Shorinji-ryu Kenkokan
少林寺流拳行館Japanese karate of Kori Hisataka from the postwar years: vertical fist, heel kick and sparring in protective gear, from which the koshiki karatedo competition system emerged.
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Training
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Organisation & Competition
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About Shorinji-ryu Kenkokan
Shorinji-ryu Kenkokan is a Japanese karate style founded after the Second World War by Kori Hisataka, read Kudaka in Okinawan according to the headquarters. A dissertation from the University of the Ryukyus (Zacharski, 2019) states that Hisataka, later the founder of Kenkokan, introduced karate to Manchuria in 1932. The founding year varies between sources. English Wikipedia and the website i-budo.com give the first dojo in 1945 in Oshima park in the village of Hamada in Kumamoto Prefecture, the headquarters and the World Koshiki Karatedo Federation (WKKF) June 1947. The headquarters names Chotoku Kyan and Sanda Kanagusuku as Hisataka's teachers and writes that he studied judo for a year at the Kodokan and reached 4th dan. The Okinawa Karate Information Center (OKIC) states that several schools emerged from Kyan's students. The style is known for the vertical fist, the heel kick and sparring in protective gear, bogu. English Wikipedia lists these as the founder's innovations, but the headquarters already attributes the vertical fist to Kyan. Since 1974 teaching has been led by the founder's son Masayuki Hisataka, who according to the WKKF developed Super Safe protectors and the koshiki karatedo competition system.
History
The school's headquarters states that Hisataka was born on 22 April 1907 in Shuri and died on 14 August 1988 in Tokyo. In 1929 and 1930, according to it, he travelled to Taiwan with Kyan and Ryosei Kuwae, and as a railway station master in Manchuria he met Minoru Mochizuki, associated with Yoseikan budo. Japanese Wikipedia does not give the year of founding and says only that the school arose after the war. According to the hombu and the WKKF, the headquarters moved in 1955 to the Waseda district of Tokyo's Shinjuku.
How it differs
The headquarters attributes the vertical fist, wider use of the hips and angular movement to Chotoku Kyan, whose school is pronounced Shorinjiryu in Japanese according to the hombu. English Wikipedia lists the vertical fist among Hisataka's innovations. It is not the same as Shorinji kempo, which arose in 1947 according to the Nippon Budokan.
Technique
English Wikipedia lists among the features of the style the vertical fist tate ken, the heel kick, whole-body engagement in the technique with full follow-through, pre-arranged sparring yakusoku kumite, and protective gear in which the student can test the technique without holding back force. The website shorinjiryu.org writes that Hisataka insisted on bogu, which protects against injury while allowing contact. The headquarters states that the protectors cover the struck areas, not the hands and legs, so full technique is possible. According to English Wikipedia, the main kata were Naihanchin, Nijushiho, Sanchin, Chinto and Kusanku, and the weapon kata Shishiryu no Bo, Jo kata and Nijushiho no Sai. Masayuki Hisataka later added Gorin no Bo and Gokyoku no Ken.
Training
The headquarters states that kumite is practised empty-handed and with weapons, with and without protectors, and that Kori Hisataka created an entirely own form of yakusoku randori kumite. English Wikipedia writes of strong emphasis on pre-arranged pairs and on the weapons bo, jo and sai, while today's headquarters stresses bo, sai and the sword. According to the headquarters, Kenkokan originally used kendo protectors in kumite.
Ranks and progression
English Wikipedia lists ten kyu from the white belt and ten dan. For 6th to 8th dan it gives a ceremonial red-and-white belt and for 9th and 10th dan a red belt. The WKKF issues koshiki karatedo grades with their own titles.
Today
According to the headquarters, the head of the style is Masayuki Kukan Hisataka, 10th dan, born in November 1940. After his father's death in 1988 he became, according to the headquarters, chief professor. Ryukyu Shimpo named him in 2022 as president of the WKKF. English Wikipedia names the splinter schools Shorinjiryu Kenyukai Watanabe-ha, Genbukan, Kenryukan, Kentokukan and Koshinkai.
Did you know
The school's headquarters explains that the Japanese surname Hisataka is read Kudaka in Okinawan, after the island of Kudaka, and that some kata therefore bear this name, for example Kudaka No Naihanchin. According to the headquarters, Masayuki Hisataka won the All Japan Open Karatedo Championships in 1961 and 1962.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Shorinji-ryu Kenkokan?
Kori Hisataka (1907 to 1988), a student of Chotoku Kyan. Sources give the year of founding as 1945 or June 1947.
What is the relationship between Kenkokan and koshiki karatedo?
Koshiki karatedo is a competition system with Super Safe protectors, which according to the WKKF was developed by the founder's son Masayuki Hisataka. The Kenkokan headquarters describes it as a system open to all styles.
How does Kenkokan differ from other karate styles?
English Wikipedia lists the vertical fist, the heel kick and sparring in protective gear. The school's headquarters already attributes the vertical fist to Chotoku Kyan.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.