Ever hear of Shudokan Karate?

[KenpoMike]

Ever hear of Shudokan Karate or Ken Polite? I was told by someone that it was a small offshoot of Shotokan(sp?) Karate. I took some lessons from him years ago and just became curious when an instructor mentioned some doubts about his background and then I became curious about the style also. He did seem to know his stuff.

[patusai]

ShudoKan is not an offshoot of Shotokan. Kanken Toyama's school is that of ShudoKan. In his day there were two men in Japan who had authority to promote to any rank in karate and it would be honored in all of Japan. Toyama was one of those men. He is a Student of Itosu who was a student of Matsumura. I hope that this helps. If you want more information google for "Kanken Toyama"

[wagnerk]

Yes, heard of that style. They aren't an off-shoot of each other, but they both have similar roots in Okinawan - Ankō Itosu. But after that, I believe that's where the development of each art goes their separate ways.