Okinawakaratedo.com is the online home of our dojo. The Pine Lake dojo is a recognized shibu of the Kokusai Shinjinbukan Karate Kyokai founded by Onaga Yoshimitsu Kaicho.
Of the few people Onaga Sensei has accepted as deshi (disciple) over his 40+ years of teaching, many are still active. This shows the commitment deshi feel towards Onaga sensei. In return sensei has structured his new organization (2007) around this handful of deshi. Each one of his active deshi represent a branch of the organization, or what is referred to as a "shibu" with each branch head instructor as the shibu-cho.
The shibu-cho (branch director) at the Pine Lake Shibu Dojo is Daniel Kogan (7th dan, Kyoshi). Kogan sensei was the first uchi-deshi (live-in disciple) at the Hombu dojo and introduced Shinjinbukan karate to North America. This branch's main dojo is in Sammamish WA, USA and has active dojo, students, and affiliates in the USA, Canada, Europe and Latin America.
Kogan sensei has had active dojos since 1992, first in Vancouver Canada and now a private dojo at Pine Lake in Sammamish, WA, which opened its doors in 2011.
The style of karate being taught by Kogan sensei is Shorin-ryu, the style of Okinawan karate systematized and named by Chibana Choshin sensei (1885 - 1969), as well as Ti, the indigenous fighting methods of Okinawa learned, refined and passed down by generations of teachers prior to the introduction of systematized styles to the karate world.
The Ti we learn, and train is what Onaga sensei has learned and developed over more than six decades of training. Ti, although the oldest and most traditional fighting method developed in Okinawa is not intended to be a static archive of the past. It's very purpose and fundamental philosophy is to learn, polish, adapt and improve what has been handed to us by our teachers - and hence we say "Ti, a living tradition".
