These regulations are based on the bylaws of the WADO-KAI rules Article 6, 3rd revision and are written for the WADO-KAI members who reside outside of Japan (hereinafter referred to as "overseas members"). The purpose of WADO-KAI Overseas Regulations is to address the following issues:

1.1 Requirements and standards for acquiring various ranks, licenses and titles.

1.2 Defining the procedures for establishing a branch and/or a country headquarters.

The ultimate objective is to create a viable international organizational system that will contribute to the global promotion and development of Karatedo.

General Rules

Article 2

These regulations shall apply to the overseas members with the exception of specific provisions which are otherwise indicated.

Organization and Constitution

Article 3

The organization consists of individual units of branches which are created in accordance with Article 7 and a country headquarters which is established in accordance with Article 9. Both of these entities are subject to the authority of the Wadokai Headquarters (hereinafter referred to as 'the Headquarters').

Admission Procedure

Article 4

4.1 Individuals wanting to be overseas members of Wadokai must fill out a membership application and submit it along with the required application fee to either a branch or the country headquarters. The application and fee will be sent to the Wadokai Headquarters in Japan for review and approval.

4.2 The Headquarters will issue a membership card upon approval of the application.

4.3 In the instance where neither a branch nor a country headquarters has been established, the application must be sent directly to the Headquarters.

Resignation Procedure

Article 5

5.1 Those wishing to resign from the organization must submit a letter of resignation to the Headquarters through a branch.

5.2 Individuals who resign automatically forfeit their rights and privileges as a member.

Privileges and obligations of members

Article 6

Members shall be granted the following rights and privileges.

6.1.1 Participation in any athletic meets, competitions, seminars, training camps, or any other events that are sponsored by the Association( these activities include those held in countries and districts outside of Japan).

6.1.2 Acquisition of dan grades, titles, instructor certification, referee certification and other such qualifications issued by the Association.

6.1.3 Receive priority distribution of bulletins, newsletters, instructional videos and other such articles made by the Association.

6.2 Members must abide by the agreement and regulations set forth by the Association.

Standards for establishing branches

Article 7

If a member wishes to establish a branch, the following procedure must be followed:

7.1.1 In principle there must be at least 10 members and one of the members must be a dan grade holder.

7.1.2 A location for regular training facility must be secured or owned.

7.1.3 No concurrent membership in any other association or other styles of karate is allowed.

7.2 Those satisfying the above criteria who wish to establish a new branchin accordance with the provisions stated above, shall petition for registration by submitting the designated form to the Headquarters through their country headquarters. In the case where a country headquarters has not been established at the time of the application, the petition shall be made directly to the Headquarters.

7.3 When the petition for a new branch establishment is accepted and recognized, the Headquarters shall issue a Certificate of Branch Recognition.

7.4 The branch name cannot contain the name of the country in which the branch is located as a prefix or as any part of the name.

7.5 Individual branches will be responsible for its own regulations regarding the organization and operations of its day to day business.

Function and duties of branches

Article 8

The branch will have the following functions:

8.1.1 To conduct grading, qualification examinations and award the achieved grade to its members.

8.1.2 To participate in the group competitions or meets.

8.1.3 The branch representative being the branch leader, must be registered with the Headquarters.

8.2 The branch representative must observe the regulations and any other agreement with the Association and also diligently provide guidance for its members and supervise their technical instruction.

Standards for establishing the country headquarters

Article 9

9.1 Any country containing more than two branches may establish a country headquarters.

9.2 The establishment of a country headquarters shall require a written petition to the Association and the Association will make the final decision regarding the approval of the request.

9.3 With respect to the organization and operation of the country headquarters, each country may establish its own regulations based on the consensus of its branches and within the scope of the rules and regulations of the Association, and within the laws of that country governing such activities.

Function and duties of the country headquarters

Article 10

The country headquarter will have the following functions:

10.1.1 To conduct dan grading for both practical and recommended grades up to and including 5th dan.

10.1.2 To recommend suitable candidates for titled positions.

10.1.3 To conduct examinations for 2nd and 3rd kyu instructors and also for 2nd kyu referees.

10.1.4 To conduct examination for 2nd and 3rd kyu examiners.

10.1.5 To hold seminars on techniques and officiating, athletic meets and any other events.

10.2 It is the responsibility of the country headquarters to maintain a roster of all the registered branches within its country, collect the annual membership dues and forward the payment to the Association by the due date.

10.3 Each country headquarters shall appoint a General Manager as its representative.

Standards for acquiring Dan grades, Titles and other qualifications.

Article 11

Members wishing to acquire a dan grade, title or other qualifications must satisfy the prerequisites stipulated in the table below:

1 Dan Grades

Practical Dan	Prerequisite	Dan by Recommendation	Prerequisite
Shodan (1st Dan)	Must be 1st kyu	Shodan (1st Dan)	Trained in karate for at least 5 years
Nidan (2nd Dan)	Shodan holder	Nidan (2nd Dan)	Shodan for 3 years or more
Sandan (3rd Dan)	Nidan holder	Sandan (3rd Dan)	Nidan for 3 years or more
Yondan (4th dan)	Sandan holder	Yondan (4th dan)	Sandan for 4 years or more
Godan (5th dan)	Yondan holder	Godan (5th dan)	Yondan for 5 years or more

2 Titles

Title	Prerequisite
Renshi	(4th Dan for at least 2 years ) or (5th Dan for one year and at least 35 years of age)
Kyoshi	(Renshi for at least 5 years) or (6th Dan or higher and at least 45 years of age)
Hanshi	(Kyoshi for at least 10 years) or (8th Dan or higher and at least 55 years of age)

3 Instructor Certification

Qualification	Prerequisite
2nd Kyu Instructor	4th Dan or higher and a holder of the 3rd kyu Instructor’s certification
3rd Kyu Instructor	3rd Dan or higher

4 Referee Certification

Qualification

Prerequisite

2nd Kyu Referee

Kata	4th Dan or higher
Kumite	3rd Dan or higher

5 Qualification Examiner

Qualification	Prerequisite
2nd Kyu Qualification examiner	5th Dan or higher, at least 40 years of age, and (2nd kyu Instructor or 2nd kyu Referee)
3rd kyu Qualification examiner	4th Dan or higher, at least 30 years of age and (3rd kyu Instructor or 2nd kyu Referee)

Procedure for conducting examinations for Dan grades, Titles and other qualifications

Article 12

When a country headquarters decides to exercise its rights granted in the first paragraph of Article 10 (items 1 thru 4), they must follow the stipulations regarding the board of qualification examiners provided below regardless of whether the candidate is taking a practical examination or is being recommended for a grade or title. The Headquarters has established an official ’Dan examination procedure system’ and a ‘Title acquisition procedure system’ that must be followed.

1 Dan Grade Examination Procedure

Dan Grade	Minimum number and level of Qualification Examiners
Shodan (1st Dan)	Three 3rd kyu Qualification examiners
Nidan (2nd Dan)	One 2nd kyu Qualification examiner, two 3rd kyu Qualification examiners
Sandan (3rd Dan)	One 2nd kyu Qualification examiner, three 3rd kyu Qualification examiners
Yon-Godan (4th thru 5th Dan)	One 1st kyu Qualification examiner, three 2nd kyu Qualification examiner

2 Title Acquisition Procedure (Done through recommendation)

Title	Minimum number and level of Qualification Examiners
All titles	One 1st kyu qualification examiner, three 2nd kyu qualification examiner

3 Instructor and Referee Examination Procedure

Qualification	Minimum number and level of Qualification Examiners
2nd kyu Instructor	One 1st kyu Qualification examiner, three 2nd kyu Qualification examiner
3rd kyu Instructor	One 2nd kyu Qualification examiner, three 3rd kyu Qualification examiner
2nd kyu Referee	One 1st kyu Qualification examiner, three 2nd kyu Qualification examiner)

4 Qualification Examiner

Qualification	Minimum number and level of Qualification Examiners
2nd kyu Qualification examiner	Two 1st kyu Qualification examiner, three 2nd kyu Qualification examiner
3rd kyu Qualification examiner	One 1st kyu Qualification examiner, three 2nd kyu Qualification examiner

Registration and renew responsibilities

Article 13

13.1 When a decision has been rendered regarding candidates who have been examined by the procedures dictates in the preceding articles, the applications must be promptly sent to the Headquarters. If the application is not received by the Headquarters then the grade or license acquired by the candidate will be considered null and void.

13.2 A Qualification examiner certification is valid for a period of three years. After three years, the certification is no longer valid. However, the certification can be renewed and in the instance where the certification is renewed in each country, this provision does not apply.

13.3 The renew policy for an instructor’s certification or a referee certification will be determined by each country. If a country decides to have an expiration policy then they must have a renewal examination or technical course where the candidate can renew their certification.

Functional Authority of Instructors, Referees and Qualification Examiners

Article 14

The following is a table listing the authority and term limits of the Instructors, Referees, and Qualification examiners.

Position	Authority	Term Limits
2nd Kyu Instructor	National Instructor	Determined by each country
3rd Kyu Instructor	Branch Instructor	Determined by each country
2nd Kyu Referee	National Referee	Determined by each country
2nd kyu Qualification examiner	Authority to recognize 5th dan or lower and conduct examinations for 2nd and 3rd kyu Instructors and 2nd kyu Referees	Determined by each country
3rd kyu Qualification examiner	Authority to recognize 3rd dan or lower and to conduct examinations for 3rd kyu Instructors	Determined by each country

Prohibition of exercising power beyond the scope of a country headquarters’ authority.

Article 15

15.1 The country headquarters may not engage in any activities outside the scope of the first paragraph (items 1 through 4) of Article 10.

15.2 If a country headquarters engages in any activities that are outside the scope of their authority, the Central Technical Committee will oversee an investigation of the activities of that country headquarters.

Exemption Clause

Article 16

16.1 Regulations concerning the election of Standing Directors, Directors and Branch Representatives, as well as ‘Principles for Branch and District (Prefecture) Headquarters establishment and regulations on registration of members’ established by the Association do not apply to Overseas members who are subject to the rules and regulations stated in this document.

Retroactive Application

Article 17

17.1 Any qualification or certification acquired by a member prior to the implementation of these regulations is deemed to be acquired in compliance with these regulations.

However, in regards to the status of the 1st and 2nd kyu Qualification examiners, the Central Technical Committee reserves the right to hold a separate review and evaluation of the Qualification examiners

Amendment of Regulations

Article 18

Once in force, these regulations supercede the following:

Regulations in other countries regarding officially recognized technical instructors and applicants for promotion

(October 1, 1993)

Certification standards of qualifications for official Wadokai instructors and referees (August 26, 1994)

Foundation standards for Wadokai branches and headquarters in foreign countries (August 26, 1994)

Action regarding the interpretation and doubts concerning the regulations

Article 19

19.1 Any issue that cannot be resolved by these regulations or any doubts that surface regarding any of the information contained in the articles will be resolved by the Association.

19.2 If there is any discrepancy in the text between the Japanese and English version of the regulations, the Japanese version will always supercede the English version.

Revocation of Prior Established Rules

Article 20

20.1 These regulations may be amended only if a General Meeting is convened by the Headquarters and a majority decision is reached to modify any of the articles in the regulations.

JKF Wadokai Rules for Overseas Members

---Table of Contents---

1.Purpose

2.General Rules

3.Organization and Constitution

4.Admission Procedure

5.Resignation Procedure

6.Privileges and obligations of members

7.Standards for establishing branches

8.Function and duties of branches

9.Standards for establishing the country headquarters

10.Function and duties of the country headquarters

11.Standards for acquiring Dan grades, Titles and other qualifications

12.Procedure for conducting examinations for Dan grades, Titles and other qualifications

13.Registration and renew responsibilities

14.Functional Authority of Instructors, Referees and Qualification Examiners

15.Prohibition of exercising power beyond the scope of a country headquarters' authority

16.Exemption Clause

17.Retroactive Application

18.Amendment of Regulations

19.Action regarding the interpretation and doubts concerning the regulations

20.Revocation of Prior Established Rules

Supplementary Provisions

Purpose

Article 1