Associations exist

"Karate Associations exist, and continue to do so, in a vain attempt to instill a sense of  ‘quality control’ into karate.....the decline in standards (both moral and physical) has plummeted under their watch.” - Michael Clarke, Shinseidokan Dojo blog (slightly altered by me, slightly)

Comments: It seems to me that this rises up from the human need to group together for survival. It is like the electromagnetic that pulls metals to its center, it is an irresistible pull of nature. It is human nature that causes such dysfunction because except in small personal groupings the larger groups tend to lose connectivity and it is a personal connectivity that fosters group cohesion and cooperation.