Jōkō Ninomiya
| Jōkō Ninomiya | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 27, 1954 Yawatahama, Shikoku, Japan |
| Other names | Kancho |
| Style | Enshin Karate |
| Teacher(s) | Hideyuki Ashihara |
| Notable students | 10,000 |
| Website | www.Enshin.com |
Jōkō Ninomiya (二宮 城光 Ninomiya Jōkō?, born January 27, 1954) is the founder and director of Enshin Karate. He presides over the Enshin organization from the headquarters (honbu) in Denver, Colorado. His title as head of the Enshin organization is "Kanchō" (Grandmaster).
Joko Ninomiya was born on January 27, 1954, in Yawatahama, Shikoku, Japan. Ninomiya was the youngest of 10 brothers and sisters. His family owned and tended to several fruit orchards. To augment the family’s income, his father also worked as a carpenter.
In seventh grade, at age 12, Ninomiya began training in a Judo class taught by a teacher at his junior high school. He earned his first degree black belt by the end of eighth grade. After turning 14, Ninomiya did extra Judo training at the local police station gym on weekends and holidays. It was there that he met the man who would become his teacher and mentor in karate- Hideyuki Ashihara. One year later, in 1969, Ninomiya began training in Ashihara’s Kyokushin dojo.
Hideyuki Ashihara began training in Kyokushin karate at the honbu dojo in 1971 when he was 16 years old. Kyokushin(kai) is a full contact, knockdown style of karate founded by Mas Oyama. Ashihara attained first degree black belt in Kyokushin in 1974. Two years after that he became an instructor, and two years after that he was allowed to open his own dojo in Ninomiya’s home town of Yawatahama.
During this time, Ashihara was developing his own approach to the Kyokushin curriculum he was teaching his students as well as adding additional movements and techniques that he had devised. His techniques involved using circular patterns to move outside of an opponent’s attack and then to counterattack from a position of advantage. These techniques also involved parries and sweeps intended to use the opponent’s momentum against him. He always stressed getting the maximum impact from a minimum amount of force. Ashihara called these techniques, “Sabaki.” Although many of these techniques were prohibited in Kyokushin Knockdown karate tournament rules, he taught them to his students, including Ninomiya, so that they would be more effective, all-around karate fighters. Many renowned karate students came to train at Ashihara’s dojo because of his reputation as an extremely effective instructor.
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