The IKKF
Our umbrella organization
The International Kojosho Karate Federation (IKKF) exists to preserve the work of past masters while supporting members through certification, instruction, camps, seminars, tournaments, and conferences. It provides a central structure to maintain consistency across our many schools, each of them locally owned and operated by certified Kojosho Black Belt instructors. Our schools (dojos) emphasize traditional values and teaching methods. Our traditional outline for classes starts with basic techniques drilled through repetition. Then the class will take those techniques and integrate them into kata or formal exercises. The class then reviews the nine animal and nine element postures before practicing whichever Kojosho forms the student is working on. These Kojosho forms are based on the animals, such as Tiger and Crane. Those forms are eventually integrated such that they become two-man forms with one student being the Tiger and one being the Crane. This helps the students understand timing, distance and intersection from the both the positive and negative animal's viewpoint. The classes will end reviewing self-defense and bag work. Usually, at least once a week sparring is available for the more advanced students.
History
The roots of Kojosho reach across generations.
The Kojosho Kempo is deeply rooted in China. Even though change is inevitable, the style has retained a classical motion and signature. The early sets of this unique method were examples of how animal movement can translate into offensive and defensive theories. With China being so close to Okinawa, martial arts techniques were passed on through traders and merchants. Okinawa eventually became a hub for multiple styles of karate and martial arts.
Over time, masters used this animal-based guide to create new and expanded sets and to devise kata. These sets, taught in order of progressive difficulty, ultimately link into one long form worked solo or with a partner. Kojosho was taught in Okinawa during the 1940's and 1950's to Kosuburo Matsu. Mr. Matsu move to Hawaii in the 1950's where he taught the Kojosho forms to an American serviceman, Jack Gorik. Mr. Gorik moved to Sante Fe, NM in the 1960's where he taught this style to several students including Mr. Frederik Absher. Mr. Absher became the lead instructor of Kojosho and eventually opened his first school in 1966.
Philosophy
Everyone is always a student.
Every martial art must have teachers, but in karate everyone is a student. Two philosophical statements can be made by the continuing emphasis on the word "student". The first is a conscious exhibition of the virtue of humility and the second lies in the implications of the words "master" and "student". All things are either growing or decaying, and that which does not advance must inevitably decline. Instead of being, the student is in a state of becoming. Only under this condition is the student actively attempting to reach his goals and continuing to evolve. Conversely, the term "master" implies perfection with no more need of change or evolutionary growth. Since we are all students, we all must continue to train, learn and evolve.
Students are the driving force behind a vibrantly growing, continually challenging system. Masters are the emanation of a system at its peak. Good teachers emphasize the growth potential of the student and encourage his desire to challenge and be challenged by the art, with the resulting growth benefiting all.
Teachings
System to learn the timing, distance and intersection required for combat.
The teachings of Kojosho build on the basic karate techniques taught by a majority of the martial arts community. The key is to leverage those techniques into the nine Animal and nine Element postures, learn sets of motions based on those animals and perform those in one-person, two-person and three-person exercises. Through those interactions the student will learn to see how the opponent moves and react with proper distance, timing and intersection to attack or counter-attack. Through class exercises working with opponents having different sizes, shapes, and speed, the student builds a knowledge base that they can use later. Extending these exercises to weapons work, the Kojosho forms continue to teach.
