No problem. As you know, I have a long history of involvement with ITKF and know its history completely. So let me first clarify — there is no “California” ITKF — there is only ITKF — and that is the ITKF that Sensei Nishiyama formed and incorporated in the United States of America and registered with the California Secretary of State decades ago. People can claim whatever they wish, but the fact is the original and only real ITKF is the one Sensei incorporated. Throughout the entire history of ITKF people have been trying to destroy ITKF — beginning in the 1970s and continuing until today.

The truth is that the organization formed by Mr. Gaertner was created in 2019 without the knowledge or advance discussion of the original ITKF members, or the original ITKF Board of Directors. We only found out about this new organization following his and Mr. Kuster’s execution of the suspension of the late Dr. Vladimir Jorga and the entire European Traditional Karate Federation (ETKF) in 2021. ETKF had been an active and strong member of the original organization for 29 years. Dr. Vladimir Jorga had been a member of the ITKF Board of Directors continuously since 1974.

Anyone knows that an organization begins on the date of its incorporation. For Brazil, that is 2019. For Macedonia that is 2021. For ITKF registered in California that is 1974. So, I ask you — “Who is being dishonest?” Mr. Gaertner abandoned the original ITKF. He was dishonest to me and to ITKF.

His comment is nonsense and only designed to elevate the status of himself. Following Sensei Nishiyama’s passing the ITKF continued to build and grow. As evidence, Watanabe Sensei from Brazil came to the Summer Camp in San Diego in 2009 and presented a strong proposal to host the 2010 World Championships in Curitiba in honour of Sensei. If there was no strong foundation as Mr. Gaertner claims, why would Watanabe Sensei and Brazil want to take such a big risk?

Was it hard following the passing of Nishiyama Sensei? Of course it was. It was extremely challenging. There were many egos to contend with and many people who thought they should be in control. But our foundation was very strong and remains strong today. It strengthens every day because the organization has purged itself of individuals who only want to use the ITKF for their own individual business purpose, not for the evolution and benefit of all karate practitioners world-wide.

Again, that comment is nonsense. It has no basis in fact. At the meeting where I was elected as Chairman, I had proposed Dr. Vladimir Jorga to be Chairman as he was our Senior member. He declined and instead proposed me as both Chairman and Technical Chairman, as I was Acting Chairman at the time.

Nishiyama Sensei was very ill in 2008. He asked me to organize and lead the technical program of the 2008 Summer Camp. When it was learned that Sensei was not going to be able to attend the Championship, he asked me to take on the role of Acting Chairman of ITKF. I can absolutely say with certainty that my intention and dedication has been only to continue and advance ITKF according to the actual philosophy and direction taught to me by Nishiyama Sensei.

That is an equally absurd comment. It is a false narrative started in 2013 when ITKF had trouble with Mr. Kwiecinski, and he formed and claimed his false organization WTKF to be the real ITKF. The real story is related to a tax issue dating to 2002 — an accounting submission error related to transfers between AAKF and ITKF, which until 2010 shared offices.

I contacted the regulatory agency of the California government to determine the issue. The government agencies assured me that ITKF could continue to operate legally within the United States. Once corrected, the government agencies reimbursed all accrued penalties and fine money to ITKF. ITKF was never operating “illegally.” That comment is simply a strategy used by those who wish to do harm.

Not at all. That’s only part of the story. While it is true that Ms. Nami Nishiyama wrote a letter to Mr. Kwiecinski informing him that ITKF had been in a suspended status since 2002, he used her answer out of context. Nami is an extremely honest person and 2002 is the date we were given to cover as part of our forensic audit. Once corrected, the government agencies reimbursed all penalties. ITKF was never operating illegally.

Mr. Kwiecinski called a meeting in 2013 at Dojo Stara Weis in Poland claiming it was a legitimate ITKF World meeting. It was not. Mr. Gaertner wrote a strong letter which clearly stated that the participant from Brazil was not a representative of the actual Brazil ITKF National Member Federation. He denounced the meeting. His response was unsolicited. Mr. Gaertner was a strong proponent of suspension at the Special Meeting called in Cancun that year. His letter and support at that meeting were his contribution. Now he does the same thing.

Following the Special Meeting in Cancun I received pressure that I had too much “power” holding both Chairman and Technical Chairman positions. I understood the optics and thought it would be a good idea to split the responsibilities. Mr. Gaertner and I had worked well together previously. He had a large, successful National Federation and I wanted to focus on the technical aspects. I thought he and I would be a good team. However, as it turned out — he wanted to take responsibility for everything, technical and administrative, which is exactly what I was trying to avoid. I was looking for help — not an assassination.

What unfolded after that meeting was nothing short of a coup. The elected Board of the ITKF had no idea that Mr. Gaertner formed an entirely new organization in Brazil. He suspended Dr. Vladimir Jorga and the European Federation in breach of the actual ITKF Constitution, and ultimately suspended me — all without any notice, process of appeal, or communication of any type.

The date of the incorporation of his new organization is September 2019 — a full three months before the supposed General Assembly held in Brazil. Between 2017 and 2019 he held many meetings with his “internal” Board — unknown to the actual ITKF Board elected in 2017. Yet he did not hold one single meeting with the 2017 ITKF Board. Is that acceptable? I don’t think so.

I can only tell you what I was told by Mr. Gaertner. That is, the Macedonia organization did not send in any final proposal or made any real or legitimate arrangements to host the Championships.

We learned in our investigation that the bank account was in the name of that new organization — not the original ITKF. We were also able to secure a copy of the actual documents of incorporation from the Brazilian registration office, so we have actual proof of this statement.

I don’t recall that specific discussion at the 2019 Assembly. There is a difference between moving the administrative office and moving the “Office” of the organization — a term which describes the legal authority of the entire organization coming under a different governance law. The ITKF Board was completely opposed to transferring the governance office; it wanted governance to remain in the United States. Their management style is one of “smoke and mirrors” — distraction to avoid the actual reality of what they want to do.

In retrospect, I think the 2019 General Assembly was a sham. It was held without any knowledge by the ITKF members that a new and parallel organization was already put into existence with Mr. Gaertner as President — with a completely different Constitution and Board. I have come to believe that Mr. Gaertner used the 2019 meeting to create records and give legitimacy to what he had already done. These hurriedly called “Emergency Meetings” allowed no real discussion and any questions were taken as a personal attack. We trusted him at that meeting. He would later break that trust.

It was very much chaos with no real validation of the status of countries present and voting. I expressed the same to you at the meeting as well as to Dr. Vladimir Jorga after the meeting.

Of course it is. Mr. Gaertner made a big mistake by abandoning it. It still existed as a legal entity after he abandoned it. The process was reviewed by two different legal firms, both of which came to the same conclusion: the 2019 meeting should not be considered valid, the new organization is not the legitimate ITKF, and the process borders on fraud. The actual ITKF is the original one.

Absolutely. But the question I put back to you is, “Does Mr. Gaertner, Mr. Kuster and the Brazil organization have any?” Their process is one of eliminating opposition by purging it without any notice, appeal process or discussion. Each of these people assumed that legal action was unlikely to be taken and so they moved ahead and claimed the identity and material of ITKF as their own. That is real identity theft.

Again, there is no such thing as “California” ITKF — it is the ITKF. There is a legal process available in the United States that allows an administrative office to be located out-of-country, while continuing to be a legal entity in the United States. The Administrative office is now located in Canada — the legal governance is in the United States. ITKF was never intended to be governed by the laws of Brazil or Macedonia, or Poland.

I did not assume the leadership of ITKF on my own. I did it with the support of many countries who know the truth and want to build the actual ITKF Nishiyama Sensei created. The real ITKF is alive and well and held its World Championship in Berlin, Germany. Regardless of the plagiarism and identity theft that ITKF has had to endure, we are committed to the actual path created by Nishiyama Sensei.

Absolutely not. Discussion or questions were not encouraged, except from supporters who expressed total agreement with Mr. Gaertner and Mr. Kuster. Their behaviour is not the behaviour of a democratic organization.

Yes, I remember it. I spoke against it as much as I was allowed — which was again limited by Mr. Kuster. The process was completely against the Constitution of ITKF. The action was taken solely to purge Dr. Vladimir Jorga and countries deemed problematic from Mr. Gaertner’s organization. Some countries who should have attended did not even know the meeting had happened.

The question remains, “Will the governance office also move? Or will it now remain in Brazil?” Look at the IOC — there has been an IOC President from Spain, Germany and now South Africa. Has the office moved? No. The organization is the key focus — not the individual.

I have never been formally advised of my suspension. There was never any formal Notice of Suspension, Process of Appeal, or any communication of any type to me. I understand I was suspended at a meeting where I was absent — ironically, it was the only Board meeting I missed in my entire time on the ITKF Board, spanning decades. Is that professionalism, honesty, integrity? I think not.

The reason given was that I had reinstated the original ITKF. But I had done so on the request of the ETKF National Federations who had been unjustly suspended, and had just learned that Mr. Gaertner had abandoned the original ITKF registration — incorporating an entirely new organization three months prior to the 2019 General Assembly, without the knowledge of the general membership or Board of Directors.

No. I received no communication aside from what they write about me and Nishiyama Sensei’s original ITKF. They simply blocked me from all electronic portals. A democratic organization offers an avenue of appeal or mediation to resolve difficult conflict. Mr. Gaertner and Mr. Kuster do not. There appears to be no interest on the part of Mr. Gaertner for any resolution. This tells me his continued statements of commitment to ITKF and Nishiyama Sensei’s legacy are false.

You do understand that the “magazine” you quote from is their own magazine? Consequently, it is unlikely to provide a balanced opinion. I am not egotistical to want to protect the legacy organization of Nishiyama Sensei, created and registered by him. I believe Mr. Gaertner made a colossal mistake and doesn’t know how to resolve it because he can’t own it or admit to it. He must blame someone else.

I agree that it is abhorrent for an organization to do what is described in the quote — but the culprit is not the original ITKF. The culprits are housed within Global ITKF. They are also hypocrites to say these things when Mr. Gaertner created a completely new and parallel ITKF organization without letting the actual Board of Directors or Membership in on his secret.

Again, I believe they have the issue backwards. The two legal opinions we contracted state the opposite of their claims. The misconduct is on the part of Mr. Gaertner and his organization. Those rights were never transferred to Mr. Gaertner’s organization any more than they were transferred to Mr. Kwiecinski’s WTKF, or to Mr. Nedev’s Macedonia ITKF. Each assumed that legal action was unlikely to be taken and so they moved ahead and claimed the identity and material of ITKF as their own. That is real identity theft.

They claim commitment to the BUDO principles of Traditional Karate, but honesty, ethical and moral behaviour are the foundation of BUDO. To this they are hypocrites. My focus is on rebuilding the original ITKF with those people who understand and want the organization to succeed.

They are excellent spin doctors with good marketing skills. But their organization is not built on the foundation of Nishiyama Sensei. They are not committed to building and growing Nishiyama’s legacy — they are simply dedicated to building their own using Nishiyama Sensei’s name and work. They had a chance to prove it was different, but they chose not to. Purging the organization of its long-standing senior members who have the most history with Nishiyama Sensei is a strong indication that the organization they operate is not the organization of Nishiyama Sensei’s. It is a cardboard cutout.

Many people claim to follow Nishiyama Sensei, but few know, or follow, his path. The path of Nishiyama Sensei through ITKF is about human development. The objective is to assist each person in achieving their maximum potential — not simply as an athlete in Traditional Karate, but as a human being. Competition is part of that journey, but only as a tool to be used in the greater objective of self-development.

Traditional Karate has competition every day in its dojos. Its purpose is not to be a champion — but to understand yourself, using danger as motivation to strengthen mind, body and spirit. That’s why Sensei always maintained strictly that the rules of tournament competition must reflect exactly the training of the dojo.

The purpose of the original ITKF is to keep Sensei’s path clean through understanding that fundamental objective which can be simply expressed as — “sometimes you win, and sometimes you learn…but learning is always a win.”