Satojuku Karate
A Japanese karate school founded in 1977, according to Wikipedia, by Katsuaki Sato, the winner of the first kyokushin world open tournament in 1975.
Quick Facts
JapanCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Satojuku Karate
About Satojuku Karate
Satojuku, whose full Japanese name is Odo-ryu karatedo Satojuku, is according to Japanese Wikipedia a karate school based in Tachikawa, Tokyo. It was founded in 1977 by Katsuaki Sato, whom the National Diet Library lists with the birth year 1946. English Wikipedia gives Mitaka, Tokyo as the place of founding and Odo as the second name of the school. According to Japanese Wikipedia, Sato won the All-Japan kyokushin championship in 1971 and 1974, and in 1975 he became the first world champion at the 1st World Open Tournament of kyokushin, with which he ended his competitive career.
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According to Japanese Wikipedia, Sato came to kyokushin after 1967, while English Wikipedia gives 1969 and names Terutomo Yamazaki as his trainer. From 1973 he was, according to Japanese Wikipedia, an official instructor of Kyokushin kaikan. According to the same source, Satojuku at first did not hold its own tournaments, and its students competed at events of Kyokushin kaikan, Seidokaikan and Shidokan. In 1985, according to Japanese Wikipedia, Sato created his own competition rules, POINT&K.O., which restrict the low roundhouse kick out of concern for the bodies of young competitors and award points for accurate kicks to the middle and upper levels. The All-Japan championship under these rules is now held by the non-profit organization Karatedo POINT&K.O. rule kyokai, and municipal documents give its 39th edition in March 2025 and its 40th edition in March 2026 at the Tokyo Budokan.
History
According to Japanese Wikipedia, Katsuaki Sato was born on 4 April 1946 on Sakhalin, and in 1947 his family moved to Nakoso in Fukushima Prefecture. The birth year 1946 is also confirmed by the author record of the National Diet Library. According to Japanese Wikipedia, he began judo at junior high school and after an injury switched to kyokushin after 1967. English Wikipedia gives the start as 1969 under Terutomo Yamazaki, after an injury to the knee and shoulder. In 1973, according to Japanese Wikipedia, Sato became an official instructor of Kyokushin kaikan, and in 1975 he won the 1st World Open Tournament of kyokushin. English Wikipedia states that on the way to the title he defeated Joko Ninomiya. He founded his own school in 1977, according to English Wikipedia in Mitaka, Tokyo. According to Japanese Wikipedia, Yuji Harada competed for Satojuku at the 2nd World Championship of kyokushin. In 1987 Sato published the book Odo no karate with Kodansha, and in 2007 a biographical book about him, Odo no genkon, appeared.
Competition
According to Japanese Wikipedia, the POINT&K.O. rules derive from full-contact karate. Points are awarded for an accurate kick to the middle and upper zone, for a clean hit with kiai, and for an attack on an unguarded area. Hand strikes to the face are a foul, but a feigned attack, kensei, is allowed. Repeated low kicks are punished by a deduction or a foul, in combination they are permitted, and a knockout by low kick counts as ippon. Since 1985, according to Japanese Wikipedia, Satojuku has held a Japan-wide POINT&K.O. championship every spring, and since 2002 an international championship once every four years. In a press release, the city of Kitakyushu gives the 39th Japan-wide championship as 30 March 2025 at the Tokyo Budokan with about 400 participants. The event regulations for the 40th edition of 20 March 2026 list Challenge and All Japan classes from children to seniors. According to the 2025 event regulations, the tournament in Hokkaido serves as a qualifier, and a low arc kick is newly allowed there so that competitors from kyokushin and JKJO rules can also take part.
Today
According to Japanese Wikipedia, Satojuku is led by soshi Katsuaki Sato, school head Tokuaki Sato and office manager Mika Sato. Japanese Wikipedia gives the school's seat in Tachikawa, Tokyo. Tournament organisation and the affiliation of referees were, according to Japanese Wikipedia, taken over by the non-profit organisation Karatedo POINT&K.O. rule kyokai, founded in 2005, and the Japanese Wikipedia article on Sato gives 2004. According to the same source, the organisation is open to dojo and individuals from other styles without a change of affiliation. The 2026 regulations of the 40th All Japan championship name Kazuyuki Hasegawa, head of the dojo Koshikan, as its chairman, and Katsuaki Sato is not listed in them. According to the regulations, the championship is under the patronage of Tokyo and, as planned, the Sports Agency.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Satojuku?
According to Japanese Wikipedia, the school was founded in 1977 by Katsuaki Sato, who won the 1st World Open Tournament of kyokushin in 1975 and became the first world champion.
What rules do Satojuku tournaments use?
According to Japanese Wikipedia, the POINT&K.O. rules, which Sato created in 1985. Points are given for accurate hits, punches to the face are a foul, and repeated low kicks are penalized.
Where is the POINT&K.O. All-Japan championship held?
According to municipal documents from 2025 and 2026, at the Tokyo Budokan, and it is organized by the non-profit organization Karatedo POINT&K.O. rule kyokai.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.