Dear Branch Chiefs and Contacts,
First of all, I would like to start my message by expressing my appreciation to all of you for your warm support for our organization.
In Japan, the hot summer is coming to an end with the start of September. Although it is still quite hot, we are starting to feel the beginning of autumn. I hope all of you are doing fine as well. Tournaments, camps, and seminars are actively being held across the world, and the news reports you send to WKO Headquarters make me very happy. Thank you very much for your constant efforts.
On August 17-18, we held the annual mid-summer festival, the Karate Dream Cup 2013 National Championship. Since this event is held as an international championship once every 2 years, this year’s tournament was only open for competitors within Japan, but I have high hopes and expectations for many overseas competitors to participate in next year’s event. The tournament this year was one of the largest Full Contact Karate tournaments in Japan, with a total of over 1,400 competitors, divided in various categories of the Kumite, Kata, and Group Kata competition.
The dream stage for all ages of Karate students, who compete to become Japan’s No.1, was filled with strong excitement and passion. At this tournament, not only the competitors, but also their comrades in training, and family members play a large role in building up the atmosphere of the tournament. To reconfirm the strong bond between family members and friends, and to experience happiness and sadness together. This coming together of everyone through Karate, further demonstrated the strong power of this special gift we have, and this made me very happy. I would like to once again express my deep appreciation to everyone who supported this tournament. Thank you very much.
Various tournaments of all sizes are being held across the world. To make our activities further know to the international community, and to further develop the meaning and role of Budo Karate in world peace, are also important goals of tournaments. We, as organizers of such events, must remind ourselves to re-recognize the significance of holding such tournaments, never forget to appreciate the supporters behind the event, and strive to realize our mission of nurturing youth, social contribution, and international exchange.
Lastly, the problems surrounding children, such as bullying, child abuse, and drug abuse, get more complicated every year. We must try our best to eliminate such problems, through the further promotion of Budo education. The mid-summer festival, the Dream Cup, the children during their bout, the gentle look of the mother and father watching their child. The coach and comrades almost losing their voices to cheer on their competitor, all of this led me to make a fresh resolve in our mission, to nurture our youth in a healthy environment.
I would like to conclude my message by asking for your deep understanding and cooperation to the further promotion of Budo Karate.
OSU
Kenji Midori
WKO President