Butokukan karate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Butokukan is a style of karate practiced mainly in the U.S. state of Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia.
[edit] 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. [1] Yoichi Nakachi was a student of Yon Pon Gun and took over as head of Shimpu-ren in 1950 when Yon returned to Korea. [2]
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. [3] Nakachi taught Lee the use of nunchaku. [4] Lee influenced Nakachi with some softer/flowing Chinese martial arts techniques. [5]
Robert Hill is the present sōke of Butokukan Karate. [6]
The Butokukan Open tournament in Bremerton, Washington is one of the oldest martial arts tournaments on the West Coast of North America.
[edit] Notes
|
||||||||||||||
