Shotokan head of the Japan Karate Association's Brazilian branch. Action movie star Jean-Claude Van Damme holds a 2nd "dan" black belt in Shotokan and used the style when he competed both in traditional and in full contact karate competitions in the 1970s and 1980s. Michael Jai White has a 3rd "dan" in Shotokan, although he has long practiced other karate styles such as Kyokushin and Goju Ryu. Wesley Snipes has a 5th dan black belt in Shotokan. Shotokan Funakoshi had many students at the university clubs and outside dojos, who continued to teach karate after his death in 1957. However, internal
Tenshinsho Jigen Ryu dharma name, Zenkitsu (善吉, also read Zenkichi). He was the chief Buddhist priest of the Tennji Temple near Kyoto. Although his life was short lived he did manage to pass on the Tenshinsho Jigen Ryu to Togo Shigekata (東郷 重位, 1560- 1643), a samurai from the Satsuma domain, who after 3 years of having returned to Satsuma synthesized the Tenshinsho Jigen Ryu with the Taisha Ryu to create the Jigen Ryu. According to tradition, the Tenshinsho Jigen Ryu would remain a well-kept secret through the Jigen Ryu and Yakumaru Jigen Ryu lines, and passed down through a series of dai