Byakuren Kaikan
 |
|
| Focus | Hybrid |
|---|---|
| Hardness | Full-contact |
| Country of origin |
 Japan
|
| Creator | Sugihara Masayasu |
| Parenthood | Shorinji Kempo |
The Byakuren Kaikan (Japanese: 白蓮会館 - literally translated: "White Lotus Association") or Byakuren Karate is a full contact karate style founded in 1984 by (Japanese: 杉原 正康).
The Byakuren Kaikan is a member of the Japan Fullcontact Karate Organization (JFKO) and of the World Kumite Organization (WKO).
The Byakuren Kaikan is registered in Japan as a nonprofit organization (NPO).
Despite being classified as a Karate school its origins date actually back to the Shorinji Kempo, a martial art considered to be derived from Shaolin Kung Fu. Henceforth, Byakuren Kaikan, much like its parent, divides the techniques into two main categories: Gōhō (剛法 - i.e. "hard techniques": punches, kicks, etc.) and Jūhō (柔法 - "soft techniques": throws, joint locks, etc.).
Sugihara Masayasu (Born in Osaka, Japan, In 1951) started practicing Judo and Karate from a very young age, and eventually discovered and trained mainly under Shorinji Kempo. By the age of 28, Sugihara held a 6th Dan rank in the art, and he was a bodyguard and close student of the founder of Shorinji Kenpo Dōshin Sō. This martial art did not allow its followers to take part in contact competitions but Sugihara, eager to test his fighting skills against real opponents, decided to enroll anyway in a Karate contest. In 1983 he joined a national tournament organized by the Seidō Kaikan using "Byakuren Kaikan" as pseudonym for his school. Although he ended up among the winners the truth was soon to be discovered and to avoid further trouble to the Shorinji Kenpo organization he decided in 1984 to establish his own style which he called "International Karate-Kempo Federation Byakuren".
There are three reasons why the name was chosen: the bodyguard corps which he belonged to in Shorinji Kempo was called "Byakuren"(White Lotus), it was also the name of a technique of the martial art; furthermore, since he was about to undertake a new path in Karate, he would have had to start from the very beginning using the white belt.
Despite the rather acrimonious split from the Shorinji Kempo organization, Sugihara expressed great gratitude for his previous master.
Unlike many other schools of the time, since its foundation the members of Byakuren began to participate in many competitions organized by other styles, becoming a new contender on the scene. In the full contact karate environment Sugihara will earn the title of "Fighting Master" and "invader".
Since 1985 the Byakuren Kaikan regularly organizes regional and national Full Contact Karate tournaments.
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Wikipedia