Meaning Of Shukokai
Over the years I have heard many different meanings for the name Shukokai. The most common translation you hear is, "Loosely translated
it means Way for all". This would have to be a very loose translation.
Many years ago I had a Japanese gentleman come up to me at a demonstration and look at the patch on my Gi, he said,
" Ah - Training, Friends, Place", as he read the three Kanji symbols under the fist. This made me think, so I decided to ask Sensei
Kimura what Shukokai really meant. Usually when someone asked him what a name meant he would get aggravated at the redundancy of the
question and say " a name is a name, what does Joe mean or Bob". To him the name wasn't important. Asking the meaning, meant that you didn't
get what he was all about. He would have preferred that you ask him a question about technique, than the meaning of the name. This time I was
in luck, he started to break down the word into three parts.
Depending on the context, each symbol had a different meaning. In a martial arts context, it is as follows:
- SHU - The study of the martial arts.
- KO - People with a common cause, coming together.
KAI - Association.