DiscoverGeorge Washington UniversityJKA Karate Club
JKA Karate Club
George Washington University
JKA (the Japan Karate Association) was founded in 1955 with Gichin Funakoshi as its chief instructor. Sensei Funakoshi is considered the father of modern karate, after having brought the art from Okinawa to Japan. JKA Karate is distinguished from other martial arts by the linearity and strength of its punches, blocks, and kicks. Precise techniques, accompanied by mastery and focus of energy flows and a deep knowledge of the body's vital points, make this karate style a comprehensive system for self-defense and combat. The JKA Karate Club of GWU was founded in 2002 and our chief instructor is Sensei Kenichi Haramoto, a 7th-degree black belt from Japan who began his training in 1962. In 1966, he participated in the All Japan Collegiate Karate championship Tournament and took first place together with his Aoyama Gakuin University Karate Club men's kumite team.