Enshin Kaikan - History

History

Joko Ninomiya (二宮城光, Ninomiya Joko?) was born on January 27, 1954, in Yawatahama City, Ehime Prefecture, Shikoku, Japan. At age 12 Ninomiya began training in a Judo class taught by a teacher at his junior high school. 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—Kancho Hideyuki Ashihara. One year later, in 1969, Ninomiya began training in Ashihara’s Kyokushin karate dojo.

When Ninomiya was 17, he was chosen to compete in the 1971 All-Japan Tournament as the youngest competitor. Ninomiya subsequently competed in the 1972, 1973, and 1976 All-Japan Tournaments and the 1975 All-World Tournament, making it to the later rounds in all of them. Ultimately, he won the 1978 All-Japan and then retired from tournament competition.

In 1973 Ninomiya was selected to go train at the Kyokushin dojo in New York City. He stayed on in New York City as an instructor for several years. In 1977 he moved to Denver and opened his own Kyokushin dojo.

In 1980 Kancho Hideyuki Ashihara left the Kyokushin organization and started his own his own style--Ashihara Karate. Ninomiya joined Ashihara's organization and directed the US region of Ashihara Karate from Denver. Over the next eight years, Ashihara Karate slowly increased in size in the US and around the world.

During this time, Ninomiya states that he had developed strategies and ideas of his own that he was eager to implement in his training curriculum. He also wanted to develop his own tournament format that would provide what he felt to be a “true” test of karate skills. Therefore, in May, 1988, Ninomiya decided to leave Ashihara Karate and start his own style. Most of the instructors and students of Ashihara in the US decided to follow Ninomiya into his new organization, providing a strong base for the new style—Enshin Karate.

Since 1988, Enshin Karate has continued to be headquartered at Ninomiya’s honbu in Denver. The organization has grown and now includes schools in Asia, South America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East, as well as in the US. Ninomiya’s idea for an open, knockdown-rules tournament that promotes the Sabaki method became the Sabaki Challenge that has been held annually in Denver since 1989.