Seishin-Kan: Affiliated Organisations

Seishin-Kan Affiliations

The Nippon Budō Seishin-Kan currently operates independently from any national or international budō organization, other than those which the Seishin-Kan itself has established or helped establish. After having maintained several such affiliations in the past, we determined that our students derive little or no benefit from organisations that provide no instruction or support other than a name on a fancy menjō (diploma). The Seishin-Kan does maintain a "club" membership in the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States (AAU), in order to provide our members with insurance coverage for injuries and opportunities for them to compete in well-managed budō tournaments if they so desire.

In 1996 the Seishin-Kan established its first website, the Web-Dōjō. The purpose of this site was to promulgate free information to the public about traditional Japanese and Okinawan budō, and it was one of the first budō websites to be established. The Kokusai Okinawa Kobujutsu Renmei website was established in 2009, after the Seishin-Kan was appointed the North American representative for Aragaki-Ryū Okinawa kobujutsu. And in 2011, the Seishin-Kan established the Kokusai Budō Senmon Gakkō to provide online instruction in classical Japanese and Okinawan budō.

Jikishin-Kai International

The primary affiliation of the Seishin-Kan is with the Jikishin-Kai International (JKI), which is the official international governing body for Shimabukuro-Ha Shitō-Ryū karate-dō. It is also one of several global governing organisations for Masaoka-Ha Musō Jikiden Eishin-Ryū iaijutsu and Shindō Musō-Ryū jōjutsu. The JKI is a reconstitution of the Jikishin-Kai International founded by Shimabukuro Masayuki Hanshi in 1993, and which was maintained after his untimely death by his widow, Shimabukuro Kanako Sensei, until her return to Japan in 2022.

The reconstituted JKI is managed by former students of Shimabukuro Hanshi, based upon the principles and practices of the original JKI. It has no sōke. Instead, it is governed by a Board of Directors elected from its membership, to ensure that its member dōjō and their students are the beneficiaries of all of its decisions and activities. This structure allows the JKI to keep its dues and fees at a minimum.

Kokusai Budō Senmon Gakkō

The Kokusai Budō Senmon Gakkō (International Budō Specialty School) is a reconstitution of the Budō Senmon Gakkō (nicknamed the "Busen") that was originally established in Kyōto, Japan by the Dai Nippon Butoku-Kai in 1911 and operated until near the end of World War II.

The original Busen operated under the auspices of Japan's Ministry of Education, and was the most prestigious school for training budō instructors in Japan. Unfortunately, it was later coopted by Japan's Ministry of Defence, which led to it being permanently closed at the end of World War II.

On 01 January 2011, to mark the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the original Busen, the Nippon Budō Seishin-Kan established the Kokusai Budō Senmon Gakkō to serve as the 21st century online equivalent of the original Busen. Our goal is to provide students of the Busen with the same quality and depth of instruction that was the hallmark of its namesake.

Kokusai Okinawa Kobujutsu Renmei

Karate-do The Kokusai Okinawa Kobujutsu Renmei is the smallest global organization offering instruction in Okinawa kobujutsu—the ancient weapons systems of the Ryūkyū Islands. The KOKR hombu dōjō is located in Nagoya, Aichi-ken, Japan.

In 2009 Leonard J. Pellman Shihan was appointed Hokubei Buchō (North America Director) of the KOKR and assigned the responsibility to organize the curriculum and supervise all instruction and maintenance of standards for Aragaki-Ryū in North America.

One of the major reasons for the extensive redesign of this Seishin-Kan website in 2010 was to help fulfill Pellman Shihan's commitment to promulgate information about the KOKR and Aragaki-Ryū in North America.

Seishin-Kan members are automatically enrolled as members of the KOKR upon successfully completing their first KOKR-authorised shinsa (promotion examination). Their annual membership is automatically renewed each year, provided they continue training and membership at the Seishin-Kan.

The Web-Dōjō

The Web-Dōjō is possibly the world's oldest continuously operating website devoted exclusively to information and instruction in classical budō. It was established by the Nippon Budō Seishin-Kan in June, 1996 as a single web page hosted on AOL, and quickly grew into a site containing scores of pages hosted on several different hosting services over the years.

In 2010, the Nippon Budō Seishin-Kan established this current website to serve as its primary online presence, and the Web-Dōjō initially went dormant. Our original intent was to replace the Web-Dōjō entirely with the current Seishin-Kan site, but after further consideration, we decided to maintain the Web-Dōjō for its historic significance. Plans are now under development to restore and rennovate the Web-Dōjō for its 30th Anniversary in 2026 as an online museum of sorts to preserve its legacy.

Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)

The Nippon Budō Seishin-Kan is a member of the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States (AAU), one of the oldest and most respected amateur sports authorities in the world. All members of the Victory Dōjō are enrolled as members of the the AAU. The AAU provides our dōjō and those members wishing to compete with access to well-managed tournament system with equitably-applied rules and stringent safety requirements. The AAU officiating system has long been the model other tournament organisations imitate.

The Seishin-Kan pays the annual membership fees in the AAU. In the case of adults, aged 21 and over, the annual membership fee must be paid directly to the AAU and is deducted from the Seishin-Kan dues. This ensures access to all AAU tournaments and programmes for Seishin-Kan members, and full AAU sanction of all events sponsored by the Seishin-Kan.

The San Antonio area is located in the South Texas District (ST) of the AAU. Our club number for 2021-2022 is W349E6

Black Business San Antonio (BBSA)

The Nippon Budō Seishin-Kan is a charter Exclusive Member of Black Business San Antonio (BBSA), an organisation that provides a platform for local business owners to increase their exposure to the local community, improve their business knowledge and skills through education and training programmes, and gain access to resources and support for growth.

The BBSA was founded in 2019 to build a community of like-minded people willing to share, support, and learn from one another. It regularly sponsors business seminars, networking mixers, vendor fairs, business expos, charitable events, and holiday gift drives that connect and involve local entrepreneurs with the communities they serve, and publishes the quarterly Black Business Directory found in HEB stores and other fine retail establishments. It also operates Tha Hub, a business hub and incubator that assists local entrepreneurs, fledgling businesses, and non-profit organisations with express printing, classes, consultation, workspaces, conference facilities, and other essentials for starting and growing a successful enterprise.

Since one of the major goals of the Seishin-Kan is to provide instruction in classical budō to people who might otherwise never have the opportunity to train in those arts, BBSA membership is both a vital link to an underserved sector of San Antonio as well as serving as a source of inspiration, support, and personal growth for the dōjō leaders.

NOT Affiliated with Kokusai Nippon Budō Kai (KNBK)

Following the untimely death of Shimabukuro Masayuki Sōshihan in September 2012, operation of the Kokusai Nippon Budō Kai (KNBK) passed to his appointed successor, under whose leadership the majority of former Jikishin Kai International member dōjō and students were either terminated or resigned over exhorbitant fees and restrictive policies that are contrary to the spirit, teachings, and practices of Shimabukuro Sōshihan during the ensuing decade.

On 27 April 2021 the Seishin-Kan was notified of the retroactive termination of its membership in the KNBK, effective 31 December 2020. At that time, we were requested to remove any reference to current membership in the KNBK from our website, which we have endevoured diligently to do. However, our website contains more than 150 pages and hundreds of links. Although we believe we have removed all references that state—or might imply—that we are still affiliated with the KNBK, this notice is intended to make it absolutely clear that no such affiliation exists.

Instead, the Nippon Budō Seishin-Kan joined with several other former students and member dōjō to reconstitute the Jikishin-Kai International, effective 25 September 2022. The Jikishin-Kai International (JKI) and the Kokusai Okinawa Kobujutsu Renmei (KOKR) are currently the only budō governing bodies with which the Seishin-Kan is currently affiliated.

Spotlight Info

Our founder and Dōjō-Chō, Pellman Shihan, has cumulatively spent more than 50 years either training directly under the sōshihan or sōke (headmasters) of the arts taught at the Seishin-Kan or their most senior students. Based on this training he has compiled standards of member conduct and ranking for the Seishin-Kan that those of any equivalent governing or accrediting organisation for budō in the world today.

Thus, Seishin-Kan members can be assured that their skills and knowledge are at least the equal of anyone of equal ranking from another dōjō or style.

Nippon Budō Seishin-Kan

Creators of the original Web-Dojo