International Shudokan Karate Chat and Information

2/6/01 --Lineage of gymnasium of late Supreme Grandmaster Ki Whang Kim -- Jason Hill, jason.hill@worldnet.att.net

Thank you for the response. I have just gotten in from training with Grandmaster Roberts. We were just talking about our lineage and he had a question about Hohen Soken (I hope that I am spelling his name correctly). Grandmaster noticed that there are times when he is not listed in the lineage. I will pass this on to Grandmaster Roberts and give him your regards. I look forward to communicating with you soon.

---Jason,Try the site at http://www.wkf.org/shudokan.html and follow the links to the Shihan list of Toyama. (http://www.wkf.org/shudokan.list.html) You will find that In Byung Yun is there as is the founder of the Ji Do Kwan. Hohan Soken was not listed at that time. I will send this to President Caldwell for his reply. He calls Michio Koyasu in Japan frequently and he can ask him directly if need be. Caldwell is quite a scholar on the Shudokan so he probably knows outright. Also, you might want to look at http://www.kwanmukan.com/reports/lineage.pdf

2/4/01 --Lineage of gymnasium of late Supreme Grandmaster Ki Whang Kim -- Jason Hill, jason.hill@worldnet.att.net

Good Evening: I wanted to express to you how much I enjoyed reading your website about Shu Do Kan Karate. It cleared up a lot of questions about the lineage of my dojo. I will do my best to keep this message as concise as possible. My name is Jason Hill and I train at Kim Studio in Washington, DC. My instructor is the late Supreme Grandmaster Ki Whang Kim. I have been a student of Kim Studio since 1982 and presently hold the rank of 5th Dan. Grandmaster Kim passed away on September 16, 1993. Grandmaster James K. Roberts, Jr. now runs the dojo. He keeps the traditions of Grandmaster Kim and of Shu Do Kan alive in our dojo. Even though our founder is Korean, we feel that our lineage is Okinawan in origin. Grandmaster Kim studied the Shu Do Kan karate style under Toyama Kanken at Nihon University in Japan. This was during WWII when Japan occupied Korea and forced many Korean men into service with the Japanese army. I vividly remember Grandmaster Kim talking about his training under Toyama Kanken. It always brought a glimmer to his eye. I would like to learn more about the lineage of the Shu Do Kan style. I appreciate your efforts in preserving the teachings of Toyama Kanken. Many more of my fellow practioners are interested as well to learn about the teaching of Toyama Kanken. I can be reached at either jason.hill+AEA-worldnet.att.net, or at jason.hill+AEA-us.randstad.com. The website for my dojo is www.kim-studio.com. I look forward to hearing more from you in the immediate future. Take care.

----Dear Jason, Thanks for the note. Say Hello to James Roberts for me, you can tell him that he probably remembers me as a student of Il Joo Kim from Akron, Ohio. We have very good connections with the Toyama dojo and would be most happy to put you on our contact membership list for the International Shudokan. This is not a pay for membership but is a list of everyone we feel has authentic roots to the Shudokan. It lets us have your information on hand and if anything special arises, you will be notified. Of course, it swells our international membership numbers, but the list is confidential and you have no obligation at all. It is merely a friendship, recognition, and talk to list. Is that OK with you and we would be more than pleased to have GM Roberts permission also. If you want to join as a supporting member, you can, but that is another matter and you have to request it I am a student of Chull Hee Park and have 9th dan from Nam Suk Lee, both students of In Byung Yoon, as student of Toyama. GM Mr. Park was a close friend of GGM Ki Whang Kim and for a while had a gym in Silver Springs also. We are thinking of inviting Michio Koyasu from the Shudokan over here to say hello and go over the history of the Shudokan. In the meantime, I am copying this letter to the "Encyclopedia of the Shudokan," President James Caldwell. George Anderson

12/1/99 - Grandmaster Walter Todd has died. (1927-1999) -- GMT, in alt.martial-arts.karate.shotokan hedavey@aol.com (H E Davey) wrote from SHUDOKAN MARTIAL ARTS ASSOCIATION U.S. National Headquarters

(Read full text) On November 26, 1999, the Shudokan Martial Arts Association lost its President and founder. Walter Todd Sensei, eighth dan, has passed on. He was 72 years old, and his wife Eve and two children survive him. While Todd Sensei had not operated a dojo for some time, he continued to teach seminars, and he remained actively involved in the Japanese martial ways until the end of his life. Despite advanced age, and in spite of suffering from injuries and illness for many years, he never reached a point in his life where he could no longer teach. Cards, letters, and other expressions of sympathy will be forwarded to the family by the SMAA. Individuals who would like to help the Todd family deal with the cost of funeral expenses and other expenditures can do so by sending checks or money orders (made out to Mrs. Eve Todd) to: