The following speech was given by Dai Shihan Steve Jackowicz the head of the American Soshinkan Karate Association and Head Coach of Team USA at the WKO Soshinkan III Grand Prix World Championships in Zwiesel Germany on 11 October 2025.
Dear Soshinkan Family, allied brothers and sisters in the Martial Arts, spectators, friends and family members, it is with great honor that I address you today. I am Shihan Steve Jackowicz the head of the American Soshinkan Karate Association. This is the first time that a team from the USA has been able to attend an international WKO Soshinkan event. I would like to thank Shihan Jakub Černý for organizing the III Grand Prix Soshinkan World Championships. His efforts along with his students have allowed us to gather here and share our love of Budo Karate and the lessons of the mat.
The mat holds truth for us. Truth beyond the measure of our techniques. Beyond the forms, kicks, punches, throws, and submissions, lies a truth about ourselves. The term “Soshin” means “complete truth.” The complete truth is what is inside us. It is our strength of body, our strength of character. It is the truth of our preparation and determination. It is the truth of the resilience of our soul when pressed by the challenge brought to us by our opponent who serves more so as the pressure that can make the coal of our raw inner nature into the diamond of our refined tempered self.
Today we meet to discover ourselves on the mat. To learn who we are, how we have developed ourselves, and how much more we can develop ourselves. So there is truly no simple aspect of victory or defeat. Rather there are lessons to be learned about the truth of our being. That is the true quest of Soshinkan Karate Do. The exploration of our relationship to the other, to our self, to the qualities that make us, and ultimately to the divine who brought us forth as imperfect beings who can only find elevation and perfection through our interactions.
So thank you all for participating, for fulfilling the vision of Shihan Jakub Černý and Hanshi Andrew Rekunoff, and for working intensely together to bring out the best in each of us.
Let us cherish the truth we find on the mat!
Thank you,
Osu!