Walter Kenmotsu Nishioka, respectfully referred to as Nishioka Shihan by his students, is the founder and chief instructor of The International Karate League.

Shihan was born in the Kalihi district of Honolulu, Hawaii, on June 18, 1932, into a family already well versed in the martial arts. His father, Hikoki Nishioka, was a renowned jujitsu practitioner who had trained Imperial Marines in Japan before immigrating to Hawaii from Kamamashiki City in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. His mother Kiyo, also came from Kumamoto, Japan. Naturally, Walter Nishioka started learning jujitsu from his father at an early age.

Shihan's first formal exposure to the martial arts was at the age of eight. In 1940 he became a student of Professor Henry Seishiro Okazaki who ran the Nikko Sanitarium and oversaw activities at the American Judo and Jujitsu Institute. The dojo was located in the Alapai district of Honolulu. At that time, Professor Okazaki, a noted honitsugi (chiropractor), was the foremost instructor of jujitsu. He had the largest, and only, school in the Territory of Hawaii. In 1948, at sixteen years of age, Shihan received his shodan from Professor Okazaki.

Shihan studied jujitsu continuously for a period of ten years, from 1940 until 1950. During that time, at his father's request, he studied kendo, yawara, and karate with one of Okazaki's instructors, Hamamoto Sensei. (Yawara is a form of martial arts used primarily to break holds.)

He attended McKinley High School and graduated in 1950. In 1951, during the Korean conflict he served in the United States Naval Reserve, later volunteering for active duty in the United States Air Force. He went through basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. He also attended gunnery school at Lowry Air Force Base, Denver Colorado, where he learned to be an aerial gunner on B-29 bombers or similar aircraft. He was first stationed at Walker Air Force Base (SAC) in Roswell, New Mexico, attached to the 509th Bomber Squadron.

In June of 1952, Shihan's prowess at unarmed combat came to the attention of the base hand-to-hand combat instructor, John Hodges, who requested that he be transferred to the instructor cadre of the Survival Training Course. This was a curriculum designed to teach basic hand-to-hand combat to flight crews who may have had to bail out over enemy-held territory and work their way back to friendly units.

Shihan became the head instructor of the survival training school when Sergeant Hodges was transferred to Washington DC, eventually teaching over 10,000 personnel hand-to-hand combat techniques. The curriculum consisted of knife/bayonet fighting, the use of the "billy club," pistol work, and a multitude of jujitsu techniques.

In 1951, General Curtis LeMay, then the commanding general of the Strategic Air Command, implemented a physical and survival training program for his aircrews. He designated judoka Emile Bruno supervisor of judo and combative measures for the Strategic Air Command. In order to integrate aikido, judo, and karate into a systematic unarmed combat style, Bruno initiated training programs for Air Force instructors in Japan. This worked so well that LeMay, a judo student of Bruno, later invited ten Japanese martial artists to tour every Strategic Air Command base in the United States and Cuba. This resulted in the legendary 1953 tour of the United States by some of the most famous martial artists in the world.

Not only was Shihan designated as one of those to be trained by these outstanding instructors, but also he accompanied the tour itself throughout its stay in the United States as its interpreter. By traveling with the members of this legendary group, Shihan had an unparalleled opportunity to learn martial arts from the best in the world. From Otaki-sensei, he learned the various interlocking techniques and strangle holds of judo, in addition to various other restraints and holds. From Ikeda-sensei, he learned tachiwaza (judo techniques for catching the opponent off balance). From the renowned Kenji Tomiki-sensei, he learned combat aikido, and Hosokawa-sensei taught techniques for disarming opponents with weapons.

While stationed at Walker AFB, Shihan participated in the SAC judo tournaments. He became coach and manager of the base judo team, which won the 8th Air Force team championship in 1953. In 1954 Shihan trained under Captain "Red" Purvis in the art of knife combat while making training films at Paramount Studios in Long Island, New York, and Tampa, Florida. Shihan was honorably discharged from military service in 1955.

Invited by of various distinguished instructors, he went to study at the Kodokan Judo College in Japan. Most noted among them were Professor Sumiyuki Kotani and Professor Kusuo Hosokawa. While residing at the Kodokan dormitory he earned a black belt in judo. He also trained in Aikido techniques with Tomiki Sensei. At this time he was introduced to Shotokan karate, in Yotsuya, Tokyo where Gichin Funakoshi was the teacher.

In 1955 Nishioka-Sensei opened a school of self-defense he called the Hawaii Karate Goshin-Kai. "Goshin" can be translated as "self-preservation," and "kai" means "club" or "association" or "fellowship." At the time, the school was located at the Moiliili Community Center on South King Street in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Upon returning to Japan in 1959, he resumed training in Shotokan karate. It was during this time frame that Shihan was introduced to the Wado style of karate. Between 1960-62, he commuted frequently to Japan, training under Hironori Ohtuska.

Shihan had the privilege of making teaching rounds with Ohtsuka Shihan to some of the colleges in Japan. They were Rikkyo University, Meiji, Tokyo Daigaku, and Nippon Daigaku.

While Shihan was in Japan, he lived with Tatsuo Suzuki in Shizuoka Prefecture. Also, Shihan had the opportunity to live with and study under Yoshio Kawaguchi, who was the head instructor of the Yokohama branch of Wado-ryu.

Nishioka Shihan initiated proceedings to bring Ohtsuka Shihan, Kawaguchi Sensei, Suzuki Sensei, and a young man by the name of Kyohisa Hirano to Hawaii. At the time (post WW-II) Japanese nationals were not allowed to travel abroad except to attend college or on official business. Because karate was viewed as an art, he was granted permission by the U.S. Immigration Department. They were brought to Hawaii for approximately two months, touring the outer islands giving demonstrations, and culminating with a final exhibition to a standing-room-only crowd in Honolulu.

Before Professor Ohtsuka returned to Japan, Shihan spoke with him about forming a school of his own. Professor Ohtsuka had mentioned this idea years earlier while Shihan was in Japan, indicating that he should be credited for the propagation of martial arts in America. With Professor Ohtsuka's encouragement, Shihan was the first to introduce Wado-ryu to Hawaii.

As proper etiquette dictates: Nishioka Shihan asked Professor Ohtsuka if it was appropriate for him to start a school of his own, and when the proper time came he would ask for his blessings. When Professor Ohtsuka returned to Japan he replied; ...."I cannot stop you from opening a school on your own because of the caliber of training you have had in the past.....I will give you my blessings....."

When continued residence at the Moiliili Community Center became no longer possible due to its demolition, Shihan moved the school to a traditional dojo located behind his home in the Manoa Valley. His students built the dojo in 1960 where it would eventually become the Hombu for a new school of karate. Shihan started a branch dojo on the island of Maui, ably assisted by Richard Nariyoshi and James Kudo, who trained students there during those times Shihan was studying in Japan. Aaron "Oscar" Tokunaga became the head of the dojo there until his untimely death in an automobile accident. In 1961, Shihan initiated weekly visits to the Big Island of Hawaii and created a strong dojo there.

From 1961 through 1965, Shihan periodically visited Okinawa to study the roots of karate. He researched the Shorin style of karate with Chosen Chibana who had extensive knowledge of karate's background history on Okinawa. He lived in the old capital city of Shuri where Shorin karate is said to have originated.

Shihan continues to travel back and forth between Hawaii and many Asian countries, studying the techniques and historical origins of the martial arts.

In August of 1962, Richard Nakano traveled to Riverside, California, for advanced post-graduate work. There he established a dojo and a tradition that is still in existence today, headed by Joseph Pagliuso and Michael Visser, the United States Karate Organization.

In subsequent trips to Japan, he talked to Professor Ohtsuka and continued to train with other judo and karate teachers. When he returned to Hawaii the research continued. By modifying, reconditioning, reworking katas to what he thought was going to be more efficiently in-tuned with modern fighting techniques, he proceeded to "create a ryu." It was not easy perfecting our system; by enduring hardships, pain, and many, many discouraging times Nishioka Shihan successfully developed his style of Shorin karate.

In March 1963, Nishioka Shihan introduced a new school of karate, called the Statewide Karate League. It is essentially a modified Shorin-ryu style of karate with some movements added from the Chinese martial arts and some other moves deleted to improve the speed of the techniques (not to mention the development of new ones).

When you visit the Honbu Dojo in Manoa, look on the makai wall. There is a banner encased in glass that is unique, simply because it is the only one in existence. It reads SKA, which stood for Statewide Karate Association. This was a very short lived name just prior to SKL coming into existence.

Something very unique was formed in June of 1959. Five men; Paul Yamaguchi, Kenneth Murakami, Mitsugi Kobayashi, George Miyasaki, and Carlton Shimomura formed the Hawaii Karate Association. These martial artist came from different styles, representing Shorin-ryu, Goju-ryu, and Mitose Kenpo. In 1961 with the addition of four new members, the Hawaii Karate Congress was formed; all affiliated under one controlling body. If you check, you will not find this type of association anywhere in existence today.

Hawaii Karate Congress Elects Officers for 1965

HONOLULU, HAWAII - Walter Nishioka has been elected 1965 President of the Hawaii Karate Congress. Kenneth Murakami was elected Vice President, Bog Igarashi Secretary and Winfred Ho Treasurer. He will go on to serve a second term as president.

In keeping with the natural and eventual evolution of an art form, Statewide Karate League went from the Go-dan system of ranking black belts to the more popular Ju-dan system. (This occurred in 1984.)

The Statewide Karate League outgrew the confines of its' original structure drafted in 1963. Nishioka Shihan, with some help, rewrote the by-laws, and on January 1, 1986, The International Karate League was born. In Japanese it is called Kokusai Karate Renmei.

From a single dojo it became statewide, and now we have grown to become a worldwide entity. From a single leader we now have a Board of Governors to help oversee operations in an ever growing Ryu. Currently IKL is divided into six regions within the United States, with many individual dojos within each region. This school of karate has major dojos in Hawaii, California, Minnesota, Idaho and Utah.

As Nishioka Shihan says, "First I built this school for myself, but now it is not my school any more. It is your school, our school, everybody's school from our system and everybody must take responsibility for building our school. This is the reason why we have a hierarchy. My main objective for our school is to have harmony and to work together, hand in hand, to help each other and to have good will, not only in karate but in friendship. This is what makes our school very unique. We are not only a school of learning how to fight, having tournaments, or just coming in and practicing karate. We are also a school that has different school affiliations hundreds of miles across the ocean. We try to get together once a year with tournaments, meetings, or we get together in good will, friendship, like one big family under one roof. My main concern now is to keep this up. As far as I am concerned we must all work together and try to find out what is good, in the best interest of the school, to build good students with good character."

Since Nishioka Shihan is the founder of The International Karate League, he does not hold any rank. He is the Shihan or the chief, the fountainhead of all attributes and the source of the system, from whom all rank originates.

With Nishioka Shihan's energy and enthusiasm for the martial arts, IKL will never stagnate or grow old. Nishioka Shihan embodies the essence of the karate spirit. Just maybe: If we train as faithfully, believe as strongly in something, pursue a dream, then just maybe, we can appreciate what he has accomplished.