Sankūkai

Sankūkai karate (三空会 - Japanese) is a style of karate founded by Yoshinao Nanbu in 1971. It is based on techniques found in Aikido, Judo, [...]ō-ryū karate and Shūkōkai karate. Its symbol is three circles (two red, one white) which represent the Earth, Moon and Sun.

History

Kenwa Mabuni was born in 1889 in Okinawa. He started to train in karate when he was thirteen, under two masters. They taught different styles of karate; one was Naha-te (Higaonna Kanryō), and the other was Shuri-te (Ankō Itosu). Learning two different styles made him recognize all the advantages and disadvantages of each particular style. When his teachers died, he continued to train in both styles. He also began to train in kobudō ("old/traditional martial arts") and by uniting everything he knew, he formed his own style of karate. In honour of his teachers, he named it [...]ō-ryū.

Kenwa Mabuni died in 1952, leaving behind many masters such as Chōjirō Tani and his son Kenei Mabuni.

Chōjirō Tani formed his own karate style known as Tani-ha [...]ō-ryū, which he later renamed Shūkōkai. Unlike [...]ō-ryū, Shūkōkai places more emphasis on attack than defence.

One of Chōjirō Tani's students was Yoshinao Nanbu.

Yoshinao Nanbu was born in 1943 in Japan. At age five he started to train in judo and kendo and later he trained in aikido and karate under Sensei Someko. At eighteen, he started to train under Chōjirō Tani. In 1964 he went to France where he first got the idea to form his own style. Then in 1968 he went back to Japan and solidified his idea. In 1971 he demonstrated his style for the first time in France, calling it Sankūkai.

Ranking

Sankūkai karate has a ranking system similar to other karate styles. Beginners have a white belt and when they have taken enough classes, they can apply for examination for a higher belt rank. School belts are called kyū, and master belts are called dan.

Sankūkai karate has different belt colours in different karate schools; below are two of the ranking systems used.

External links

• Sankukai Karate Slovenia
• Sankukai Demonstration
• British Sankukai Karate Association
• Federation Sankukai Karate-do Scotland

References

sl:Sankukai