After the death of Master Tōyama, Hanshi Isao Ichikawa moved to Vienna, where he established the main headquarters of his own Karatedo Doshinkan school. The name Doshinkan can be vividly translated as "the school where the path of the heart is deeply contemplated and practiced." According to the will of Hanshi Isao Ichikawa, Doshinkan was to continually develop after his death. The management of the school was taken over by his younger brother, Hanshi 10th Dan Nobuo Ichikawa, who consistently focused on perfecting the techniques and practicing the kata of Kankena Tōyama and Isao Ichikawa until the end of his life.

Since 2019, the Karatedo Doshinkan school has been led by Hanshi 10th Dan Masako Fujimoto-Stock, who received the title of Hanshi and the 10th Dan rank from Hanshi Nobuo Ichikawa. With her assuming the leadership of the school, the main headquarters of Karatedo Doshinkan – the so-called Honbu Dojo – was relocated from Vienna to Kramsach in Tyrol.

KARATEDO DOSHINKAN IS DERIVED FROM THE OKINAWAN TRADITION OF MARTIAL ARTS

Karatedo is a martial art whose roots trace back to Okinawa during the Ryukyu Kingdom (1187-1879), where Tō-de – the martial art of "empty hand" – was practiced. Daishihan Kanken Tōyama (1888–1966) from Okinawa was one of the pioneers of Karatedo in Japan, where he moved his dojo in 1930, establishing the Okinawa Seitō Karatedō Shūdōkan school ("school of studying the way").

The last student (uchi deshi) and successor of the great master Kanken Tōyama was Isao Ichikawa. Daishihan Kanken Tōyama, entrusting him with the mission of spreading traditional forms of Karatedo beyond Japan, awarded Isao Ichikawa the highest rank – 10th Dan – and the title of Hanshi.

With Hanshi Masako, you can train not only at the Honbu Dojo in Kramsach (Tyrol) but also during numerous training camps featuring her, organized in various Dojos around the world.

HANSHI 10. DAN MASAKO FUJIMOTO-STOCK

(May 15, 1969 – present)

Hanshi Masako Fujimoto-Stock was appointed successor by Hanshi Nobuo in March 2019. Like her predecessors, Hanshi Masako travels the world teaching Karatedo Doshinkan, following in the footsteps of her great Masters and preserving their memory.

Hanshi 10th Dan Nobuo Ichikawa

(04.09.1941 – 06.03.2019)

Hanshi Nobuo Ichikawa continued the work of his brother, Isao Ichikawa, developing the kata practiced in Karatedo Doshinkan and the techniques used within them. In accordance with tradition, he passed on knowledge to his students based on the principle "Maneru – Wakaru – Nareru," which means: "Imitate – Understand – Master".

Hanshi 10th Dan Isao Ichikawa

(24.12.1935 – 01.02.1996)

Hanshi Isao Ichikawa was the last student of Daishihan Kanken Tōyama and was appointed his successor. Hanshi Isao fundamentally systematized Karatedo and spread it beyond Japan. Thanks to his brilliant knowledge and intuition, he created a comprehensive teaching system of Karatedo that survived as an independent school, Karatedo Doshinkan. It is because of him that numerous kata were recreated and updated, thus preserved for future generations. Many local Doshinkan Dojos in various countries currently benefit from his legacy.

During each stay in Poland, Zenon passed on the knowledge he gained during training at Honbu Dojo to his teacher, Aleksandr Trofimov, especially the kata. When, at his request, Eng. Wiesław Guńko officially invited Hanshi Isao Ichikawa to train in Warsaw, Hanshi accepted the invitation and met Polish karate practitioners for the first time in August 1977. Thus, in Poland was born Karatedo Doshinkan. And it all started with one seemingly insignificant gesture – inviting a stranger to a table. Sometimes, one impulse is enough to open the door through which a new chapter of history enters.

We also invite you to visit the site http://renshiandrzej.ugu.pl/

A few years later, in 1975, engineer Wiesław Guńko, while passing by the windows of the gymnasium of the then School of Planning and Statistics (now the Warsaw School of Economics), noticed a group of young people practicing karate. Intrigued, he stopped his car and went into the hall. After a brief conversation with the instructor, Aleksander Trofimow, he said, "I know a real master from Japan. If you want, I can put you in touch with him." However, the meeting of Polish karate practitioners with Hanshi Isao Ichikawa took place only a year after this event, when one of them – Zenon Słomski (now Shihan 7 dan) – qualified for postgraduate studies in Vienna, where Hanshi had already established Honbu Dojo. He received a letter of recommendation to Hanshi from Mr. Wiesław, so right after arriving in Vienna, he went to the Dojo for a meeting with the Master and began training under his guidance the very next day.

In those times, encountering a Japanese person in Poland was a rarity. However, the conversation quickly evolved into a genuine meeting of two worlds. The stranger introduced himself as Isao Ichikawa, a martial arts master traveling across Europe in search of the right place to establish his Dojo.

The conversation took place in such a warm atmosphere that it sparked a friendship that developed over time. From that moment on, Hanshi Isao Ichikawa, every time he visited Poland, he would meet Mr. Wiesław.

The history of Karatedo Doshinkan in Poland began with a meeting that, at first glance, might have seemed accidental, but in hindsight turned out to be a groundbreaking event. In the 1960s, engineer Wiesław Guńko, the father of Renshi Marcin Guńko, one of the current practitioners of Karatedo Doshinkan, visited the Warsaw restaurant "U Fukiera." In the crowd of guests, he noticed a man with distinctly Asian facial features, who was looking for a free table. All the tables were occupied, so Mr. Wiesław, driven by a sense of hospitality, invited the stranger to his table.