Dear Kyokushin-kan Members,The way in which we refer to our Organization is extremely important in order to differentiate ourselves from other forms of karate and also to create consistency throughout the world. Below you will find information on the use of Kyokushin-kan and Honbu.

KYOKUSHIN-KAN

The correct ways to spell the name of our organization are:

1. KYOKUSHIN-KAN
2. Kyokushin-kan
3. @kyokushinkan (only for e-mail addresses or web addresses)

Our formal organization names are:

1. K.I. (Kyokushin-kan International)
2. K.I.K.O. (Kyokushin-kan International Karate-do Organization)
3. Kyokushin Karate-do RenmeiKyokushin-kan

HONBU

Honbu means Headquarters. When reference is made to Japan, Honbu means Honbu Japan or International Honbu. In Japanese it is called So-Honbu (its English translation being General Honbu or Central Honbu as in World Headquarters).
one or several dojos, and as a general rule, is Sandan or above and has registered or paid for 50 or more students at International Honbu. A Nidan can be appointed Branch Chief if he has approximately 100 students registered at International Honbu. A person who is Sandan or above and has one or several dojos must register or pay for 50 students (he/she cannot be a DO).

CR (Country Representative)
The maximum authority of Kyokushin-kan in that country. It would be selected among the BCs and approved by International Honbu. All BCs and DOs are under the CR.

Note 1: If there is only one BC or DO in the country, there is no CR.
Note 2: DI (Dojo Instructor), the person who teaches in one of the dojos is appointed from the BC or DO.

AC (Area Chairman)
The person who represents the organization in our Kyokushin-kan regional area. Kyokushin-kan has ten regional areas; Africa, Europe, Russia, Middle East, Central Asia, South East Asia, North East Asia, South Pacific, North America, and Latin America. AC is responsible for handling all the matters within its region.

IC (International Committee Member)
The International Committee members are appointed by Kancho and they supervise ACs, CRs, BCs, and DOs worldwide. The IC should think about expanding the organization and taking care of advising the Kyokushin-kan members.

DAN GRADES
All the black belts should be ordered from International Honbu though CR, BC or DO. The black belt has one or several golden stripes which show the dan you hold.

Sensei (holder of Shodan to Yondan)
Note: The word Senpai means the person who started training kyokushin before you. The antonym of this word is "Kohai" which means the person who started training after you. So, a person who trains for 20years and holds a Shodan is still a Senpai to a person who trains for 15years and holds a Nidan (who is a Kohai). Therefore it is absurd, for example, that a Yondan who has been training 15 years calls Senpai a Shodan who has been training four years.

Shihan (holder of Yondan or above who passed the Shihan test)
Shihan Renshi, Shihan Kyoshi and Shihan Hanshi are independent of dan level (above Yondan). Which means, if the person passes a Shihan test, a Yondan can be a Shihan. These titles are approved only by International Honbu after examination. Its holders will have a distinctive mark on the left sleeve 2cm below from the shoulder stitches of the dogi.

International Honbu, Japan