Daikaku Chodoin, 68, is the founder and president of the United World Karate Association, which combines all five iemoto (the traditional branches of the martial art) with an estimated 50 million practitioners around the world. A kyuudan (9th degree black belt) of Goju-ryu, one of Okinawa's "hard-soft" karate styles, Chodoin is a fearless fighter who thrives on going to battle both on and off the dojo floor. His winning streak began in his 20s: He first struck gold with shipbuilding and later made a killing with real estate and stocks. He has used his vast fortune to fight racial discrimination and supported revolutionary movements in Africa, South America and the Middle East. In 1985 Chodoin established the World Black Congress in order to unite Africans and that same year he created the Society of International Outer Space Law to draw up a legal framework that would give all nations equal right to space. Chodoin's desire to heal and save the world struck a chord with Michael Jackson: Since their first meeting in 1997, The King of Pop and the King of karate got along royally. In 1998, Chodoin presented Michael with the Honorary Chairmanship of the United World Karate Association and a godan (fifth degree) black belt.
Once you learn how to keep secrets, you will hear many. I arranged everything for Michael's visit. When his plane landed, we had a car drive up to it on the tarmac and rode straight into Tokyo. He stayed in a hotel but was usually at my office. We talked and did karate for three days. Nobody knew he was here, and he loved this fact.
A phone call should not be longer than 10 seconds. That is enough time to say hi, thinking of you, me too, great, bye, bye. Michael has been calling me for 13 years, a couple of times a year. I'm sorry he's gone. We won't be talking anymore, but we're still connected.