Origins
The International Ryukyu Karate-jutsu Research Society/琉球唐手術国際研究會 [i.e. IRKRS aka The Society] was originally established in Japan during the late 1980s to serve a limited group of foreign enthusiasts interested in my research and publications. Accepting a position, offered by the President of the Australian Karate Federation/World Karate Federation Treasurer, I relocated to Brisbane in 1995. In an effort to meet the numerous and varying demands of a more progressive learner, I decided to open our doors to the general public in Jan 1996. Such a decision has resulted in the IRKRS growing exponentially, currently with a membership in more than thirty countries around the world; truly making the Society an international group of likeminded enthusiasts.
Mindset
While I always deeply respected the Japanese heritage of our tradition, and the cultural legacy of its Okinawan pioneers, our success has been built on attracting learners and instructors, who have outgrown overly ritualized and rule-bound practices, being taught as the original art; Not to mention the propaganda associated with promoting one style over another. We have long believed that tradition is not about blindly following in the footsteps of the old masters, or even preserving their ashes for that matter, but rather keeping the flame of their spirit alive, and continuing to seek out what they originally sought. Known for our thinking-outside-the-box mentality, we have been a dependable source of information helping both learners and instructors successfully build bridges across styles for more than thirty years; In fact, the IRKRS was the very first style-free organization of its kind. While we’ve established a sterling reputation for our many Japanese-to-English translations of the pioneer’s writings, on-line dialogue, Journals and instructional DVDs, the principal focus of our attention is, and has always been, mentoring and empowering enthusiastic learners irrespective of rank or style. Most importantly, we’ve enjoyed helping instructors understand and develop more effective curriculums through which to impart the functional application practices of kata.
Okinawa
Not satisfied with relocating our offices to Los Angeles in 2019, and having been away from Japan for nearly twenty-five years, the decision was made to return here in 2020. In January 2021 we re-established our office here in Okinawa; For more see here…
Ichariba chode 行逢りば兄弟
Ichariba chode is a local [Uchinaguchi] expression about camaraderie here in Okinawa; It means something like; “Though we meet but once, even by chance, we are friends for life.”