Dear Branch Chiefs and Contacts,
The date for the 10th World Championship, the Karate Olympics which is held
every four years, has been set for October 22nd-23rd, 2011. Time flies very
fast, and counting from this autumn, three years have already passed since the
last World Championship. Here in Japan, the selections for the World
Championship will start at the 42nd All Japan Championship this autumn, and I
know that the same severe selections will start in each region and each country
all over the world.
Please be sure to send the strongest of the strongest to this tournament. Let’s
all together create a true World Championship, by gathering the top fighters
from all over the world.
I recently visited Kazakhstan to attend the Astana Cup, and during that time, I
was able to meet with Sensei Dolph Lundgren (Sweden Branch), whom I had not seen
for a long time. He happened to be in Kazakhstan for a film festival held at the
same period, and despite of his tight schedule, managed to make the necessary
arrangements so he could assist in the training of fighters in Kazakhstan, as
well as attend the Astana Cup as a special guest. As you know, Sensei Lundgren
is a world famous actor. Despite of his extremely busy schedule, he still shows
a great dedication to the further spread of Kyokushin Karate, and I was very
impressed to see him, still extremely fit, in his dogi training and teaching
Karate. By looking at him, I felt strongly that a person, who has followed the
Path of Kyokushin Karate, will be successful regardless of the path he chooses.
Sensei Lundgren has accepted to come to next year’s World Championship to make a
demonstration at the tournament. I am very grateful that he, despite of his busy
schedule, will dedicate his valuable time to come to Japan. Thank you very much.
Further, in the Japan region, in order to promote Karate as a new category in
the Olympic Games, as a first step we are working to build up a stronger
relationship with the JOC (Japan Olympic Committee). We have in July joined the
“Japan Martial Arts Games Association”, which has the Japan Wrestling
Federation, a member of the JOC, as its parent organization. The Japan Martial
Arts Games Association is an organization that is working hard to increase the
number of Martial Art categories in the Olympic Games, and already they have
managed to get several styles accepted. In order to have Karate accepted as a
category in the Olympics, it is necessary to unify the Karate world, and to do
this, the unity of Full-Contact Karate is vital. This is a more difficult path
than you could all imagine. The earliest this goal could be realized will be the
year 2020 or perhaps, even 2024. Why then, did we make the decision to take this
path at last year’s General Assembly? I strongly believe that for us, the hard
path is the path we should follow, and that this is the ideal path for us.
Miracles do not happen to us, we have to make them happen. We have to continue
to move forward in our dream of achieving our goal, with the future, not the
past, clearly in sight. Together with all the friends we have now in our WKO, I
strongly believe we will be able to make this dream come true. I also hope that
you all will continue your work and activities in your country, with the Olympic
Games in your mind.
The other day, the So-Honbu Summercamp was held, with around 300 participants,
including Karate students from Russia, and we had the privilege of solely
focusing ourselves on Karate. It was as always, a great experience to spend day
and night together with special friends, through Karate, which we very much
love. It was very fun. I was also very much impressed by the strong spirit of
the Russian students, especially in their eagerness to learn. I am sure that we
will see them perform at a very high level in future International Tournaments.
Their spirit and their passion for Karate, was a great learning experience for
everybody who participated in the Camp. I hope that they will make the best of
their experience in Japan.
Lastly, The Karate Dream Cup 2010 is to be held very soon, and we are looking
forward to have overseas competitors participate in the tournament. I hope that
you will have a safe trip to Japan, and that you will be able to demonstrate the
result of your hard training. There will be 1,360 participants in this large
scale tournament, and we are now carrying out the final preparations. As always,
I am sure that this tournament will offer us various kinds of “dramas”, and to
the competitors who play the main role, I hope they will work hard in their last
training sessions, and make sure to leave no regrets on tournament day. Let us
all unite, and move forward towards the development of a wonderful organization.
OSU
Kenji Midori
President
WKO