User:Shinpuren007

Butokukan karate originally had the name of Shinpuren in Japan in the 1940s.Master Yon Pon Gun had originally studied under Master Itosu of Okinawa and Master Mabuni in Japan. He then formed his own style.Shinpuren had been the name of a ferocious rebel samurai group in Japan in the late 1800s.It's been widely suspected that Master Yon Pon Gun chose this name because of the association to this group of samurai who fought ever so valiantly against the much bigger opposition of the Japanese government. Master Yoichi Nakachi was left in charge of Shinpuren in Japan after Master Yon Pon Gun returned to Korea. Master Nakachi traveled to the USA in the late 1950s on a student visa and began teaching karate in Seattle. He worked out with a then unknown kung fu man, Bruce Lee, and it's said he taught Lee nunchuka weapon. Lee showed Nakachi Chinese flavored martial arts. Master Nakachi changed the name of the style from Shinpuren to Butokukan in 1959. He also made slight alterations to the katas, but for the most part they were very similar to the original pinion and Shotokan katas. Today there are two main Butokukan Karate organizations in the USA. North American Butokukan, Hanshi Chris Olson, Sherwood, Ark. Japan American Butokukan Karate Association, Soke Robert Hill, Bremerton, Wa. This is of course a Japanese style and is known for being very aggressive in sparring. Butokukan has a long and rich history in the USA with many outstanding black belts ranging back to the early 1960s.