Our Purpose
SBK Purpose
The Shiho Bugei Kai (SBK) or “Four Directions Martial Arts Society” was founded, as we know it today, to serve as an official accrediting, certification, and governing body for Ryukyu Hon Kenpo Kobujutsu and Okinawa Kenpo Karate Kobudo practitioners as passed down by the late Seikichi Odo, Daisensei (great sensei) (1926-2002) and for the preservation of his martial arts legacy. With Daisensei Odo’s passing, the SBK fills the void for the traditional training, standardization, and advancement that Daisensei once supplied. We, the Shiho Bugei Kai, are dedicated to preserving and teaching authentic and traditional Okinawan martial arts.
The Shiho Bugei Kai was originated and is directed by Michael J. Kriegisch (Kudan, Hanshi) as an association under the late Daisensei Odo’s Ryukyu Hon Kenpo Kobujutsu Federation, of which it is still a part today. Sensei Kriegisch is the highest ranking student of the late Daisensei Odo and the Executive Officer to the SBK and the Yudansha Kai (Blackbelt Council)
The Shiho Bugei Kai teaches and enforces the technical standards for Ryukyu Hon Kenpo and Ryukyu Hon Kobujutsu as practiced by the SBK. The SBK also provides direction and focus for all individual members and member dojos.
The Shiho Bugei Kai sets minimum requirements for rank certification and instructor licensure while ensuring the maximum freedom for dojo heads to arrange and execute a curriculum to suit their individual needs. However, it is strongly recommended that those who wish to achieve rank within the SBK, follow the outline for both empty hand and weapons training as it was put forth by Odo Sensei and continued without change by Hanshi Kriegisch.