Shukokai Lineage

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KENWA MABUNI 

Kenwa Mabuni was one of the first karateka to teach Karate in mainland Japan and is credited as developing the style known as Shitō-ryū.  He was one of the original Masters that travelled with Gichin Funakoshi with the aim of popularising Karate.

Born in Shuri on Okinawa in 1889, Mabuni was a 17th generation descendant of a famous warrior; He began training in the art of Shuri-Te at the age of 13, under the tutelage of the legendary Ankō Yasutsune Itosu.

He trained diligently for several years, learning many kata from this great master.   It was Itosu who first developed the Pinan kata, which are still taught to this day.

One of his close friends, Chōjun Miyagi (founder of Gōjū-ryū and inspiration for the famous Mr. Miyagi in the movie The Karate Kid) introduced Mabuni to another great Master of that period, Higaonna Kanryō, and began to learn Naha-Te under him as well.

While both Itosu and Higashionna taught a 'hard-soft' style of Okinawan 'Te', their methods and emphases were quite distinct: the Itosu syllabus included straight and powerful techniques whereas the Higashionna syllabus, on the other hand, stressed circular motion and shorter fighting methods.  Mabuni merged these facets into Shitō-ryū, which still focuses on both hard and soft techniques to this day.  Mabuni was legendary for his encyclopaedic knowledge of kata and their bunkai applications. 

By the 1920s, he was regarded as the foremost authority on Okinawan kata and their history and was much sought after as a teacher by his contemporaries.

CHOJIRO TANI

Chojiro Tani was born in Kobe, Japan. He initially trained under Chojun Miyagi, the founder of Goju-Ryu, and completed this training with the 2nd Dan.  After a few months, in 1939, Miyagi Chōjun returned to Okinawa and Kenwa Mabuni took over as his teacher. 

Upon graduating from university, Tani began learning Shuri-te and then Shitō-ryū from Mabuni as well.  After many years of training under Mabuni and becoming one of his most senior students, Tani received the certificate of succession from him and became the head of Shitō-ryū, enabling him to use the name Tani-ha Shitoryu. 

After the Second World War, Tani Sensei started to teach Karate in an open air car park in the centre of Kobe.  He named his group Shukokai, which loosly translates as 'Way for all'.  This later became the name of the style he taught.   His popularity soon grew and one year later, in 1949, he built his own Dojo attached to his house. 

 Shūkōkai was designed around the study of body mechanics, is very fast due to its relatively high stance aiding mobility, and is known for the double hip twist, which maximises the force of its strikes; making it one of the most hard-hitting Karate styles..

Shigeru Kimura

1941 - 1995 

Shigeru Kimura was born on 2 March 1941, in Kobe, Japan.   He began practising Judo at the age of 10.  Later, he also practised Kendo. 

In 1957, aged 16, Kimura began his Karate journey under Chojiro Tani. Initially, Kimura found the training very hard, but he dedicated himself to his training and was soon one of Tani’s best students.     In 1961 aged 21, Kimura won the All Japan Championships.  The following year he retained his title.  However, he began to question the validity of the techniques used in his tournament successes.  He felt that the techniques he used would be ineffective in real combat situations. 

With the blessing of Tani, he began to explore how his techniques could be improved.  Building on Tani’s use of body mechanics, Kimura took a scientific approach to improving his techniques.  His research lead to new advancements in Shukokai Karate. 

 Kimura travelled to Southern Africa in 1965, to promote his improved version of Shukokai.  He arrived on the African continent not being able to speak English.  However, he was able to communicate his ideas.  He taught in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South Africa. 

In 1968 Kimura arrived in the UK, where he conducted a number of courses and demonstrations, assisted by Yoshinao Nanbu, another of Tani’s students who had been promoting Shukokai Karate in Europe.  This included a demonstration held during a tournament at Crystal Palace and an open course in Chigwell Essex. 

The Shukokai Karate Union (SKU) was established in the UK in 1969 and Tani was named President, with Kimura being named Vice President and Nanbu was named Chief Instructor.  Students of the SKU included Stan Knighton, Bob Aikman, Roy Stanhope, Peter Consterdine, and Eddie Daniels.  Some of these went on to train the founders of the Chinto Karate Group.

As ambassadors of Shukokai Karate, Kimura and Nanbu travelled around Europe, showcasing their version of Shukokai.   Kimura also travelled to the Glasgow dojo of Tommy Morris, an early pioneer of Shukokai Karate in Europe. Kimura taught a number of classes at the dojo.  He also travelled to France,  Belgium, Yugoslavia, and Norway to promote Shukokai. 

In 1970, with Shukokai Karate established in Europe and Southern Africa, Kimura moved to the United States.  His aim was to promote Shukokai in the country.  In 1972 Kimura opened his own dojo in Hackensack, New Jersey.  The dojo also functioned as the Shukokai Headquarters. 

Even though he was based in the US, he made frequent visits around the world, conducting courses and gradings.  By 1981 Shukokai had become established around the world. 

On 7 July 1995, the Shukokai world was shocked by the sudden death of Shigeru Kimura from a heart attack.  He was only 54 years at the time and was survived by his wife, who he had married in 1980.  At the time of his death he was a 9th Dan and he was posthumously awarded his 10th Dan. 

Self-improvement was at the heart of who Shigeru Kimura was.  He always looked to improve himself and his Karate.  His teachings and legacy continue through his students.  The world lost a great martial artist.   There is no telling where he would have taken Shukokai Karate.

With the Shukokai Karate Union well established in the UK, one of his students – Sensei Stan Knighton (10th dan) eventually took over as Chief Instructor.  This set the scene for numerous clubs and groups to form around the country basing their training upon the teachings of Shigeru Kimura.  

In the early 80s, under the influence of Stan Knighton (see above)  Shukokai training started in Norfolk, with clubs in Gt. Yarmouth and Norwich.  The Chinto Karate Group evolved, in 1998, following a reorganisation of the club in Gt. Yarmouth and Tracy took over as the Head Coach.  On a national level, eventually, as often seems to be the way, various differences in approach lead to the founding members of the SKU splitting and, ultimately, setting up the Shukokai Karate Federation and Shukokai Karate Association.

This brings us bang up to date.  With Tracy at the helm of the Chinto Karate Group.  The training that she received in the 80's and 90's can be traced back to it's Okinawan origins via the various Masters and their students mentioned above