Place To Train With Your Heart And Soul.

Boise Keishinkan is a traditional Okinawan style karate dojo located in Boise, Idaho. We focus on the pure form of karate, and are not a commercial dojo. We train all ages and all skill levels, including self defense.

The roots of our style can be traced to the birth of Karate on the island of Okinawa under Sokon Matsumura (1809-1901). Matsumura served as a body guard to the king of Okinawa and wanted to be able to protect the king even while unarmed, so he began to combine the most practical techniques of Chinese martial arts and the Okinawa fighting style called TE.  Matsumura held his position as body guard for forty years and during his time at the palace he and his fellow bodyguards, including Anko Itosu, developed and refined what we now call linear karate.

These very capable men did not want to control an attacker with grappling or vital point attacks, but instead sought to deliver a single blow powerful enough to render a man unconscious or even kill.  To develop such terrific power, they trained their bodies relentlessly to turn their hands and feet into virtual weapons.  These early karate pioneers began to formalize there techniques into katas that could be passed down from teacher to student.  The kata we practice today in our dojo originated during this time period.

In 1955 Master Kanken Toyama gave Masanao Takazawa the name Kei Shin Kan for his dojo.  Toyama himself was a student of Anko Itosu and told Sensei Takazawa that “true karate cannot be confined by the creation of particular styles.”  He instructed that Kei Shin Kan be a dojo for students to practice true karate and not a style of karate.  We train in Okinawa Seito-Ryu (the pure form from Okinawa).

Boise Kei Shin Kan follows this tradition and is dedicated to passing on the katas created by Master Matsumura and Master Itosu over 200 years ago and the system of training developed by Master Toyama and Master Takazawa.  It has been in Boise since 1972 when Sensei  Shinohara and Sensei Odaohara were picked by Sensei Takazawa to come to the United States to teach karate.  Isaac Espinoza, the current head of U.S. Kei Shin Kan, started in 1973 and continues to teach

While 80% of all martial arts are the same, it is in that 20% that makes the system and style. The true style is the way it is taught and passed down.

Boise Keishinkan Karate is an affiliation of  Japanese Keishinkan Association under Sensei Yamazaki.

The Boise dojo is the headquarters of United States Keishinkan Association, under Sensei Espinoza.