Seidokaikan Karate
正道会館Full-contact karate from Osaka, founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii according to the school's website. According to the Japan Times, Ishii organised the first K-1 Grand Prix in 1993.
Quick Facts
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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.
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About Seidokaikan Karate
Seidokaikan, officially Shin Nihon karatedo renmei Seidokaikan, is according to the school's website a karate organisation headquartered in Osaka, and in 2001 the Japan Times described it as an Osaka karate school with a network of dojo in Japan, Switzerland, Poland, Germany and America. It was founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii. According to the Japanese Wikipedia, in June 1980 Ishii broke away from Ashihara's school, founded Seidokan and renamed it Seidokaikan in 1981. The English Wikipedia gives 1981 as the year of founding. According to the Japanese Wikipedia, Ishii joined the Ashihara kaikan branch in Uwajima in 1969, which was part of the kyokushin Shikoku branch, and became a student of Hideyuki Ashihara. According to the Japanese Wikipedia, the rules of Seidokaikan correspond to kyokushin, and additionally allow grabbing with one hand for up to one second. From the 7th All Japan tournament, in 1988 according to the English Wikipedia, the school introduced ring fighting and, in extensions, punches to the face in gloves. According to the English Wikipedia, the amateur All Japan tournament returned in 1996 to the traditional full-contact rules. The Japan Times writes that Ishii organised the first K-1 Grand Prix in 1993, and in January 2004 reported that the Tokyo District Court sentenced him to 22 months in prison for tax evasion.
History
According to the Japanese Wikipedia, Kazuyoshi Ishii was born on 10 June 1953 in Ehime Prefecture and in January 1969 became Hideyuki Ashihara's student at the Uwajima branch. According to the Japanese Wikipedia, he founded the Osaka branch of the Ashihara dojo in 1975, while the Seidokaikan website gives 1977. The school's website adds that Ishii expanded the Ashihara dojo to Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Shiga and Okayama. According to the Japanese Wikipedia, the organization was founded in 1980 in Osaka's Nishinari-ku district, and among others Hiroaki Ninomiya, Takeo Nakayama, Hiramasa Maeda and Hirohisa Ito came from the Ashihara dojo. According to the English Wikipedia, in 1982 it held the 1st All-Japan Knockdown Open with more than 3,500 spectators, and in 1983 Ishii published the manual Full Contact Seido Karate. In 1990, according to the Japanese Wikipedia, Seidokaikan, at Masutatsu Oyama's challenge, entered competitors in a kyokushin tournament, where Nobuaki Kakuda placed fourth. That year, according to the same source, Kyokushin kaikan broke off relations with Seidokaikan after the school entered Andy Hug in the Karate World Cup without permission.
Training
The introduction by the school's head on the Seidokaikan website says karate strengthens the body, and through kokyuho breathing exercises the internal organs, and teaches courtesy and etiquette. The school's website says the headquarters teaches strikes, kicks, body work (tai sabaki) and balance-breaking techniques (kuzushi waza). According to the website, the grappling class began as the juho class because anyone who can do nothing on the ground is not doing a martial art, and ground fighting continues karate. According to the website, the headquarters offers karate for children aged five to sixth grade, youth and adults, plus kickboxing, grappling and the striking school Dageki no gakko for grades 3 to 9. The 2021 monthly fee was, according to the website, 8,800 yen for adults, with no enrollment fee and a free karategi.
Competition
According to the Seidokaikan website, from the 7th All-Japan tournament the school introduced ring fights and, in extension, punches to the face in gloves, because according to the school face-striking technique cannot be avoided where strength is concerned. The Japanese Wikipedia says the ring and gloves were abolished from the 15th edition. According to the English Wikipedia, the 1st Karate World Cup was held in 1991 as a professional tournament in a boxing ring with paid competitors. In a tie, the extension allowed punches to the face in boxing gloves, then kickboxing, and finally tameshiwari decided. The last edition was in 1995. According to the Japanese Wikipedia, the first K-1 Grand Prix was held on 30 April 1993 at the Yoyogi hall with eight competitors worldwide. The school's website says Branko Cikatic won it, beating Ernesto Hoost in the final. Since 1999, according to the Japanese Wikipedia, Seidokaikan has held an all-Japan tournament by weight categories and an open-weight tournament every September in Osaka.
Today
The Seidokaikan headquarters, according to the school's website, stands in Osaka near Tenma station and is run by Kabushiki kaisha Seido, represented by Kazuyoshi Ishii. Among the headquarters instructors the website lists shihan Nobuaki Kakuda and shihan Hidefumi Minatoya. As its main motto the school gives the training of people able to honor their parents, oya koko, and it describes today's Seidokaikan as karate for everyone. According to Japanese Wikipedia, Seidokaikan is a recognized member of the All Japan Karate Federation JKF, and the headquarters also runs a professional course, jiu-jitsu and kickboxing. In 2015, according to the same source, it became a friendly organization of Kyokushin kaikan, led by Shokei Matsui. The KARATE ALL JAPAN 2022 championship was held, according to the school's website, in Edion Arena Osaka on nine mats with more than sixty categories.
Did you know
According to the Japan Times, in January 2004 the Tokyo District Court sentenced him to 22 months in prison for evading 300 million yen in corporate income tax. Japanese Wikipedia states that the verdict became final in 2006 and Ishii was released in 2008. The Seidokaikan website states that K-1 was broadcast in prime time by Fuji TV from 1996, then by Nippon TV and TBS, and that in 1997 tournaments were held in three domes. In 2002, according to the website, Ishii produced with PRIDE the event Dynamite!, where Hidehiko Yoshida and Bob Sapp made their debuts. Among the school's well-known competitors, Japanese Wikipedia lists Takeo Nakayama, Masaaki Satake, Andy Hug and Nobuaki Kakuda, and English Wikipedia adds Musashi, Adam Watt and Sam Greco.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Seidokaikan?
Kazuyoshi Ishii. According to the Japanese Wikipedia, in June 1980 he broke away from Ashihara's school, founded Seidokan and renamed it Seidokaikan in 1981.
What is the relationship between Seidokaikan and the K-1 tournament?
According to the Japan Times, Seidokaikan founder Kazuyoshi Ishii organised the first K-1 Grand Prix in 1993, and it links the aim of K-1 with the basic idea of Seidokaikan.
Does Seidokaikan allow strikes to the head?
According to Wikipedia, the amateur All Japan tournament returned in 1996 to full-contact rules without punches to the head. Previously, strikes to the face in gloves were allowed in extensions.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.