Martial Arts Training in Japan. David Jones
as of last count) that teach the Kyokushin style of karatedo.
Mr. Hashizume Hidehiko
Kansai Hombu
2-5-9, Nakasaki, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi 530-0016, Japan
Tel: (06) 376-3703
Mr. Kamio Nobuyuki
Asakusa Dojo
Hanakawado Bldg. IF, 1-3-6 Hanakawado, Taito-ku, Tokyo 111-0033, Japan. Tel: (03) 5828-5992. Fax: (813) 5828-5925
Mr. Kamio Nobuyuki
Kanda Dojo
108 Tokyo Bldg. 8F, 3-20-6 Uchi Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0047, Japan. Tel: (03) 5294-6633
Mr. Sugimura Taichiro
Yotsuya Dojo
Yamaichi Bldg. BF, 3-11 Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0004, Japan. Tel: (03) 3357-8555
Mr. Shokei Matsui
Sapporo Dojo
Nakanoshima Com-Square Bldg. 7F, 1-7-20,
Nakanoshima, Toyohira-ku, Sapporo-shi 062-0921, Japan
Tel: (01) 816-3939
Mr. Yokoyama Makoto
Hakodate Branch Dojo
98-192 Jinkawa-cho, Hakodate-shi, Hokkaido 041-0833, Japan
Tel: (13) 854-8199
Mr. Sekikawa Hiroaki
Niigata Branch Dojo
1-7-1 Nishikoharidai, Niigata-shi 950-2012, Japan
Tel: (25) 268-3490
Mr. Ito Kazuma
Akita Branch Dojo
45 Numabukuro-aza, Matsubuchi, Kawabe-machi, Kawabe-gun, Akita-ken 019-2613, Japan Tel: 81188-82-3395
Mr. Hamai Yoshiaki
Toyama Branch Dojo
6-40 Akebono-cho, Toyama-shi, Toyama-ken 930-0847, Japan
Tel: (76) 433-6678
Mr. Kawabata Koichi
Kyoto Branch Dojo
Nuiville Ninsei 4F, 23 Ninsei Shogo-cho, Chukyo-ku,
Kyoto-shi 604-8812, Japan. Tel: (75) 321-1956
Mr. Hata Takanori
Nara Branch Dojo
Excellence Bldg. lF, 3-1-33 Omiya-cho, Nara-shi 630-8115, Japan
Tel: (74) 233-5799
Mr. Masaki Takao
Osaka East Branch Dojo
2-3-13 Egeyama-cho, Hyogo-ku, Kobe-shi, 652-0043, Japan
Tel: (90) 8456-3399
Mr. Takami Nariaki
Ehime Branch Dojo
3-10-1, Nagahori, Uwajima-shi, Ehime-ken 798-0082, Japan
Tel: (89) 522-7497
Mr. Abe Kiyofumi
Fukuoka Dojo
Kouyou Bldg. 2F, 15-16, Tamagawa-cho, Minami-ku,
Fukuoka-shi 815-0037, Japan. Tel: (92) 553-6807
Shorinji Kempa
Shorinji Kempo (Shaolin Temple Fist Method) was created by its founder So Doshin in the 1940s in Tadotsu, Japan. Shorinji Kempo, perhaps more than the other styles discussed so far, looks to China for its inspiration. The founder studied martial arts in China for seventeen years while working as an operative of the Japanese government, and upon returning home combined them with Japanese fighting arts to form an empty-handed fighting style that bears a superficial resemblance to a combination of karatedo and aikido.
So Doshin’s inspiration was the mind and body training methods of the monks of the Shaolin temple, while the direct instigation to his creation of Shorinji Kempo was the disastrous state of Japanese society after World War II. So Doshin created Shorinji Kempo to help the Japanese, especially young people, to develop the spirit and strength of mind and body to enable them to rebuild a new and better Japanese society.
Shorinji Kempo is a registered religion in Japan. This came about in the aftermath of World War II when, for obvious reasons, the Occupation forces banned the study of martial arts. However, a variety of new religions sprang up from the ashes of Japanese defeat, one of which was a “dancing religion.” So Doshin argued that if such a thing was tolerated, then why not a “fighting religion”? He won his point. The British forces on Shikoku even allowed the Shorinji Kempa group to use its boxing ring, gloves, and training facilities. The “religious” coloration of Shorinji Kempo must not be seen in the Western sense of a system of worship of a supreme being, but rather in a more Asian sense of a code of life, a “Way.”
Shorinji Kempo stresses the following basic principles (from www.shorinjikempo.or.jp/wsko/guide.html):
1. Ken zen ichinyo (body and mind are the same). Zen refers to the spirit. Ken to the body. Students of Shorinji Kempo should seek to develop both body and mind.
2. Riki ai funi (strength and love stand together). Strength supported by love, and love supported by strength. The condition in which the two apparent opposites are unified as one, is what a man’s way of thinking and acting should have as the core.
3. Shushu koju (defend first, attack after). Shorinji Kempo is a method of self-defense. It begins with defense, not with attack.
4. Kumite shutai (pair work is fundamental). In Shorinji Kempo training there are two roles: an attacker’s and a defender’s. Cooperation among the two is the most important requirement for learning.
5. Fusatsu Katsujin (protect people without injury). Never seek a fight. Protect yourself. Hurting people is not the purpose of training in Shorinji Kempo.
For information concerning training in Shorinji Kempo while in Japan, you may write the Headquarters at the following address:
World Shorinji Kempo Organization
3-1, Tadotsu-cho
Nakatado-gun
Kagawa-ken 764-8511
Japan
Judo: The Gentle Way
Judo, an Olympic sport as well as a way of life for its thousands of practitioners worldwide, was the creation of Professor Kano Jigoro (1860-1936). As a young man, Kano Sensei traveled Japan, studying jujutsu (systems of unarmed combat) with some of the finest instructors available. Jujutsu, some say, was introduced into Japan in the seventeenth century by a Chinese master named Ching-Ping. Again, as we have seen in discussing the schools of karatedo, it is typical of Japanese traditional culture to revere Chinese arts and claim that in some way China was the source of the arts of Japan. There is no doubt some truth in that, but it is also true that the Japanese did not sit around defenseless until the Chinese showed up to teach them how to fight. The very earliest Chinese documents concerning contact with the Japanese describe the Japanese warriors as formidable characters.
Jujutsu is characterized by attacks against joints of the body that are intended to break and cripple and by throwing and pinning techniques. It was a form of fighting that the samurai learned as an adjunct to their weapons studies. Unarmed methods of fighting became even more significant after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and especially after 1876, when wearing of swords in public was forbidden. Kano Sensei was not merely a martial arts enthusiast, he was first and foremost an educator. It was Professor Kano who personally influenced much of the physical education program of the newly structured Japanese educational system. He sifted through the techniques of jujutsu,