Rising Sun Martial Arts is licensed by the Shidokan Kokusai Karate-Do/Kobu-Do Keiko Kenkyu Renmei (the Shidokan International Karate-do/Kobu-do Training and Research Federation). In April of 1999, RSMA was awarded our Ryu-Ha licensure, the highest level of licensure available through Shidokan International. This license is prominently displayed within the dojo.
Shidokan International is an internationally certified accrediting organization. It is licensed by the Japanese Ministry of Education to certify student ranks and to issue instructor certifications and dojo licenses on behalf of that organization. Hanshi Richard Bernard, 10th degree Black Belt and chief grand master level instructor in both Goju Ryu Karate-do and Shorin Ryu Karate-do, is the director and co-founder of Shidokan International.
Each student at Rising Sun Martial Arts is issued a Certificate of Rank for each level that he or she attains. This document is issued by Shidokan International and is certified by the Japanese Ministry of Education. All members of our dojo are therefore internationally certified to hold ranking in Goju Ryu Karate-do.
International Karate Kobudo Federation
Rising Sun Martial Arts is also a member dojo of the International Kenpo Kobudo Federation, through its Kobudo Program.
The IKKF was formed by by Hanshi C. Bruce Heilman, an internationally recognized leading practitioner of Okinawan Karate and Kobudo who holdsĀ dual 10th degree Black Belt ranking in both Okinawa Kenpo Karate and Kobudo. This organization is dedicated to the preservation of the pure classical and traditional Okinawan Martial Arts Systems and adheres to the strict standards of traditional teaching systems that have been passed on from Master to Student for the past several hundred years.
Once students at Rising Sun Martial Arts attain a certain degree of proficiency in their empty-hand (karate) studies, they have the option to join the kobudo (weapons) class and earn ranking through the IKKF. Weapons studied include bo, tunfa, sai, nunchaku, tekko, kama, eiku-bo, nunti-bo, and kuwa.