Zen Bei Butoku Kai
全米武徳会
全米武徳会
All American Martial Virtues Organization
The Zen Bei Butoku Kai (全米武徳会) was founded in 1959 by Master (Ōsensei) Richard Kim with the express purpose of preserving and transmitting traditional Okinawan martial arts. "Zen Bei Butoku Kai" (or ZBBK for short) means "All American Martial Virtues Organization." The ZBBK is a 501(c) non-profit organization. EIN: 72-1532938
The mission of the ZBBK is to preserve and transmit the traditional martial arts as taught by O'Sensei Richard Kim. Our goal is to aid and inspire students to become artists of life through the practice of traditional Karate-Do, Tai Chi Chuan, Chi Kung, Aikijujitsu, Kobudo, and other arts passed down by O'Sensei Kim.
The objectives of the ZBBK are:
Help students acquire self defense and personal development skills in the context of martial arts traditions.
Share information on the art amongst a community of like-minded people.
Inspire students by bringing them together with the best teachers to create an energetic, fun, and rewarding training environment.
Provide a standardized ranking system that recognizes proficiency, achievement, contribution to the organization.
In 1959, Hanshi Ono Kumao, the vice chair of the Dai Nippon Butoku-Kai of Japan, asked O’Sensei to become the official representative for the organization outside Japan. O’Sensei settled in San Francisco and formed the Zen Bei Butoku Kai (All American Martial Arts organization).
O’Sensei arrived back in the U.S. in 1959. Foundation of the Kokusai Butoku Kai. In 1976 O'Sensei formed the Butoku-Kai International to represent the countries where he taught outside of North America. These included France, Germany, Spain, Finland, and Great Britain.
In 1999 O’Sensei Kim and his students ended their membership in the Dai Nippon Butoku-Kai.
After O’Sensei Kim’s death in 2001 the Zen Bei Butoku-Kai was reformed as a non-profit organization by Sensei Louis Jemison and Sense Rod Sanford. Today the ZBBK continues with Hanshi Sanford as the president.