Raymond Toy comment 1997

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[Dear Sirs:]

As I read the USAKF holiday letter, I was struck by my personal feelings of being simultaneously fascinated and alienated by the subject. I enjoy reading magazine articles and talking to people about all kinds of politics, whether they be national, local, or karate politics. As I thought about various people I knew who said that they chose to participate in this federation or that federation for whatever reason, I was both relieved and envious of their positions that allowed them to make those kinds of decisions. Relieved that my decisions about my participation really have no effect on anybody else, and envious because my choices seem much more limited.

I live in an area where the USAKF, the USA-NKF, and the AAU karate program have no presence whatsoever. The person I consider to be my instructor lives outside of my state, so for the sake of convenience, I train with a local club. This club is part of an organization that eschews competition outside of its own membership, so for the sake of harmony I do not compete in outside competions under their banner - I compete under the banner of my out of state school. That way, everybody is happy. I get to do what I want, and my local club does not need to be embarrassed because one of its members is flouting the wishes of the organizational administration. But I digress.

Because of the distances involved, I do not compete or officiate based on federation affiliation. I participate on the basis of who is willing to allow me to participate with them. After all, I can pay money to belong to any of the three federations, but it's a meaningless gesture when there is nobody available in my state and I must cross state borders to do anything with anybody else. In my experience, it seems that federation affiliations have a way of vanishing depending upon the circumstances. For example, I travelled out of state to a tournament that was sponsored by a different federation. Asking them if they needed help, I showed them my red passport. I was immediately placed in a ring. As the day wore on, the head official liked what he saw, and he increased my responsibilities. Before I knew it, I was the center referee for the Adult Advanced divisions. This was done with the full knowledge that I was not certified by their federation nor was I a member. With that experience fresh in my mind, I called a nearby RSO to ask if they needed help with their qualifier. I was clear in telling them that I was certified by their federation, I had several pieces of paper stating my qualifications and membership in the same federation, and I gave them names of both my instructor (whom they knew) as well as members in their own area who would vouch for my qualifications. Ultimately, I was told that I would not be permitted to participate. My qualifications were never called into question. Rather my participation hinged on the fact that I was not from their RSO.

As I recount these stories, my point is not to point fingers at anybody, but rather to step back and figure out what the USAKF means at the local level. The discussion about the NGB and the quest for the Pan-Am games is very interesting, but for me it is basically irrelevant. I will probably be competing for only a few more years, and although I have competed at the National level, for various reasons it is doubtful that I will compete at the international level. As an official, it will probably be several years before I can think about international certification. Besides, my issues have more to do with the people I hang around. So what does federation membership mean to me? I'm not sure yet, but I would be interested to see what it means to some other grass roots folks like me.

Ray