Shotokan Karate of America (米國松濤館; SKA) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to teach traditional karate-do in the United States. It was founded by
Tsutomu Ohshima
is a prominent Japanese master of Shotokan karate who founded the organization Shotokan Karate of America (SKA).Gichin Funakoshi
was a japanese martial artist who is regarded as the founder of Karate, Shotakan karate, perhaps the most widely known style of karate, and is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato,Funakoshi, ...
, the father of Shotokan karate.Evans, J. K. (1988): "The battle for Olympic Karate recognition: WUKO vs. IAKF." ''Black Belt'', 26(2):54–58. Ohshima is also recognized as the founder of many other SKA-affiliated Shotokan organizations worldwide. SKA's national headquarters are located in Los Angeles.
History
Ohshima (1930-) began practicing karate at the
Waseda University
, mottoeng = Independence of scholarship
, established = 21 October 1882
, type = Private
, endowment =
, president = Aiji Tanaka
, city = Shinjuku
, state = Tokyo
, country = Japan
, students = 47,959
, undergrad = 39,382
, postgrad ...
club in 1948, after having already trained in sumo, kendo, and judo during his childhood. At the time, Funakoshi, in his early 80s, was still teaching at Waseda and other universities. Ohshima's leading seniors at Waseda included Hiroshi Noguchi,
Shigeru Egami
was a pioneering Japanese master of Shotokan karate who founded the Shōtōkai style. He was a student of Gichin Funakoshi, who is widely recognized as the founder of modern karate.
Early life
Egami was born on December 7, 1912, in Ōmuta, F ...
Tadao Okuyama
Tadao (written: 忠雄, 忠夫, 忠男, 忠生, 忠郎 or 理男) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
*, Japanese architect
*, Japanese ''daimyō''
* Tadao Baba (born 1944), Japanese motorcycle engineer
*, Ja ...
and Matsuo Shibuya, and he became captain of the club in 1952. In 1955, he moved to the University of Southern California to continue his studies, and led his first U.S. practice soon afterwards. In 1957, he started the first university karate club in the United States at
Caltech
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
, and in 1959 founded the Southern California Karate Association. As more dojos were opened in California and throughout the U.S., the organization was renamed to Shotokan Karate of America in 1969. Ohshima officially retired as the
shihan
is a Japanese term that is used in many Japanese martial arts as an honorific title for expert or senior instructors. It can be translated as "master instructor".
The use of the term is specific to a school or organization, as is the process of ...
(head instructor) of SKA in 2018, at the age of 88. The current SKA shihan is John Teramoto.
Special Training
SKA conducts regional special practices known as "Special Trainings" (or ''gasshuku'' in Japanese) twice a year, usually in the winter and summer. These consist of a series of intense practices held over a short period of time, in a communal setting. Special Training is considered a crucial aspect of SKA practice, as Ohshima writes, "I hope that all Shotokan members will attend at least one special training because this is the essence of traditional martial arts practice." One strict rule of Special Training is that no participant may leave until the Special Training is officially over; leaving early without permission of the chief instructor entails automatic expulsion from SKA.
Ranking
SKA uses the ranking system originally introduced by
Gichin Funakoshi
was a japanese martial artist who is regarded as the founder of Karate, Shotakan karate, perhaps the most widely known style of karate, and is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato,Funakoshi, ...
, with eight '' kyu'' ranks, and five '' dan'' ranks. Contrary to many other karate organizations, there are no ranks above ''godan'' (5th ''dan''), which
Tsutomu Ohshima
is a prominent Japanese master of Shotokan karate who founded the organization Shotokan Karate of America (SKA).directory of SKA dojos in the United States on its website.