Butokukan karate

Butokukan is a style of karate practiced mainly in the U.S. state of Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia.

History

The style originated under the name of Shimpu-ren in 1940s Japan and was headed by Yon Pon Gun, a former student of Shitō-ryū founder Kenwa Mabuni. [ [http://jabka.org Butokukan Karate Association] ] Yoichi Nakachi was a student of Yon Pon Gun and took over as head of Shimpu-ren in 1950 when Yon returned to Korea. [ [http://members.shaw.ca/butokukan/butfram9.htm History of Butokukan] ]

Yoichi Nakachi left for Seattle, Washington in 1959 to attend college on a scholarship. He started teaching and changed the name in late 1963 to Butokukan. Nakachi taught karate at the Seattle YMCA and met with a then-unknown Bruce Lee. [ [http://members.shaw.ca/butokukan/butfram9.htm History of Butokukan] ] Nakachi taught Lee the use of nunchaku. [ [http://members.shaw.ca/butokukan/butfram9.htm History of Butokukan] ] Lee influenced Nakachi with some softer/flowing Chinese martial arts techniques. [ [http://www.ymkkarate.com/bbelt/nakachi.html Yoichi Nakachi] ]

Robert Hill is the present sōke of Butokukan Karate [ [http://jabka.org Butokukan Karate Association] ] , having taken over as head of the style when Nakachi died in late 1998.

The Butokukan Open tournament in Bremerton, Washington is one of the oldest martial arts tournaments on the West Coast of North America.

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