About Us
JKS Glasgow is a family-run martial arts school with classes across Glasgow. That means we value each and every one of our students, push them to achieve their goals, and provide them support throughout their Karate journey!
We are proudly affiliated to JKS Scotland and are the arm for JKS Karate in Glasgow.
So whether you hope to train for a competition setting, to enhance your overall health and wellness, or to learn practical self-defence skills, our professional and compassionate team at JKS Glasgow can help you meet and exceed your goals.
Our Expert Team
JKS Glasgow is committed to providing world-class Karate instruction. Our school is home to award-winning instructors who offer compassionate and personalised guidance to each and every student.
Our Core Values
We strive to promote our strong values of confidence, hard work and respect. Traditional martial arts training isn’t just about technique or self-defence, it’s about promoting health and wellness in all aspects of life, and about becoming the best you can possibly be.
Our Mission
Our mission is to bring high-quality Shotokan Karate training to Glasgow, to empower our students with confidence and knowledge, and to help them meet and exceed their goals in both their fitness and in their personal lives.
About Karate
Shotokan (松濤館, Shōtōkan) is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa[1] and is widely credited with popularizing “karate do” through a series of public demonstrations, and by promoting the development of university karate clubs, including those at Keio, Waseda, Hitotsubashi (Shodai), Takushoku, Chuo, Gakushuin, and Hosei.[2]
Funakoshi had many students at the university clubs and outside dojos, who continued to teach karate after his death in 1957. However, internal disagreements (in particular the notion that competition is contrary to the essence of karate) led to the creation of different organisations—including an initial split between the Japan Karate Association (headed by Masatoshi Nakayama) and the Shotokai (headed by Motonobu Hironishi and Shigeru Egami), followed by many others—so that today there is no single “Shotokan school”, although they all bear Funakoshi’s influence.
As the most widely practiced style, Shotokan is considered a traditional and influential form of karate do.
Read more about Shotokan karate here – Click here to read more
About JKS
Our Japan Connection – Our Karate Heritage
The JKS is a world wide karate organisation headed by World Chief Instructor, Masao Kagawa Shihan (Master) 9th Dan.
It was formally established in 2000, after a long running court case between the Chairman of the Japan Karate Association and the Chief Instructor of the JKA, Tetsuhiko Asai Shihan 10th Dan.
Asai Shihan established the Japan Karate Shotorenmei (Federation) only 19 years ago, but the heritage goes back much further.
Our Heritage started with :-
Sensei Gichin Funakoshi 10th Dan, 1869 – 1957 – The Father of Modern Karate and founder of the Shotokan style.
Sensei Nakayama 10th Dan, 1913 – 1987 – Credited to have bought Karate to the wider world by sending his students to all corners of the globe.
Sensei Asai 10th Dan, 1935 – 2006 – Former Chief Instructor of the Japan Karate Association, laid the foundations of the JKS in 1990.
Sensei Masao Kagawa 9th Dan 1959 – Current Chief Instructor of the JKS –
Kagawa Shihan is the current World Chief Instructor of the JKS, former chairman of the Technical Commitee of the World Karate Federation (WKF), Head coach of the All Japan Karate Do Federation and Head coach of the Teikyo University Karate Team. He has produced world champion after world champion through Teikyo University and the JKS Headquarters.
The JKS has it’s world headquarters in Sugamo, Tokyo, Japan. It is open to all JKS members to visit and hosts seminars for international students of karate.
JKS Scotland host an annual trip to Japan to train at the World Headquarters of Karate which for many is a once in a life time trip.
We hold regular courses with the JKS Japan Honbu Dojo Instructors and offer all students the opportunity to join us on our annual visits to Tokyo. Have a look at the JKS HQ website here – Click here to read more
