Return to Traditional Values in the Okinawan Martial Arts

This is the website from the Executive Chairman of the United World Karate Federation

This year the Okinawan World tournament will be held in Naha City, Okinawa and it is the 1st World Tournament that will be exclusively ONLY for kata. KATA is the pride and treasure of Okinawan Karate and its practice and research are everlasting and non-ending in the benefits and rewards one receives from practicing this treasure that the ancient master handed down to us. It needs a deep study not just on the physical execution but in every aspect of the practice of karate. It needs the practitioner to understand the body dynamics, physiology, anatomy, breathing, the nervous system and how it can be repaired and damaged and many more aspects. It is in the KATA which is where we do the DATA analysis, that we find these answers. It must also be remembered that karate is a martial art first and foremost and sport is just a small part of the journey towards attaining the benefits of this marvelous physical, spiritual and mental endeavor. Many practitioners get so caught up in the sporting aspect that they forget the martial arts benefits. Now that Karate will be a “demonstration” Olympic Sports everyone is only looking and practicing this aspect. This is good for the promotion and development of younger karate-ka but it cannot be the ONLY aspect of karate.

Also, it is pleasing to notice that many karate-ka are now going back to the roots of karate, Okinawa and practicing with the master on the island, it is important to do this now as many are now aging and are not in the best of health and we have a short time to get as much from them as possible to depart to the future generation.

There is an old Japanese saying “NIGIRI SAN NEN” it takes three years to understand how to train and this should be the spirit of every karate-ka whether one is concentrating on sport or researching and training daily to get the benefit of the art.

The United World Karate Federation is equally promoting the art and sport but what makes us different is we allow all martial arts to exchange their experience and technical prowess in one organization and develop all martial arts and prepare all for fair play and equal education of martial arts for all. Thus creating a worldwide brotherhood of martial artist without politics and instilling the true values of BUDO in all our members, We work with all organization and have no restriction on who you should work with and how you work with each other.