Guy Buyens (born 5 May 1961, in Vilvoorde) is a Belgian sports physician, medical administrator, and martial arts practitioner and teacher, who specializes in traditional Japanese martial arts.

Life

Buyens attended the Atheneum (Vilvoorde) and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels), graduating with a medical degree in July 1986. He earned a post-graduate degree in sports medicine afterwards. From 1992 to 2008, Buyens worked in the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industry. Since 2009 he has been the Director of AZ Jan Portaels, a general hospital located in Vilvoorde, Belgium. Buyens started martial arts (karatedō) in 1971 at the age of 10. In his youth he participated in several karatedō competitive events including the European championships in Paris in 1984. In 1983, he was participating in a demonstration of Shitō-ryū karatedō with the late Sohan Eiji Ogasahara, 9th dan, and Hidetoshi Nakahashi, 6th dan (currently 9th dan) in Italy. At that occasion he also witnessed a demonstration of

Hontai Yōshin-ryū is a traditional ('' koryū'') school of Japanese martial arts founded from the original teachings of Hontai Yoshin Takagi Ryu, c. 1660, by Takagi Shigetoshi. Some sources give Takagi's middle name as Setsuemon, while others give it as Oriemo ...

, a koryū or traditional Japanese martial art. The group was led by its sōke, Tsuyoshi Munetoshi Inoue, and left a deep impression on Buyens. After finishing his medical training and while working at the

University of Brussels University of Brussels may refer to several institutions in Brussels, Belgium: Current institutions * Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), a French-speaking university established as a separate entity in 1970 *Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), a D ...

, Buyens took out a 1-year sabbatical to study Shitō-ryū karatedō with Ken’ei Mabuni- sensei (son of the founder) in Ōsaka, Japan. Close to Ōsaka, in Nishinomiya, is where

’s Imazu dōjō was located, which Buyens joined to study

bōjutsu , translated from Japanese as "staff technique", is the martial art of stick fighting using a bō, which is the Japanese word for staff. Staffs have been in use for thousands of years in Asian martial arts like Silambam. Some techniques involve s ...

and iaidō with Kyōichi Munenori Inoue, the son of the ryū’s sōke, Tsuyoshi Munetoshi Inoue. He received iaidō-training from the late Kukio Kurishima, who had expertise in Toyama-ryū iaidō and

. He participated in several

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese enbu, such as notably, the 16th Isukushima Enbu Taikai in Miyajima (2005), and the 30th (2007) and 32nd (2009) Nihon Kobudō Kyōkai enbu in Tōkyō. Buyens is among a select number of Westerners who hold authentic Japanese credentials in koryū

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

. Buyens currently holds the ranks of 6th dan in Shitō-ryū karatedō (from Ken’ei Mabuni) and of 6th dan/chūden in

. He is one of only three Belgians with verified authentic

ese koryū credentials, the other two being

Serge Mol Serge Mol (/'sərdʒ 'mɑl /; katakana: セルジェ・モル; Russian: Серге Молл) (born 1970) is a dedicated martial artist, martial arts historian and martial arts book author from Belgium. He is among a select number of Westerners ...

( Enshin-ryū and Hōki-ryū jūjutsu) and Dr. Carl De Crée ( Tenjin Shin’yō-ryū of the Inoue Keitarō-lineage and Owari-ha Yagyū Shinkage-ryū). :fr:Koryu

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buyens, Guy Living people 1961 births Belgian male karateka Belgian medical researchers Vrije Universiteit Brussel alumni People from Vilvoorde Belgian sports physicians