The official home of the Japan Karate Association in the Philippines. Strong basics, precise kata and the spirit of the Dojo Kun, taught under Country Chief Masayuki Iwabuchi.
The Philippine Office of the Japan Karate Association brings JKA's instruction, grading and competition standards to dojo across the islands.
Traditional Karate Championships
The Philippine Office is prefected by Mr. Masayuki Iwabuchi, who leads instruction, examinations and the national championship that bears his name, the Iwabuchi Cup.
Karate came to mainland Japan from Okinawa in the early twentieth century. The JKA formed after the Second World War to organize and spread Funakoshi's method.
Gichin Funakoshi presents Okinawan karate at a physical education exhibition in Tokyo and stays to teach on the mainland.
Funakoshi's students build a dedicated dojo named after his pen name, Shōtō ("pine waves"). The style takes its name from it.
Funakoshi's senior students establish the Japan Karate Association, with Funakoshi as its honorary chief instructor.
The JKA starts its intensive program for professional instructors (kenshūsei), a multi-year course that becomes the association's hallmark.
The JKA is registered as a corporate body under Japan's Ministry of Education. Funakoshi dies in April, and the first All Japan Karate Championship is held that autumn.
Graduates of the instructor program are sent to the Americas, Europe and beyond, laying the foundation for JKA branches worldwide.
The Funakoshi Gichin Cup World Karate-dō Championship brings JKA members from around the world to compete in Japan.
The chief instructor who shaped the JKA for decades dies. A period of internal disputes over leadership follows.
After court proceedings in Japan, one group retains the JKA name. Several senior instructors go on to form their own organizations.
Okinawan schoolteacher often called the father of modern karate. He brought karate to mainland Japan and wrote Karate-dō Kyōhan and the autobiography Karate-dō: My Way of Life.
Long-serving chief instructor who systematized JKA training, built the instructor program and competition rules, and wrote the Best Karate book series.
Graduates of the instructor program, among them Hirokazu Kanazawa, Hidetaka Nishiyama, Keinosuke Enoeda, Taiji Kase and Hiroshi Shirai, carried JKA karate across the globe.
Recited at the end of every JKA class. Each line begins with 一 (hitotsu, "one"), marking every precept as equally important.
Karate wa rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru.
Karate begins and ends with respect.
JKA training rests on three parts that support each other. Students practice all three from their first class to the highest dan grades.
Stances, blocks, punches, strikes and kicks repeated in lines across the dojo floor. The JKA is known for long, low stances and powerful hip rotation.
Fixed sequences of techniques against imagined opponents. They preserve the style's technical knowledge and are judged in competition.
Partner work that moves from prearranged drills (gohon, sanbon and ippon kumite) to free sparring. JKA competition favors the decisive single technique, ikken hissatsu.
Students start at 10th kyu and work toward 1st kyu, then test for shodan, the first-degree black belt. Dan grades continue upward, with gradings held by qualified JKA examiners.
The core syllabus practiced in the JKA. Students learn the Heian series first, then move to Tekki and the advanced kata.
Showing 26 of 26 kata
Beginners of every age are welcome. Expect bowing in, a warm-up, lines of kihon, some kata and partner drills, then the Dojo Kun. Wear comfortable clothes until you get a karate-gi.
Reach the JKA Philippines office to find a recognized dojo and instructor near you.
Join a beginner session and learn the basics of stance, posture and etiquette.
Progress through kyu grades and take part in national events like the Iwabuchi Cup.