanding competitor awards round out the recognition program.
Sizing matters more than people expect. A first place trophy that looks impressive at the dais will photograph poorly if it is shorter than a six year old standing next to it. For grand champion pieces, we typically recommend at least 18 to 24 inches with a substantial base. For division placement trophies, 10 to 14 inches reads well in photos and on shelves at home. Medals work for high volume events where storage and shipping costs matter, with star medals and shooting star designs being the most consistently popular formats.
Sportsmanship awards deserve their own conversation. These often mean as much to recipients and their families as placement trophies, and the wording carries weight. A simple engraved citation, the student’s name, and the tournament name on a quality plaque or medal creates a lasting recognition piece. We have engraved plenty of sportsmanship awards that ended up framed on a child’s wall years later.
Belt Promotion Awards
Belt promotions are different in tone from tournaments. The award marks personal achievement and dedication rather than competitive placement. For younger students moving through colored belts, a small kid friendly trophy with the discipline name and belt rank works well. For adult students, especially at black belt promotion, the format usually shifts to a plaque or a more substantial trophy that honors the years of work involved.
Black belt plaques are particularly common. A walnut backer with a brass plate engraved with the student’s name, the school name, the date of promotion, and often the head instructor’s name creates a piece that lives on a wall permanently. Some schools add a small embedded photo or the school crest above the engraving. The plaque ships from us ready to hang.
For schools running large promotion ceremonies, ordering plaques in coordinated styles for the entire cohort makes the presentation feel intentional. Volume pricing helps and consistent design keeps the program photographs looking professional year over year.
Styles by Discipline
Karate awards typically lean traditional. Sculpted karate figures in gold and silver finishes on marble or composite bases are standard, often with the school name and division engraved on a front plate. Tournament directors running open karate events stick with these formats for consistency.
Taekwondo trophies and medals favor dynamic kicking figures and Korean character motifs where appropriate. Many taekwondo schools incorporate the Korean flag or the WTF or ITF logos depending on their federation. We can produce custom medal centers featuring federation seals when proper licensing is in place.
Brazilian jiu jitsu has a different visual language. BJJ awards often feature grappling figures or simpler geometric designs that read modern rather than traditional. Black belt plaques in BJJ frequently include the academy lineage, which we can engrave when the school provides the wording. Color belt promotions for kids in BJJ programs work well with smaller trophies featuring the academy logo.
MMA awards split between traditional tournament styles for amateur events and more modern designs for professional or semi pro recognition. Cage shaped trophies, octagonal medals, and modern composite bases all see use in MMA programs.
Judo and kung fu programs each have their own visual traditions. Judo trophies often feature throwing figures and use deep colors. Kung fu programs sometimes incorporate animal style imagery tied to specific systems. The right move is asking the school what their visual identity is and matching the awards to it rather than defaulting to generic karate styles.
Customization for School Logos and Student Names
Every serious martial arts program has a logo or crest. Putting that logo on every award the school presents reinforces brand identity and gives recipients a piece that ties to their academy specifically. We accept vector logo files via email and produce a proof before cutting. For schools without a vector file, we can usually clean up a high resolution raster image, though vector is always preferable for engraving.
Student names belong on the awards in nearly every case. For tournament placement awards, the recipient name often gets engraved after the event since organizers do not know placements in advance. We handle this two ways depending on the tournament size. For smaller events, we ship engraved plates after the event for the school to affix. For larger events, we provide blank trophies with engraving stations set up onsite, though that is generally a larger production.
Bulk Pricing for Tournaments
Tournament directors think in terms of unit costs across hundreds of pieces, and bulk pricing reflects that. Medals are the most volume friendly format, with per piece pricing dropping significantly at quantities above 50, 100, and 200. Trophies follow a similar curve but with smaller percentage drops because the unit value is higher to begin with.
For a typical regional martial arts tournament expecting 200 competitors across 15 to 25 divisions, you might budget for 75 to 100 placement trophies, 200 plus medals for additional placings, and a handful of grand champion and sportsmanship pieces. Working out the breakdown in advance with your supplier saves money compared to ordering reactively.
Ribbon and Medal Box Options
Medal presentation matters. Ribbons should match school or tournament colors and be sized appropriately for the medal weight. Cheap thin ribbons fray and bleed color, particularly in red and royal blue. We use quality ribbons that hold up to handling and storage.
For higher tier awards, individual medal presentation boxes elevate the experience. A black presentation box with foam insert protects the medal in transit and gives the recipient something to display. The marginal cost is small relative to the impact on perception.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Cheap medals that tarnish are the most common complaint we hear from people who switched suppliers to Viking. The low cost overseas medals that flood some online stores look fine for a week and then develop a dull gray haze on the gold and bronze finishes. Pay attention to the plating quality, especially for awards meant to be displayed long term.
Generic styles that do not match the discipline send the wrong signal. A karate dojo handing out generic sports trophies undercuts the visual identity of the school. Match the awards to the discipline. It reads as care.
Underordering creates a bigger problem than overordering. Running out of medals on tournament day with competitors still expecting recognition is a real situation. Add a 10 to 15 percent buffer to your estimate, especially for divisions where late registrations are common.
Forgetting to spec the engraving in advance leaves you scrambling after the event. Decide what goes on every award format before the order goes in. Event name, year, division, placement. Build the template once and reuse it for future events.
How to Choose the Right Provider
Match the provider to the order size and complexity. National giants do well with high volume stock orders. Regional shops with in house engraving do well with custom work, school logo integration, and projects that need a quick turn. For a small school running quarterly belt promotions, a regional supplier with strong customer service usually beats a national catalog. For a 500 competitor tournament with 25 divisions, national capacity matters more.
Ask about turnaround. Ask about logo file requirements. Ask whether engraving is in house or subcontracted. Ask how rush orders are handled. The answers tell you more than the website does.
Conclusion
Martial arts awards work hardest when they reflect the seriousness of the discipline and the personal achievement of the recipient. Whether you are ordering for a regional open karate tournament, a BJJ academy belt promotion, or a once a year black belt ceremony, the recognition piece is the artifact of the moment. Viking Awards has been doing this work for more than 50 years out of our Westchester, Illinois shop. Call us at (630) 833-1733, browse our sports awards selection, or visit viking-awards.com to start a quote. We are also at 10405 W Cermak Rd, and walk in visits are welcome.