President

Dear Sports Friends,

I want to start thanking everyone for the confidence expressed to my person electing me President of Wuko, maximum historical world karate organization, and sending a virtual hug to all who practice our wonderful martial art.I also want to report briefly the fantastic atmosphere of brotherhood and union showed at the Congress of Taormina in Sicily (Italy): we found enthusiastic fans of karate and talked about the problems that trouble the world.The enthusiasm was identical to that of a young neophite athlete who approaches the first lessons: maximum concentration, attention, passion and respect.The important detail, however, is that all the people present there, who represent the most important federations in the world and have been living martial arts for years,could have been disillusioned, considering the few values the various organizations promulgate and the business they almost always hide.At the risk of appearing always countertrend, I would like to express my opinion about the time the martial arts are getting through in the world; expecially I should mention the kind of approach the majority of the martial arts federations have about karate, an approach that in the last years has influenced the type of relationship between worldwide organizations and federations.

 

 

In early and less commercial times,

National Federations had international opportunities without parallel evaluations: the President who was in one of the three major important organizations remained without having the problem to change, because his choice came from the tradition and from his heart.
The federation never had the problem to change, expecially for the purpose of getting something more. It took part in what the world organization created, shared the satisfactions, even the bitter disappointements. In short, the federation was part of the world organization, living it, understanding that its presence was a fundamental part of the international organization.
This honest and conscious partecipation created a very strong bond, like a family connection between the federation and the world organization.
During these last years there have been remarkable changes: the enormous “ego” of some people led them not to love their organization but simply to consider it a coffee house, where you enter, pay for a coffee and go out without moral or emotional problems.

 

Going away from an international federation was once considered almost a betrayal, because there was a moral and ethical code that put this light on the people dropping out.
Today a good part of the presidents doesn't think a long time: a small problem or a misunderstanding is considered an opportunity to change, an opportunity to advance their position begging the new organization, asking without shame, just to have recognized a higher degree, as in a commercial transaction....
In short, the meaning is that there is no more behavior ethics, the first and irreplaceable quality of a martial art athlete.
The causes of this sad process are to be find in two main reasons: the awareness of the athletes and the seriousness of the federations.
It's a given that the memberships consciousness is, and always will be, a subjective factor but we must remember that the consciousness forms and becomes refined by the maturity and the examples.

Those who are institutionally responsible for this formation are the
masters: they technically train the athletes, working on their physical body and, at the same time, shaping their minds up to transform them into conscious and impartial minds.
Obviously there are fewer and fewer good examples, because there are fewer teachers who believe that the first effort and responsability for an educator ( just like that we are) is to give the right examples and form balanced consciences.
The second cause is the seriousness of the federations: this is closely linked (fortnately only for some of them) to that damn commercial and economic logic that has made lose sight of the essence and of the institutional purpose of a federation.
Now we are even seeing presidents-sellers who go door to door in order to capture one more society, promising what they already know they couldn't ever keep and assigning positions as if a Postal Market. For these individuals it's important to enrole and make a good living, without worrying that, doing in this way, they makes the martial arts less trustworthy.

The most popular mechanism is this:

at the first problem they don't fight to change or improve the structure from inside but they create a new made-to-measure and self utility federation.
Certainly it's the easiest solution but it fragments more and more the already damaged consistency of the people of karate.
The solution is only one: the Worldwide Organizations be serious and consistent, and gently educate their federations in order to rediscover the true values of karate and educate the teachers as men of conscience, able to train athletes to be conscious.... This principle, very simple in seeming, is in realty the most difficult task a world organization have to perform.
To reach this goals we must put aside all the economic logic and the huge desire for prevailing on the others; we must develop the ability to give the correct consideration to the federations, however we should recognize and distinguish among them those with the real moral and organizational capability.
The first able to go along this path, the real way of karate, are the Presidents of the Federation of every Nation: they have this initial difficult task and they only could have great merit...
Certainly we'll put a lot of effort, doing our institutional part.

 

Meditate Presidents, meditate friends.....