Group Photo from the 2017 Kyoshinkai Annual Group Seminar featuring Hanshi Lenny Jordan of the KYOSHINKAN and Soke Joseph Ruiz of the International Karate Kobudo Union.

The 2017 Kyoshinkai Annual Group Seminar and festivities occurred on Saturday, September 16th, 2017 at the ATCO Center in Cartersville, GA. This event was hosted by Hanshi Lenny Jordan, Founder of the KYOSHINKAN and provided instruction for adults, children, and teens. Participants for the event covered 5 states with 13 dojos being represented and included many senior level Sensei. The group was a collection of participants and dojos from both the KYOSHINKAN and the International Karate Kobudo Union.

Multiple empty hand kata with bunkai was taught in both the morning and afternoon session. Kobudo groups were also formed in the morning hours for those seeking specific weapon expertise with the highlight being the Eku Kata, Yamashita No Eku. Hanshi Lenny Jordan ran the morning sessions empty hand Karate and Kobudo classes. Hanshi Jordan taught Shorin-Ryu empty hand kata and bunkai to the group and provided explanation and comparisons vs the traditional Shotokan style. For Kobudo, some students worked in small groups with Tonfa inside the center. For the Eku Kata, Yamashita No Eku, the class was run outside the center in the parking lot to allow for plenty of room for Eku and Bo. The Eku kata was developed by Hanshi Yamashita and Hanshi Matayoshi.

The afternoon session featured Soke Joseph Ruiz, 10th Dan and Founder of both the Kotosu-Ha Shito-Ryu Karate-Do System and the International Karate Kobudo Union.  For Soke Ruiz’s session, Neiseishi Kata or “24 Steps” was the focus. Nisheishi, which is the Chinese name of the kata, is the equivalent of the Japanese Kata Nijushiho. Soke Ruiz was able to trace Niseishi kata back to its original Chinese roots and so it is included as a 3rd Dan requirement in the IKKU. Soke Ruiz spent time teaching the formal movement of the kata as well as provide the applicable bunkai to the group at large.

Following the events of the day, the group retired to a local Pizzeria to cool off and bond with new friends. Kicking back and reflecting on the day’s events is a tradition that continues since the days of Motobu, Chibana, Mabuni, and Funakoshi. Two organizations coming together to share knowledge and friendship is what traditional karate is all about. Exposure to a style unlike your own is a way to open your mind to new ideas and techniques while giving you a fresh perspective on the arts as a whole. The great masters of the past took time to network, break bread together and even share an occasional toast. We should continue this practice and honor where our traditional martial art roots began.

That is a wrap from the 2017 Kyoshinkai Annual Group Seminar and we look forward to what collaborative events can be forged together in 2018.

Additional IKKU Information:

Don’t forget our next upcoming event which is the 2017 IKKU Christmas Clinic and Celebration. The event is scheduled December 2, 2017, in Dexter, GA, hosted by Suansu Karate Kai at the Estate of Kyoshi Kim Blue.

For information about joining the IKKU – International Karate Kobudo Union then please visit our IKKU Registration Page. We welcome new members to our organization and have 6-10 scheduled events each year. This will allow you direct access to Soke Joseph Ruiz, founder of the IKKU and other High Dan Instructors from the IKKU.

For a full listing of upcoming scheduled sessions please visit our Events Page. Here we showcase our upcoming Clinics, Camps and other opportunities for engagement with the IKKU.

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Participants from the 2017 IKKU Weapons Choice Clinic blowing off some steam after class.

The 2017 3rd Annual Weapons Choice Clinic took place on Saturday February 25, 2017 at Duluth Middle School in Duluth, GA. The event was hosted by Kyoshi-Sei Larry Griffin, Chief Instructor of Keishin Karate Kai. As usual, this special event attracted a big turn out with 43 attendees from 9 Dojos. Participants gathered from across the U.S., including attendees from Georgia, Florida and Maine. Hanshi Ron Downton, Assistant Director of the IKKU and Chief Instructor of Tora Shin Karate Kai led the event for the day and lent his kobudo expertise to all groups.

This was the 3rd successful of such clinics offers by the IKKU. The format of the clinic was based on a principal of sharing traditional kobudo knowledge without boundaries. Typically a student must show a certain amount of proficiency before being allowed to move to another more advanced and dangerous weapon. However this special event allows participants to choose the weapons of their preference as opposed to following a more rigid process to earn this exposure. Participants picked a group to work with in the morning hours prior to lunch and then had the option of staying with the same group in the afternoon or moving to an entirely different weapon for the afternoon session. Sessions included Kobudo Anatomy, Basics and Kata as part of the agenda for the day.

A special offering at this years event was the Eaku or Boat Oar with our guest instructor Hanshi Lenny Jordan of the KYOSHINKAN. Hanshi Jordan’s organization is based out of Cartersville, GA. Hanshi Jordan focused on the anatomy of the weapon and then followed with the Kata – Tsuken Akachu no Ekude. This was s special opportunity for participants to get exposure to a new Eaku Kata that wasn’t currently available in the IKKU curriculum. We thank Hanshi Jordan for sharing his knowledge to the IKKU family and participants.

Needless to say this was a very successful clinic with only 1 minor injury occurring from a kama cut. Luckily this injury only required a band-aid. Not too bad of a record for the 200+ man hours of weapons that were used on the floor for the duration of the event. The IKKU will certainly continue to hone and modify the clinic format in order to bring participants the very best in Traditional Okinawan and Japanese Martial Arts.

Instructors for the 2017 3rd Annual Weapons Choice Clinic From L to R: Renshi Shihan Nadine Oka, Shihan Dai Matt Downton, Kyoshi-Sei Larry Griffin, Hanshi Lenny Jordan, Hanshi Ron Downton, Kyoshi-Sei Jenny Downton, Kyoshi Kim Blue and Shihan Dai Mike Downton

Instructors, Weapons and Kata:

Renshi Shihan Nadine Oka – Kanigawa no Tonfa

Kyoshi-Sei Jenny Downton – Bo San

Shihan Dai Matt Downton – Tosan Kama

Shihan Dai Mike Downton – Nunchaku Ni

Hanshi Lenny Jordan – Tsuken Akachu no Ekude  – Eaku Kata

Kyoshi-Sei Larry Griffin and Kyoshi Kim Blue – Chatan Yara no Sai

Additional IKKU Information

Don’t forget our next upcoming event which is the 2017 IKKU Bokken and Iaido Clinic. The event is scheduled for April 22, 2017 and hosted by Shihan Dai Amy Howell at the Legion of AllStars in Griffin, GA.

For information about joining the IKKU – International Karate Kobudo Union then please visit our IKKU Registration Page. We welcome new members to our organization and have 6-8 scheduled events each year. This will allow you direct access to Soke Joseph Ruiz, founder of the IKKU and other High Dan Instructors from the IKKU.

For a full listing of upcoming scheduled sessions please visit our Events Page. Here we showcase our upcoming Clinics, Camps and other opportunities for engagement with the IKKU.

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2016 IKKU Koga-Ryu Kobudo Clinic – Group Photo

The 2016 2nd Annual IKKU Koga-Ryu Kobudo Weapons Choice Clinic occurred on February 27,  2016 in Duluth, GA, hosted by Kyoshi-Sei Larry Griffin and Keishin Karate Kai. There was certainly a great turnout with approximately 58 attendees for the  event. Participants gathered from across the U.S., including attendees from Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Maine. 3 Traditional Karate Organizations were represented during the 1 day event including the IKKU – International Karate Kobudo Union, TKA – Traditional Karate Association, and TOKA – Traditional Okinawan Karate Association.

This was the second of such clinics offers by the IKKU. The format of the clinic was based on a principal of sharing traditional kobudo knowledge without boundaries. Typically a student must show a certain amount of proficiency before being allowed to move to another more advanced and dangerous weapon. However at this event participants were allowed to choose weapons of their preference as opposed to following a more rigid process to earn this exposure. Participants picked a group to work with in the morning hours prior to lunch and then had the option of staying with the same group in the afternoon or moving to an entirely different weapon for the afternoon session. Sessions included Kobudo Anatomy, Basics and Kata as part of the agenda for the day.

As a special offering at this years event was the Eaku or Boat Oar. This class was taught by Shihan Dai Kim Blue of the Suansu Karate Kai out of Dublin, GA. He specifically reviewed anatomy of the weapon and then followed with the Kata – Matayoshi Eaku.

Needless to say this was a very successful clinic with only 1 minor injury occurring that only required a band-aid. Not too bad of a record for the 250+ man hours of weapons that were used on the floor for the duration of the event. The IKKU will certainly continue to modify classes and change formats in the future to keep things interesting but hopefully we’ll see another Koga-Ryu Kobudo Weapons Choice Clinic again in 2017. Or maybe we’ll experience more Koga-Ryu even sooner.

Instructors and Weapons for the day included:

Renshi Sensei Nadine Oka – Tonfa

Renshi Sensei Barbara Hughes – Bo

Shihan Dai Matt Downton – Kama

Renshi Shihan Mike Downton – Nunchaku

Shihan Dai Kim Blue – Eaku

Renshi Jenn Reitano – Sai

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