List Of Shotokan Organizations

This is a list of some of the large Shotokan karate organizations and associations in order by year of establishment. Shotokan Karate is one of the most widely practiced martial arts in the world. Several major organizations of Shotokan Karate have been established globally, each with its own approach and philosophy, including the Japan Karate Association (JKA), Japan Shotokan Karate Association (JSKA), International Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF), World Shotokan Karate-Do Association (WSKA), International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF), Shotokan Karate-Do International Association (SKDIA), World Shotokan Karate Federation (WSKF) and Shotokan Karate of America (SKA).

Shotokan

The name "Shotokan" is used as a synonym for the Shotokan ryu association, ''Dai Nihon Karate-do Shotokan''. It is the Shotokan Karate association established by Gichin Funakoshi originally in 1930. Shotokan association is the heritage of master Funakoshi's Karate-do .

"Shotokai" should be considered the "approved" evolution of Roushi ( Funakoshi ) Sensei's Karate technique as developed, with Roushi Sensei's approval by Shigeru Egami (1912–1981). Egami, at Funakoshi's direction, was the chief instructor of ''Shotokan Dojo'' from 1976–1981. Egami began training under Funakoshi in 1930, upon entering Waseda University, and helped to establish that university's karate club. Together with Funakoshi's son Gigo (Yoshitaka), Takeshi Shimoda, and Hironori Ohtsuka, Egami was among the group of Funakoshi's students who toured with him during his exhibitions of karate in Japan during the 1930s. After Gigo's death in 1945, Egami was considered Funakoshi's successor. Funakoshi, Gichin (1973). "Karate-do Kyohan", Kodansha International Ltd, Tokyo. . See foreword by translator Tsutomu Ohshima. During his early 40s, Egami began to radically rethink the effectiveness of some of his basic techniques. He writes:

“During this questioning, I understood one thing. Until that moment I had practiced karate with a fundamental illusion, I had confused hardness with strength and I made every effort to harden my body thinking that I would obtain more strength when hardening the body is equivalent to stopping the movement. This is a fundamental defect. I had then started massaging and lightening the body I had struggled so many years to harden.”

Egami began experimenting with a more relaxed technique.

Following the Master's death in 1957 (26 April Showa 32, 1957), a rift developed among Funakoshi's students. The Shotokai ("Shoto's society") and the JKA became separate factions. To this day, the Shotokai continues the Soto-zen inspired practiced of Master Funakoshi. Particularly, tournament competition was frowned upon before Master Funakoshi's passing, as it was an affront to the inherent humility and the "inward-looking" focus in Master Funakoshi's practice. The acclaim and recognition sought and awarded in competition directly affronts this notion. Other practices of the now-separated JKA, who were essentially all junior to the Shotokai members they separated from, included the practice of grading beyond the original "five dan" structure, to ten dan gradings.

• Shotokan Karate-Do International Association (SKDIA) was founded by Masanobu Nihei in 2010, who was previously a member of JKA, SKIF, and ISKF. The SKDIA aims to focus on the traditional and practical aspects of Shotokan Karate. The SKDIA places great importance on bunkai, which involves the practical applications of kata, and full contact kumite is also an integral part of the training. Nihei's vision for the SKDIA is to preserve the original teachings of Gichin Funakoshi and a realistic approach to self-defense aspect of karate. The SKDIA has members in over 30 countries and is known for its strict adherence to traditional training methods and pushing students to reach their full potential.

Kenkojuku Karate Association (KKA)

It was founded in 1942 by Tomosaburo Okano, a Japanese Iaido master and student of both Gichin Funakoshi and his son Yoshitaka (Gigo) Funakoshi; it remains as one of the most traditional schools of Shotokan karate, with the Shotokai, it even continues Okinawan kobudō (traditional weapons) as part of its practice. The association's motto is "Inner Strength with Outward Humility". Since master Okano's passing, the Kenkojuku Budokan Hombu Dojo is now run by his son Tomokatsu Okano, from the style's Hombu dojo located in Tokyo.

Kenkojuku karate has just a few representatives within the United States, the Caribbean, India and Latin America.

In the United States, Sensei Masakazu Takahashi began his karate training under Master Tomosaburo Okano In 1961. In 1971, he travelled to America to begin his teaching career. The Takahashi Karate Dojos, located in Amity Harbor and Mount Kisco, New York, has been established for more than 42 years.

Sensei Koji Sugimoto is the current representative of the Japan Karate Federation for Shotokan Kenkojuku karate. He was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1947. At the age of fourteen, he began karate under master Tomosaburo Okano, one of the original students of Gichin Funakoshi. Presently Shihan Sugimoto holds the rank of 6th degree under the Japan Karate Federation (JKF). He teaches in Miami, Florida.

International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF)

Hidetaka Nishiyama

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases