We are now promoting the 1997 Western States Karate Championship Tournament -- our 31st annual tournament. This year, as in the past, the tournament will again be at the Phoenix Civic Plaza. We have invited the highest quality judges to help us out, and will attempt to present medals and trophies again for this year's winners.

I had mentioned before why we have such a great tournament, held in the Civic Plaza instead of a smaller gym at another, maybe less expensive, location. I would compare this to the grand settings of the Olympic games. The type of serious and competitive atmosphere created by this type of surrounding tends to draw out the best quality performance in al competitors. This is the reason we continue to conduct the tournament as we have done for thirty years. In addition, most of our supporters seem to feel this way also, so we have continued with the same philosophy.

The long history of our tournament is good for the reason our staff becomes experienced with the intricacies of the tournament. However, the down side to this is that tournament proceedings may be come monotonous over the years. Therefore, we have decided this year to have several different demonstrations from different styles -- for instance, maybe have 30 people from Shotokan do Tekki Shodan, then another style, etc.

I came to the US in 1964, and since that time, I have taught Karate, imbuled with Japanese culture. Just as Shakespeare's Hamlet agonized to himself, "To be or not to be...", I am always questioning myself, my teaching, what I am doing, and my training. So far, I think that everything has gone well over the the past 31 years -- and I believe the tournament has also done well. If you are in agreement with me, I hope you will again offer your support for this year's tournament.

Sincerely

Shojiro Koyama