Karate Issues - WKF Statute 21.9
The hot potato at the moment is the contraversial WKF statute 21.9 and it's interpretation and relevance.
A controversy or dispute is a matter of opinion over which parties actively disagree, argue, or debate. Controversies can range in size from private disputes between two individuals to large-scale disagreements between societies. Here we see a prime example!
The statute causing all the debate is as follows:
21.9 The WKF expressly prohibits their National Federations, and their components, from the double affiliation with any karate organisation as it may be determined by the WKF Executive Committee to be a dissenting organisation.
National Federations and their members are prohibited from having sporting relationships with these dissenting organisations and with organisations not recognised by the WKF, or with a member country of the WKF which National Federation is suspended due to non payment of fees or for disciplinary reasons.
The EKF have been very clear in their interpretation of this statute and have issued this response:
By virtue of EKF's membership to BKF and WKF (as agreed at the inaugural meeting of the EKF by the membership) in keeping with the WKF statue 21.9 all current EKF members of the English Karate Federation are prohibited from holding any sporting relations with any group/s not in membership of EKF, BKF or WKF.
This includes attending any events not recognised or sanctioned by the EKF, BKF or WKF for the purposes of competing, officiating or otherwise supporting the aforementioned event.
Clarification as to which championships, tournaments, seminars, courses members might attend,
can be saught by emailing: admin@englishkaratefederation.com
The English Karate Federation is the current National Governing Body for English Karate. They seem to be getting a lot of stick for the way in which they have 'interpreted' this ruling. They have been labeled 'draconian' amongst other things.
I think the first point that needs to be made abundantly clear here is that this ruling is a World Karate Federation statute and would have to be implemented regardless of which National Governing Body was elected.
English karate has been in disarray over the past few years for many reasons so it is essential that this time the National Governing Body gets things right. The WKF have granted the EKF provisional membership for a probationary period of two years after which this can be ratified if everything is in order. Therefore, the EKF have to be seen to be doing things 'by the book'.
The second point is that, it is my understanding that, the WKF and EKF are not interested in interfering in any particular style, for example, wado or shito ryu, and that their only concern is with multi style associations (because they are deemed to be in opposition to the WKF) and also how the statute affects 'sporting relations'.
Associations are reading this statute and interpreting this to mean that if you are not an 'assenting' association (i.e. a fully paid up member of the EKF) then you are, by default, 'dissenting' but this is simply not the case, in so far as I understand it. There is the provision for you to remain neutral if you have no sporting relations whatsoever.
The WKF was set up for the purpose of competitive sporting karate between various different countries. Obviously at their World and European Competitions they have to be certain that the countries participating all belong to the WKF and to no other world multi style organisation. They need to be certain that everyone that competes and officiates are all eligible to do so and free from controversy.
As you can imagine checking every competitor from every country plus all the referees and officials would be an impossible task for the WKF to perform and so they settled on this statute to do that for them.
This statute makes it the responsibility of every country in membership to check their own associations within membership and, therefore, if this is interpreted and carried out effectively they can be safe in the knowledge that any competitors that are fielded by these countries to WKF events are, by default, free from controversy.
To make this easier the WKF only liase with one National Governing Body per country. In England the WKF recognised body is the English Karate Federation.
Therefore, to comply with this ruling and ensure that their competitors and officials remain clear from controversy the EKF have to police this ruling.
The EKF select the English National Squad from karate ka of the associations that are in membership to them and so to make sure that the competitors and officials that they field to these events are free from controversy they vet the associations when they affiliate to them. They also have to make sure that the associations remain free from controversy once they have affiliated to them and so this is why this ruling has to be strictly adhered to.
Initially they do this by ensuring that associations in membership with them do not belong to any alternative World or National Governing Body.
Then they ensure that all EKF courses, competitions and events are only open to EKF members.
Lastly, they also ensure that their competitors remain free from controversy by adhering to statute 21.9 that forbids 'sporting relations' with 'dissenting' organisations. This is because the minute that a competitor has 'sporting relations' with another multi styles association or instructor who is not a member of the EKF they become contraversial and at that point there is a danger that everything up the line has the potential to become contraversial too.
However, they do not become controversial if the group single style and neutral until they want to participate with anyone who is a member of the World Karate Federation family.
Please pay particular attention to the word 'World' because the World championships organisers of single style assocociations that are in membership of the WKF are also subject to statute 21.9, in that the only groups that can attend these Word events, are the groups that are in membership of the WKF family.
Basically, if you wish to participate in any WKF competition, whether that be World or European WKF events (whether multi style as part of the EKF National Squad or single style as part of your own association National Squad) or just then you must be in membership to the WKF recognised association in the country that you reside in and in England, at this current time, this is the English Karate Federation.
At the end of the day WKF members (and therefore, EKF members) are prohibited from having sporting relationships with organisations not recognised by the WKF. We could write volumes on interpretation, but the statement is very clear, and in the opinion of the WKF not open to interpretation.
The EKF are always happy to answer any queries. They are obviously in the best position to answer any questions or explain this ruling. Karatesite, as always, does it's best to try to make things simple but if in any doubt at all then contact them for clarification. www.englishkaratefederation.co.uk
