Do I need to speak Japanese to train?

No. Instruction can be conducted in English, and inquiries in English are welcome.

Can I sign up for private training directly?

Private training is entered by introduction rather than enrolment, as places are limited and non-public. Public classes are offered separately at tama-kickboxing.com and have no such requirement.

What is taught at Yoshinkan Honke?

Shotokan karate of the Okano-ha lineage, classical jujutsu including throws, joint control and close work, and aikido principles of blending and control, taught as a single integrated system.

For International Visitors & Residents

Private Karate & Jujutsu Training in Tokyo

Q: Where is training held?

In the Tama area of Tokyo, Japan.

Yoshinkan Honke offers private, appointment-based Japanese martial arts training in Tokyo. Sessions are small-group or one-to-one, taught in the Shotokan Okano-ha real-combat lineage, and combine classical jujutsu, Shotokan karate, and aikido. Instruction can be conducted in English for international visitors, expatriate residents, and their families.

What we teach

Training is not tournament karate. It is practical budo drawn from the Okano-ha lineage — kata studied as a vessel of transmission, and technique tested for real application. The curriculum integrates:

Shotokan karate (Okano-ha lineage)
Classical jujutsu — throws, joint control, and close work
Aikido principles of blending and control

Who it is for

Private training suits visitors to Tokyo who want a serious, discreet martial arts experience; residents and expatriate families seeking ongoing instruction in English; and family offices, founders, and executives who prefer non-public practice. Participation is by introduction and review. For the family-office program, see our Otome-ryū page.

A note on the name

Yoshinkan Honke (揚心館本家) is a private Shotokan-karate and jujutsu lineage based in Tokyo. It is a separate organization from Aikido Yoshinkan (養神館), the aikido style founded by Gozo Shioda. Although our curriculum includes aikido principles, we are not affiliated with the Aikido Yoshinkan organization.

The lineage, briefly

Shotokan karate did not descend as a single line. From Funakoshi Gichin's Dai-Nippon Karate-do Kenkyukai (1930) it divided into several currents, and Yoshinkan Honke sits at the end of one specific branch: Shotokan Okano-ha, which passed through Jigenkai (Sagami Gym) and Nozaki Kaikan. That branch is unusual because it was tested outside the dojo — its karateka entered professional kickboxing and Muay Thai from the early Showa period onward.

If you want to see exactly where this sits in relation to the other Shotokan organizations, the full chart is on the Shotokan lineage page, and the narrative is on the history page.

Public practice and private training are separate

Yoshinkan Honke runs two distinct layers. Open, public-facing classes — children's karate, kickboxing, general fitness — are handled separately at tama-kickboxing.com. What is described on this page is the private layer: appointment-based, small-group or one-to-one, and entered by introduction rather than enrolment. If you are looking for a regular weekly class to join, the public site is the right place to start.

Instruction in English

Sessions can be conducted in English. In practice this matters less for terminology — kata names and counting stay in Japanese, as they do everywhere — and more for the explanatory part: why a movement is shaped the way it is, what the kata is preserving, and how a technique is meant to be applied. That is the part most international students lose in a Japanese-only dojo, and it is the part we make sure is understood.

Questions we are commonly asked

Is Yoshinkan Honke the same as Aikido Yoshinkan?
No. Yoshinkan Honke (揚心館本家) is a Shotokan-karate and jujutsu lineage. Aikido Yoshinkan (養神館) is the aikido organization founded by Gozo Shioda. The names read alike in English but the characters, the arts, and the organizations are different, and we are not affiliated with it.

Do I need to speak Japanese?
No. Instruction can be given in English, and inquiries in English are welcome.

Can I simply sign up?
Not for the private layer. Places are limited and non-public, so we ask for an introduction and a short account of your interest before a first visit. Public classes at tama-kickboxing.com have no such requirement.

What is actually taught?
Shotokan karate of the Okano-ha lineage, classical jujutsu (throws, joint control, close work), and aikido principles of blending and control — treated as one system rather than three separate curricula.

Where is training held?
In the Tama area of Tokyo.

Location & inquiries

Training is held in the Tama area of Tokyo. Because places are limited and non-public, we ask that you introduce yourself and your interest before visiting. English inquiries are welcome.

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