I’d like to offer FOUR PUBLIC STATEMENTS to answer numerous emails sent to me from around the world. These four statements pertain to my joining the Japan Karate Association and, the preservation of what I have learned, prior to my JKA membership. Thank you very much. – André Bertel.#1. First and fore mostly, I’m 100% committedto the JKA. Otherwise I would not have joined. I took many months to join, fastidiously analysing everything and communicating with the JKA.
#2. All of my “orthodox Shotokan-ryu”kihon techniques, kata and kumite are being brought in-line/standardised under the guidance of the JKA (that is, `standard JKA technique’).
#3. I’m still practicing everything I learned from outside of standard Shotokan (prior to joining the JKA). These techniques and applications will remain in my repertoire and preserved in an “unchanged” state. However, they have now been shifted into my daily private dojo practice; that is, for my self-training.
#4. Ultimately, I am moving forward with the JKA and are building on the skills I have developed over the last three decades. With this and the above points in mind, always remember that, as the title of the post states, "people are never one dimensional."
To conclude, I would like to deeply thank JKA Japan and JKA members, from all over the world, for their warm welcoming. Lastly, I hope this post clarifies where I’m at in my karate and, more importantly, where I heading. Osu, André.
© André Bertel. Aso-shi, Kumamoto. Japan (2013).