01/08/2023
Message from WKO President (August 2023)
Dear Branch Chiefs and Contacts
Thank you for your continued support towards WKO’s activities as always.
Japan is experiencing a hotter summer compared to the past years, and we feel the effect of global warming directly. We also feel the liveliness of inbound tourism as we see a lot of oversea tourists in cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, after the Corona pandemic along with the effect of depreciation of the yen.
International travel is flourishing again and recently I had the chance to attend an overseas event for the first time after the Corona pandemic. Excluding the World Championship in Weight Categories in Poland last September, the Guam camp in February 2020 was my last trip before the Corona situation became a worldwide concern.
I was invited to the celebration of the Singapore branch’s 10th Anniversary of joining Shinkyokushinkai. Looking back at the time, welcoming the Singapore branch was such a memorable event. I remember it vividly as it was one of the biggest transfers after Poland in 2010.
The celebration was prepared under the direction of the Country Representative Shihan Patrick Teo, and Shihan Kim Bon Lee. The members looked back at the Singapore branch’s history in a video, awarded those who have rendered distinguished service to show their gratitude and respect with memorial plaques, and shared the joy of being together with their comrades. And of course, we worked up a refreshing sweat by training together. In the last decade, WKO has been gaining more and more branches rapidly in proportion to the number of countries and regions. The celebration made me feel how big WKO has grown. Congratulations to the members of the Singapore branch and thank you for inviting me to this opportunity.
In Fullcontact Karate world, the regional tournaments all over Japan have resumed in earnest. The symbolic event was the Karate Dream Festival 2023 National Championship, which took place on July 22nd and 23rd at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, with a total of 3127 competitors from all over Japan participating in 172 categories, divided by age, weight, gender, and learning level. It marked the largest number of participants in its history. The tournament was visited by more than 30,000 people in 2 days and the largest level Fullcontact Karate Mega event proved a great success. It gave a strong impetus to the 13th World Karate Championship that will be held this fall.
At the Dream Festival, we held a selection tournament for Japanese Kata Competitors competing in the 13th World Championship. Around the tatami for the selection tournament, participants prepared their performance and carefully warmed up for the tournament. Kata competitions obviously have a different type of tension compared to the Kumite venue, where we hear the sound of punches, Kiai, and the electrical beep of the timer. What we hear is the rustling sound of clothes, footsteps, and the voice of Kiai cutting through the silence. The ultimate tension of the Kata competition will make the new attraction in Fullcontact Karate. I’m looking forward to the tournament day when the world’s best Kata fighters gather in one place.
On this occasion of the Dream Festival, EKO President Remigiusz Karpinski, the new generation leader of the Europe region, and EKO Vice-President Michael Soderkvist came to observe the world’s largest Fullcontact Karate event. As soon as they arrived at the venue, both Shihans went down to the arena to see the bouts closely, encouraged the referee members, and warmly applauded the fighters, showing no signs of fatigue after the long trip. I am assured that the great energy of both Shihans will lead to the further development of the European region.
The main purpose of their visit was to attend the 13th World Championship tournament draw meeting. Major tournaments in Japan have the tournament draw finalized almost 2 months in advance so that the competitors can be well-prepared for the tournament day. In addition, we organize the tournament draw carefully and rapidly, evaluating the seed status fair and square based on the past results of the fighters. It was meaningful to work through this step together with both Shihans. We were able to deepen the mutual friendship between Japan and Europe. I am grateful to both Shihans for their attendance. We ask the competitors to look forward to the announcement of the tournament draw, as it will be out shortly.
WKO is conducting its activities on a 4-year cycle axing on the year of this World Championship (open category). The international meetings and training seminars are held simultaneously. The board members will be re-elected in the General Assembly, and the new board members of each region will be announced. The Japan region also re-elected its board members recently, we will make a fresh start and move forward with the reflections of the past and hopes for the future.
On the closing note, the chaotic international situation remains prolonged. As I mentioned in the previous Newsletter, I hope for the conflicts to calm down and that peace will be restored a day sooner. Karatekas in Russia and Belarus, I see you on social media continuing to train and compete. Believing in our friendship as Karatekas, and doing the best we can in the given situation, we shall wait for the day we reunite again. Let’s live up to the time of patience together.
At the coming World Championship, with thoughts for our comrades who share the Osu spirit, I hope the competitors will train hard to compete in the tournament, and we staff will gather our wisdom. Let us do our best to lead the championship to great success.
OSU
Kenji Midori
WKO President
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