2nd Successor of Shito-ryu Karate-do
Κenei Mabuni CV
Kenei Mabuni was born in Shuri, Okinawa, on February 13, 1918. He was the first born of the three children of master Kenwa Mabuni, founder of Shito-Ryu Karate- Do.
Because of his father, Kenwa Mabuni who was involved in Karate, he entered this environment from a very early age.
Besides training in Karate, Ruy-kyu Kobudo and Ju Jutsu, with Kenwa Mabuni, Kenei also trained in Kendo and Judo at school as well as Ninjutsu by 14th generation Koga ryu Master Seiko Fujita.
In 1928, as a teenager, and after his family moved to the Kansai district in Osaka of mainland Japan, he often accompanied his father on his numerous training trips, and on many occasions he participated in Shito ryu Karate do demonstrations.
On March 1934, Kenwa Mabuni, established his personal dojo in Osaka. This was named “Yoshukan” (cultivation of superior skill and spirit ). Many masters of Karate visited the dojo to train with him. These included Motobu Choki, Konishi Yasuhiro, Moden Yabiku and Funakoshi Gichin. Kenei therefore became acquainted with them all.
After the end of World War II, Kenei continued to help his father in training and promoting Shito ryu Karate do all over Japan.
In 1947 after an examination he got a license for chiropractor.
When his father suddenly passed away on May 23, 1952, Kenei Mabuni became his Soke (successor ), and he inherited the original name of Master’s Kenwa Mabuni’s personal dojo, “Yoshukan”.
His knowledge and skills in Karate had made him famous and respected all over the world, therefore since the early 1960s, he had made numerous trips to many countries to teach Shitoryu Karate-Do.
During the inaugural of the 1st World Karate-do Championship (WUKO), in 1970, he demonstrated for the first time the “Nipaipo” kata of Gokenki Sensei.
In 1972, he was certified by the “Federation of All Japan Karate-do Organization” (FAJKO), as a first class examiner.
The “Board of Japanese Martial Arts” (Nippon Budo Kyougi Kai), honoured him with a medal for his outstanding offering, on January 15, 1984.
On March 17, 1993 in Osaka, Kenei Mabuni helped found the “World Shito-ryu Karate-do Federation”, of which he was made Governor (Sosai).
Kenei Mabuni while devoting his entire life to training and teaching Shitoryu Karate-Do, managed to promote his father’s unique system all over the world.
He left this life on December 19, 2015 aged 97, leaving to those who were aquainted to him, especially his students, the task of promoting the beautiful art of Shitoryu Karate-Do, exactlly the way he did.
