Dear UASK Students & Members:
mark this date in your calendars, September 5, 1995 was the day that our organization, the United Alliance of Shotokan Karatedo -UASK was established. The founding members were: Sensei Simon Spitz & Sensei Charlie Rivera, Puerto RicoSensei Elvis Polanco & Sensei Obispo Arsenio Morell-Vitamina, Dominican RepublicSensei Abraham Celibien, HaitiSensei Angel Rosario, Sensei Carlos Martinez & Me, United States We have grown beyond our initial times and today we also have members in others countries such as Portugal, South Africa, Argentina & Peru. Many things have been accomplished through out these 14 years and many more are in our horizon. A fact I want to share from our history; I changed our name to United Alliance of Shoto Karatedo and I stopped to use the "Shotokan Tiger" in our logo after my yearly trip to Tokyo in the Spring of 2002. I visited the headquarters of the Japan Karatedo Shotokai and had a meeting with one of the senior officials of that organization. He explained to me that "Shotokan" is the name of the dojo founded by Master Funakoshi under the Japan Karatedo Shotokai and no one else should use that name. He also told me that the "Shotokan Tiger" is the official seal of the Funakoshi family, therefore no body should use it without their authorization. I did my research and everything I found tells me that this man was right. There are many shotokan organizations that uses the "Shotokan Tiger" as part of their logo. Maybe they requested authorization, or maybe not. All that I know is that I took my desicion based on the respect that I feel for Master Funakoshi and the art I have practiced for many years. It was after this time that I included in our emblem the Japanese character "Bu" - "martial", in reference as the way I perceive the practice of my karatedo, Budo. Let's all celebrate together during this coming week by conducting challenging and well designed trainings so our students notice the legacy we are leaving for them. Osu!
