Preface:

Besides the reasons stated in the body of this essay, there was another important reason for the participation of the US Team in the Pan-American Games-- the families of several of the athletes had great influence with the United States Olympic Committee and used it.

Also, it should be noted that the United States Olympic Committee itself lent a very sympathetic ear to the difficulties in which the USAKF found itself.. In the later argument with USAKF disidents and their departure from the USAKF to form the USA_NKF, I do believe that the USOC tried their best to acquire an accommodation for the USAKF within the newly formed Olympic Karate Representation. For all you that are familiar with that situation, I welcome your comments. George Anderson

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Argument from the past and toward a New Year

Here are some comments on the past and a look at the future.

This past year was most complex ever. Following the grand victor of at last putting karate into the Pan American Games, we had quite a good fight to defend the honor of presiding over the event from those persons that wanted to take it for themselves.

However, the arguments were resolved and after the dust cleared we did not oppose the formation of a National Governing Body recognized by the USOC and which promised to guide and fund our team in an Olympic manner. We were going to unite with others as a unified body but it became clear that the personalities involved wouldn't or couldn't work together in harmony.

Anyway, we won the battle for the games and this new group, which has claimed to have access to superior funding, has been charged with the burden that we carried so long and so well, plus the added responsibly of team funding. We hope that with the acceptance of karate as a Pan American sport, the long awaited funding will materialize.

Together, we, the USAKF, took karate to the Games, a nearly impossible task with a suspended international sport federation, and presided over the competition. Now it is the responsibility of someone else to see that karate is at the next Games in Canada, and I suspect that funding for that event will not be the same problem as it was for the World Championship in South Africa

The USA Karate Federation now finds itself unencumbered and sees before it the opportunity to develop and be advocates for the athletes of the USA. We see the future as an opportunity to really make world karate a reality for all the karateka of the United States of American. Understand that this will take a change in direction and method of operations which are already in the works for the year 1997. The plans will be laid out at our January 24 National Convention at the National Office in Akron.

As we said before, the road was long and hard to the games, and I want to personally thank all of you for you outstanding support and hope that we can continue to count on you efforts to help us in our drive to make karate again representative of the people of the United States of America, and not just of a privileged elite.

It has been a great privilege to work with you in the past and I can assure you that I will be around in the future. For me, work with the PUKO and WUKO was always a hobby but it started to be a real job, growing to the point that it interfered with my family and other responsibilities. I just had to continue on to see the matter of the Pan American Games through, but now that obligation is finished. We attained our goals of putting karate into the Pan American Games - achieving recognition by the USOC.

It is now imperative that we work inside the United States. It is vital for the future success of the USAKF and the development of karate in the United States and we have accordingly decided to do just that. All the fuss and clamor in the PUKO pushed me along, of course.

My original goal on entering WUKO was to be the head of the World Referee Council, which I attained. I have had the privilege of serving WUKO since the 1975 Championship in Long Beach where I obtained my first WUKO license. In 1980, I was appointed Secretary and acting Treasurer of PUKO and personally wrote the statutes of PUKO. In 1982 I was elected as President of the WUKO Referee Council and as the head of the PUKO/WUKO Referee Council, conducted a series of seminars without charge, throughout all the Americas. In 1983 I hosted the First WUKO World Technical Congress in which the rules for WUKO were rewritten in a manner understandable to PUKO. In 1984 I was President of the Referees at the First WUKO Woman's Cup in Taiwan, and was the Technical Director and President of the Referees for the First World Cup in Budapest. In 1986 I was the Technical Consultant at the First World Collegiate Championship in Kobe, Japan, and was elected as First Vice President of WUKO. In 1989 I was present at the First South American Union of Karate Organizations (SUKO )Championship in Brasil and served 5 years as the Director of the WUKO Medical Commission. All this work was in addition to the meetings attended and the voluminous reports filed on behalf of PUKO to gain successful entrance to the Pan American Games.

Karate has been good to me-the USAKF, PUKO, and WUKO have been good to me and I hope I have repaid the trust.

But there are some comments that need to be made. And as you know, the history of our movement is now being written by people who were not there and who know little about it.

The first point that should be cleared up is the fantasy that the USAKF broke away from the AAU and formed a new group. Nothing could be further from the truth. The USAKF is the traditional and historical National AAU Karate Committee, Inc. The actual facts are as follows:

Before the Sports Act of 1978, The Amateur Athletic Union of the United States of America exercised control of most sports in this country, including Olympic sports. One of the many sports managed was karate. The actual karate committee itself was formed in response to the need of an United States representative at the first world champion of the newly formed World Union of Karatedo Organizations (WUKO). For the first years the committee existed to fulfill the membership of WUKO and finally hosted the World Championship at Long Beach, California

A new era began with The Sports Act of 1978 which stripped the AAU of its iron fisted control of the Olympic sports. Sports were required to independent and self supporting and joint together members of the newly formed United States Olympic Committee.

A their 1979 National AAU Convention in Las Vegas, the AAU dropped all International Federation memberships and incorporation was recommended to the AAU Karate Committee. With this in mind, In 1980 the National AAU Karate Committee incorporated and prepared to operate independently.

At the National AAU Karate Committee, Inc. meeting in New Jersey, a letter from the AAU was read which questioned why the corporation was necessary and asked us to unincorporate. As the reformation of the sports committee to fulfill the USOC membership requirements was a matter of prime importance so the AAU Board granted an allowance of corporate existence karate and karate now operating as a direct committee of the AAU but at the same time keeping its corporate character.

In 1986, after WUKO was recognized by the IOC, the USOC asked WUKO to identify their member in the US so that the they would know who to recognize as the U.S. karate member. WUKO named the National AAU Karate Committee, Inc.. As a condition of membership the USOC required that the NAAUKC, INC. cease identifying with the AAU and change its name to an appropriate phrase. In accordance with this mandate, the NAAUKC, INC., in 1985, changed its name to The USA Karate Federation. Membership to the USOC was thus achieved.

At that time, The USA Karate Federation, formerly known as the National AAU Karate Committee, Inc., consisted of a Board of Managers made up of representatives of AAU Karate Sports Committees (basically state organizations). In late 1985, the name and make-up of the Federation changed. A Board of Managers, made up of not-for-profit incorporated Regional Sports Organizations, was established and all references to the AAU were deleted.

The primary goal of the USAKF was to get karate on the program of the Pan American Games. Anderson studied the situation and decided that the job would require his full efforts and consequently resigned the position of AAU karate program chairman.

The USAKF set out principles and positive strategic goals. At each meeting of the USAKF, attendees could count on Anderson writing on the blackboard the principles and goals of the Federation, and they would groan because they knew a lengthy, detailed examination was to be endured. Anderson strongly felt that adherence to sound, consistently held goals and principles was the only method for the Federation to achieve its objectives.

It was clear from the beginning that the sensei of karate masters of the United States had to be involved if the federations were to succeed. I know that many sports exist for the athlete but in the martial arts the Sensei is the most valued figure. What if we were to say that we favor a student competitor over the learned sensei, how would this be received by the sensei? You clearly understand that if an organization were to do that, they would be boycotted by all the sensei and would be forced out. We are in the martial arts and cannot absorb all the values inherent in sport without damaging our traditional values and denigrating great future contributions to our families and nation.

We realize the value of sports development and have managed to generate technical development and athletic growth while preserving the traditional values

Gustav Spohn, writing in the Akron Beacon Journal about traditional beliefs makes some comments that we can apply to our situation: We have avoided strict, narrow technical perspectives. Maybe there is such a thing as being too flexible but the greater danger is being inflexible and breaking, rather than bending with the winds of public opinion. The statesmen are those able to distinguish between their ends and means, between uncompromising principle and the flexible methods they will adopt to further those principles. Abraham Lincoln come to mind as the outstanding American example of such statesmanship.

We were determined to respect and not interfere with the operation of the dojos and structures of the organizations, working instead through the concept of planned events. We don't care which organization you belong to, we honestly appreciate good attitudes and resolute eagerness to cooperate in competition events for the best interest of the karate of United States. As a result our large competitive structure is uniform, fair, unbiased, and of unrivaled technical quality.
We have managed to put together a grand tournament structure which is the most effective and best organized in the country, having state championships leading to large regional championship, which in turn lead to the grand nationals. Success there brings the opportunity to travel and compete in foreign countries under the flag of the United States of America. Takayuki Mikami, Minobu Miki, Hidy Ochiai, Koji Sugimoto, Tom Lapuppet, Jim Cottrell, Mike Bukala, Don Madden, Julius Thriry, and many others are widely respected in the wkf.org/WUKO. The system moves with great fairness and honesty, if there are missteps they come from politics and unfettered personal ambitions interfering with the operations of events. Of course, when the directors try to bring this to a halt, the guilty party gets mad and quits-maybe starting up a competing organization.
The United States Olympic Committee did not withdraw its sanction from the USA Karate Federation as alleged. We were not bounced from the USOC 'under shameful circumstances.' Our membership simply lapsed because the WUKO did not have IOC recognition. Actually, the USAKF is and has been is substantial compliance with at least three of the five items mentioned as difficulties and possibly also on the other two items.

At the end of December 1993, when the grace period extended to the USAKF was set to expire we received a copy of a letter from the Executive Director of the IOC to the USOC requesting that the USOC temporally postpone any action on the USAKF. However, to the contrary, our membership was canceled automatically for lack of a recognized international federation. In March of 1994 the IOC recognized karate again and, if the recognition was valid, the USOC was obliged to recognize a federation in the US that could meet their membership requirements. To ascertain that the recognition was valid, the USOC called the IOC and talked to some lawyer at the IOC who said that the matter was still turbulent. The USOC took this a reinforcement for their conclusion that there was no IF for karate recognized by the IOC.

Nobody looked at compliance until we re-applied for membership. There was a task special committee to check all NGB's but they had not gotten around to us yet. Current members are to be helped to achieve compliance but our application was now treated as new application and 'we will be held to a different standard than the others.' 'Due to circumstances beyond our control we were forced to apply for a new membership.' The canceling of membership was automatic on the international federation situation and only then was the membership committee involved with the new application. 'A lot of facts came out that raised questions that will have to be satisfactorily resolved' for the USAKF to be re-admitted to the USOC. We asked if we can be given a chance for compliance and the answer was 'yes'. When asked if the matter was fixable, the reply was 'Yes.'
There was also a very strong personal attack on the USAKF administration and the alleged lack of athletes' rights. Our delegation was not prepared to answer all these question accurately and was not given the time for a correct, detailed response. There was no warning of the allegations presented against the USAKF and there was not time to present evidence and testimony that would have been essential to the committees and public's understanding.

The dog fight in which the USAKF found itself did not arise until karate got into the Pan American Games. Numerous national meetings and congresses were held where anyone who wanted to could speak and be heard. Those who complain so vociferously now didn't do so then because they knew that couldn't any better. But when we got into the games. fame and fortune became and overwhelming lure and the fun went out of the operation. Some say that politics and money took the place of karate principles.

But here we are in a new year and with different opportunities and challenges.

Bertrand Russell said it so well-'Facing facts is painful, and the way out is not clear. Nostalgia takes the place of energy directed towards the future. There is a tendency to shrug the shoulders and say 'Oh well, if we are exterminated by hydrogen bombs, it will save a lot of trouble'. This is a tired and feeble reaction, like that of the late Romans to the barbarians. It can only be met by courage, hope, and a reasoned optimism. '

We are American and can do anything if we put our mind to it, but it must be done right. The great American, Abraham Lincoln stated-'the issue cannot be resolved until it is resolved rightly, that is, giving due weight to all the relevant moral considerations.' this was written in the context of the civil war but is equally applicable today.

We ask you to continue your sincere efforts and dedication to the karate federation of the United States of America and we will succeed in our obligations to the karate athletes of our country.

I thank you all again for you loyalty to the principles of Karatedo and it has been a distinct privilege to work with you on such important tasks.

Best wishes for at new year, Sincerely, George Anderson, President, USAKF