Midori er for de alle fleste Kyokushin utøvere kjent,og det godt kjent også! Hans personlighet er like stor som hans prestasjoner. Når han var i Norge under sommerleiren i 2008,ble mange kraftig imponert over den treningsmengden han la ned,FØR han holdt treninger med resten av leierens deltakere.

Dette er et forbilde av ekte Budo karate. Alltid strekke seg mot nye mål,alltid utvikle seg som menneske ut i fra hvor man er i livet.

Shihan Kenji Midori har i disse dager blitt opphøyet til 7.Dan

The Recommended Dan Promotions of the 4 following candidates were discussed & approved of by the WKO Grading Committee, and afterwards by the WKO Board.

Message fom Kenji Midori WKO president:

I would like to thank you for all the hard work that you are carrying out for the further development of our organization.

Here in Japan, the annual 27^th All Japan Weight Division Championship (May 22^nd-23^rd) was held in great success. Fighters who have continued their hard training in preparation for the World Championship next year, all joined to demonstrate the result of their hard work in their intense fights. The significant number of overseas participants in this tournament deserves special mention. They came to Japan from Russia, Kazakhstan, Australia, and China. I was especially impressed with the challenger mentality of Dmitriy Moiseev and Alexey Leonov. As you all know, they both are prizewinners in last year’s World Cup, with Moiseev becoming the Champion, and Leonov becoming a prizewinner for the second consecutive tournament. They did not allow themselves to be satisfied with last year’s result, and their positive attitude was a great example for all fighters who participated in the tournament. There is definitely something different about top class fighters in the world. Their mentality is different. Budo is done by the heart, and this is something I feel on many occasions. The truth is always hidden inside, not on the outside. I believe this challenge was made in preparation for the 10^th World Championship, which will be held in Tokyo next year. Although both fighters were not able to become the champion, I still would like to express my deepest respect to their great fighting, which is definitely progressing forward in their process designed for next year. Also, Denis Grigoriev of Russia, who became a Branch Chief last year, was at the tournament with his students, who participated in the tournament. I will be looking forward to the birth of the “Next Denis” in the near future.

The international affairs within WKO are changing by the day, and there is a recent increase in the number of members who support our activities and wish to join our organization. I believe we should welcome this new energy of hope, and achieve further development of our organization. Given these changes in world affairs, each region and each country is entering a stage of great growth. At this stage, a transfer from “the individual” to “the organization”, and the development of an organization based on democracy will be of great necessity. Let us not be delayed in our response to these changes, and make full use of this opportunity for great growth. We also are moving forward in our work towards joining the Olympics. To make this happen, the unity of the Karate World, especially the Full-Contact Karate World will be vital. We must make progress towards this great unity, which has been a topic of concern since the days when Sosai Oyama was still present. We currently are moving forward, step by step in the right direction by strengthening our cooperation with the JOC, and I ask for all of your understanding and strong support.

 Lastly, I would like to express my appreciation to the numerous applications from overseas branches, for the Karate Dream Cup scheduled for this summer. This tournament has grown at a rapid pace in such a short time, and there are lots of expectations for it, on both the domestic and international level. I will be looking forward to the day when everyone’s “Dream” will meet at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

OSU

Kenji Midori
President
WKO

www.haukis.com