Renbukai
is a little known martial art in the United States
due to the lack of English spoken in the Renbukai
organization in Japan. In Renbukai you will see
many martial arts and yet you are seeing one art.
Renbukai transcends what the average person thinks
of in the martial arts. You could say it was
Karate, Judo, Kung-fu, Aikido, Tae Kwon Do, etc.,
for it resembles those arts and much more. It
encompasses all martial arts. Renbukai does not
have a single founder but many in the formation of
the Renbukai style
Renbukai is one of the few schools in the United States that has text books, lesson plans and set guidelines to help any child or adult to develop themselves to the fullest and highest level, physically, mentally, emotionally and be able to defend oneself when all other options have been exhausted. Renbukai has help mold youth and adults of all ages into becoming exceptional individuals.
The principles our students past and present have followed. 1. Life, Defense of oneself, family and the weak. 2. Honor, truth and justice. 3. Country, preservation of one’s home and liberty.
Most scholars agree that the beginning of the art of karate originated in China and India, where it developed under Buddhist influence. Legend has it that the Bodhidharma studied the fighting styles of animals and insects and adapted them to human use. The art then found its way to Okinawa through trade and commerce. Here, unarmed combat became essential in 1609 when the Japanese conquered the island and imposed a ban on all weapons. Thus, the Okinawans had to resort to the "empty hand" to resist their occupiers. Modern KARATE has its roots in the three original Okinawan styles of fighting: SHURI-TE, NAHA-TE, and TOMARI-TE. These three systems had a long and distinguished history in Okinawa, and were very secretive. It was only during the last part of the 19th century that these martial arts were practiced openly. A major influencer in these early days was a SHURI-TE teacher named Yasatsune Itosu. Itosu is credited with being the first teacher to many of KARATE’s most famous names, and is thought to have created many of the KATA now practiced in KARATE. By the turn of the 20th century, Itosu had ensured that KARATE-DO was being taught in the Okinawan school system. The foundation for what we would recognize as KARATE was laid. The future Emperor of Japan, Hirohito, witnessed a KARATE demonstration and was very impressed. He recommended that the leaders of KARATE come to Japan and teach this martial art. A schoolteacher named Ginchin Funakoshi, a student of Yasatsune Itosu, along with some other recognized leaders of KARATE, moved to Tokyo to spread KARATE.
After Funakoshi opened his first full time KARATE dojo in 1922, Tokyo saw an explosion of new KARATE schools. Some KARATE students were unhappy with the way the art was being taught, especially when it came to combat. In most of the traditional schools, sparring was very controlled, and did not have any contact. In some schools there was no sparring allowed at all! By the mid 1930’s a group of KARATE practitioners had formed a loose alliance, and trained together to develop full contact techniques. Most of these KARATE students had an extensive background in SHURI-TE. They used modified KENDO armor (BOGU) to give a degree of realism to their fighting. In 1940, this group was recognized as a new KARATE style, and KANBUKAN KARATE was born. KANBUKAN means "Korean Martial Arts Place," probably because the founder of the KANBUKAN was a Korean schoolteacher named Geka Yung who learned SHURI-TE from Kanken Toyama. Toyama was a student of Yasatsune Itosu, and he would later form the All Japan Karate Federation in 1946. Some famous KARATE men were instrumental in the early years of KANBUKAN, including:
· Hiroyasu Tamae: a student Shiroma Gusukuma and Chosen Chibana, Tamae also trained Chinese KEMPO in Beijing, China before World War Two and NAHA-TE in Okinawa. · Hwang Kee: Hwang Kee would create his own academy when he returned to Korea in 1946 - the MOO DUK KWAN - and taught what he called T'ANG SOO DO. While in Japan Hwang Kee would study under Koichi Kondo a Renbukai instructor at the Kanbukan. In 1960 Koichi Kondo was president of the All Japan Karate-Do Federation and was instrumental in some of the karate movement in the Philippines. · Yoon Byung-In: Yoon Byung-In disappeared during the Korean war in the 1950's only to resurface in North Korea in 1995. Two of his students went on to found two of Korea's most important styles. Lee Nam-suk founded the CHUNG MUK KWON and Park Chull-hee founded KANG DUK KWON. · Mas Oyama: Mas Oyama, the founder of KYOKUSHINKAI KARATE, is said to have trained at the KANBUKAN. This is not surprising as Oyama was actually Korean, and is reputed to have loved full contact fighting.
The end of the Second World War brought enormous change to Japan and to KARATE. Many of the Koreans living in Japan returned home to continue training what they had learned in Japan. Some went on to be influential organizers of what would become Tae Kwon Do. A number of the era’s best teachers and students never returned from the battlefields and seas of the Pacific. KANBUKAN was not immune to these changes. Geka Yung returned to Korea in 1949. Most of the other Korean
students and teachers, who had not already left, followed soon after. KANBUKAN was left under the direction of two men: Norio Nakamura, a 4th degree in KENDO and a 2nd degree in JUDO, and Miwaru Okamoto. In 1948, Masayuki Koide, a SHOTOKAN practitioner from Waseda University and a 2nd degree in KENDO joined KANBUKAN. Koide went on to become the first international director of RENBUKAI. Also in 1948, Akira Onodera joined KANBUKAN. Onodera would eventually be the technical director of RENBUKAI an old friend of KANBUKAN, Kanken Toyama, founded the All Japan Karate-Do Federation (AJKF) in 1946. By establishing an organization such as the AJKF, Toyama's intention was to unify KARATE under one governing organization. KANBUKAN, CHITO-RYU and SHUDO KAN were all early members of the federation. The federation became an authority for rankings, and issued rank certification. The name of KANBUKAN was changed in 1950 to RENBUKAN. Translated, RENBUKAN means, “Training martial arts place”. Under the name RENBUKAN the style continued to grow in popularity, especially in Tokyo. The first full contact sparring competition using the modified BOGU was held in 1954. Following the success of that inaugural tournament, annual full contact tournaments using BOGU were scheduled. Participants came from across Asia, but mostly from Japan and Korea. Foreign residents or servicemen would occasionally enter these full contact tournaments styles in Japan to practice fighting full-contact with protective gear. In 1985 the USA team placed second at the All Japan Karate-Do the Renbukai Team Federation tournament held in Japan the only foreign team to place in 33 years of operation using Bogu (full contact equipment) which Renbukai Developed. Do to other styles coping the Renbukai Bogu Renbukai developed a second generation modern Bogu which is used today. Renbukai is one of the few styles to used Bogu. This is done during all training classes and in tournaments to invoke realism. In 1964 RENBUKAN became RENBUKAI. RENBUKAI means, “training martial arts association”. RENBUKAI joined KYO KAI, WADO RYU, SHITO RYU, GOJU KAI and RENGO KAI in becoming the first six recognized styles in the new organization called the Federation of All-Japan Karate-Do Organizations (FAJKO). FAJKO is later re-named the All-Japan Karate-Do Federation (JKF).
Nakamura continued as the director of Renbukai until 1972, at that time Minoru Okamoto became the director. In the early sixties, GORDAN KENNEDY introduced what was to become Renbukai to the United States. Kennedy had discovered the Renbukai School while serving with the U.S. armed forces in Japan and had achieved the rank of 1st degree black belt. In August 1964, RON MARCHINI started instruction in the art of Renbukai from Kennedy and senior student F. "BOOTS" CURETON II. From this beginning, Marchini made his first journey to the Orient in 1966 to train under Norio Nakamura and Masayuki Koide. This was the first of many trips Marchini made to the Orient to study the martial arts. JAMES GRADY started training with Ron Marchini in 1965. Marchini went on to become the highest ranking martial artist in Renbukai in the U.S. and would become the number one competitor in 1969 and 1970. In 1970 Ron Marchini was inducted in the Black Belt Hall of Fame was and was rated the in the top three from 1968 to 1972 when he retired from competition. James Grady the second highest martial artist in Renbukai The two became the most famous of Renbukai practitioners in the world.
The Renbukai organization alone has over 500,000 practitioners in Japan.
In 2002 Masayuki Koide had passed and Toshiko Kikumura took over the international director of renbukai out of Kenagawa Japan. That same year Ron Marchini retired from active teaching but is informed on all aspects of Renbukai. In 2005 James Grady is the next in line for United Sates Director
Renbukai schools are located in Sacramento Ca, Alaska, Rhode Island, Florida, Texas, Oregon, New Mexico, Guam. There also Renbukai chapters in Canada, South America India and Europe. Renbukai Black Belts have been rated nationally at one time or another on the traditional and open tournament circuit.
Renbukai is one of the few schools in the United States that has text books, lesson plans and set guidelines to help any child or adult to develop themselves to the fullest and highest level, physically, mentally, emotionally and be able to defend oneself when all other options have been exhausted. Renbukai has help mold youth and adults of all ages into becoming exceptional individuals.
The principles our students past and present have followed. 1. Life, Defense of oneself, family and the weak. 2. Honor, truth and justice. 3. Country, preservation of one’s home and liberty.
Most scholars agree that the beginning of the art of karate originated in China and India, where it developed under Buddhist influence. Legend has it that the Bodhidharma studied the fighting styles of animals and insects and adapted them to human use. The art then found its way to Okinawa through trade and commerce. Here, unarmed combat became essential in 1609 when the Japanese conquered the island and imposed a ban on all weapons. Thus, the Okinawans had to resort to the "empty hand" to resist their occupiers. Modern KARATE has its roots in the three original Okinawan styles of fighting: SHURI-TE, NAHA-TE, and TOMARI-TE. These three systems had a long and distinguished history in Okinawa, and were very secretive. It was only during the last part of the 19th century that these martial arts were practiced openly. A major influencer in these early days was a SHURI-TE teacher named Yasatsune Itosu. Itosu is credited with being the first teacher to many of KARATE’s most famous names, and is thought to have created many of the KATA now practiced in KARATE. By the turn of the 20th century, Itosu had ensured that KARATE-DO was being taught in the Okinawan school system. The foundation for what we would recognize as KARATE was laid. The future Emperor of Japan, Hirohito, witnessed a KARATE demonstration and was very impressed. He recommended that the leaders of KARATE come to Japan and teach this martial art. A schoolteacher named Ginchin Funakoshi, a student of Yasatsune Itosu, along with some other recognized leaders of KARATE, moved to Tokyo to spread KARATE.
After Funakoshi opened his first full time KARATE dojo in 1922, Tokyo saw an explosion of new KARATE schools. Some KARATE students were unhappy with the way the art was being taught, especially when it came to combat. In most of the traditional schools, sparring was very controlled, and did not have any contact. In some schools there was no sparring allowed at all! By the mid 1930’s a group of KARATE practitioners had formed a loose alliance, and trained together to develop full contact techniques. Most of these KARATE students had an extensive background in SHURI-TE. They used modified KENDO armor (BOGU) to give a degree of realism to their fighting. In 1940, this group was recognized as a new KARATE style, and KANBUKAN KARATE was born. KANBUKAN means "Korean Martial Arts Place," probably because the founder of the KANBUKAN was a Korean schoolteacher named Geka Yung who learned SHURI-TE from Kanken Toyama. Toyama was a student of Yasatsune Itosu, and he would later form the All Japan Karate Federation in 1946. Some famous KARATE men were instrumental in the early years of KANBUKAN, including:
· Hiroyasu Tamae: a student Shiroma Gusukuma and Chosen Chibana, Tamae also trained Chinese KEMPO in Beijing, China before World War Two and NAHA-TE in Okinawa. · Hwang Kee: Hwang Kee would create his own academy when he returned to Korea in 1946 - the MOO DUK KWAN - and taught what he called T'ANG SOO DO. While in Japan Hwang Kee would study under Koichi Kondo a Renbukai instructor at the Kanbukan. In 1960 Koichi Kondo was president of the All Japan Karate-Do Federation and was instrumental in some of the karate movement in the Philippines. · Yoon Byung-In: Yoon Byung-In disappeared during the Korean war in the 1950's only to resurface in North Korea in 1995. Two of his students went on to found two of Korea's most important styles. Lee Nam-suk founded the CHUNG MUK KWON and Park Chull-hee founded KANG DUK KWON. · Mas Oyama: Mas Oyama, the founder of KYOKUSHINKAI KARATE, is said to have trained at the KANBUKAN. This is not surprising as Oyama was actually Korean, and is reputed to have loved full contact fighting.
The end of the Second World War brought enormous change to Japan and to KARATE. Many of the Koreans living in Japan returned home to continue training what they had learned in Japan. Some went on to be influential organizers of what would become Tae Kwon Do. A number of the era’s best teachers and students never returned from the battlefields and seas of the Pacific. KANBUKAN was not immune to these changes. Geka Yung returned to Korea in 1949. Most of the other Korean
students and teachers, who had not already left, followed soon after. KANBUKAN was left under the direction of two men: Norio Nakamura, a 4th degree in KENDO and a 2nd degree in JUDO, and Miwaru Okamoto. In 1948, Masayuki Koide, a SHOTOKAN practitioner from Waseda University and a 2nd degree in KENDO joined KANBUKAN. Koide went on to become the first international director of RENBUKAI. Also in 1948, Akira Onodera joined KANBUKAN. Onodera would eventually be the technical director of RENBUKAI an old friend of KANBUKAN, Kanken Toyama, founded the All Japan Karate-Do Federation (AJKF) in 1946. By establishing an organization such as the AJKF, Toyama's intention was to unify KARATE under one governing organization. KANBUKAN, CHITO-RYU and SHUDO KAN were all early members of the federation. The federation became an authority for rankings, and issued rank certification. The name of KANBUKAN was changed in 1950 to RENBUKAN. Translated, RENBUKAN means, “Training martial arts place”. Under the name RENBUKAN the style continued to grow in popularity, especially in Tokyo. The first full contact sparring competition using the modified BOGU was held in 1954. Following the success of that inaugural tournament, annual full contact tournaments using BOGU were scheduled. Participants came from across Asia, but mostly from Japan and Korea. Foreign residents or servicemen would occasionally enter these full contact tournaments styles in Japan to practice fighting full-contact with protective gear. In 1985 the USA team placed second at the All Japan Karate-Do the Renbukai Team Federation tournament held in Japan the only foreign team to place in 33 years of operation using Bogu (full contact equipment) which Renbukai Developed. Do to other styles coping the Renbukai Bogu Renbukai developed a second generation modern Bogu which is used today. Renbukai is one of the few styles to used Bogu. This is done during all training classes and in tournaments to invoke realism. In 1964 RENBUKAN became RENBUKAI. RENBUKAI means, “training martial arts association”. RENBUKAI joined KYO KAI, WADO RYU, SHITO RYU, GOJU KAI and RENGO KAI in becoming the first six recognized styles in the new organization called the Federation of All-Japan Karate-Do Organizations (FAJKO). FAJKO is later re-named the All-Japan Karate-Do Federation (JKF).
Nakamura continued as the director of Renbukai until 1972, at that time Minoru Okamoto became the director. In the early sixties, GORDAN KENNEDY introduced what was to become Renbukai to the United States. Kennedy had discovered the Renbukai School while serving with the U.S. armed forces in Japan and had achieved the rank of 1st degree black belt. In August 1964, RON MARCHINI started instruction in the art of Renbukai from Kennedy and senior student F. "BOOTS" CURETON II. From this beginning, Marchini made his first journey to the Orient in 1966 to train under Norio Nakamura and Masayuki Koide. This was the first of many trips Marchini made to the Orient to study the martial arts. JAMES GRADY started training with Ron Marchini in 1965. Marchini went on to become the highest ranking martial artist in Renbukai in the U.S. and would become the number one competitor in 1969 and 1970. In 1970 Ron Marchini was inducted in the Black Belt Hall of Fame was and was rated the in the top three from 1968 to 1972 when he retired from competition. James Grady the second highest martial artist in Renbukai The two became the most famous of Renbukai practitioners in the world.
The Renbukai organization alone has over 500,000 practitioners in Japan.
In 2002 Masayuki Koide had passed and Toshiko Kikumura took over the international director of renbukai out of Kenagawa Japan. That same year Ron Marchini retired from active teaching but is informed on all aspects of Renbukai. In 2005 James Grady is the next in line for United Sates Director
Renbukai schools are located in Sacramento Ca, Alaska, Rhode Island, Florida, Texas, Oregon, New Mexico, Guam. There also Renbukai chapters in Canada, South America India and Europe. Renbukai Black Belts have been rated nationally at one time or another on the traditional and open tournament circuit.