Japan International Karate Center is well known in the tri-county area for its quality karate instruction that is based on traditional Japanese martial arts, with a strong emphasis on the students' mental development. It is this attention to mental training in the form of self-discipline which not only opens the door to learning the physical karate skills, but gives the student added advantages in his or her personal life. Information about Japan International Karate Center: JIKC is directly affiliated with our parent school in Hawaii. The Hawaii school was led by Soke Kiyohisa Hirano, our Japanese Founder, until his death in 2009. Soke Hirano was a magnificent leader who influenced thousands of people with his commitment to a positive lifestyle through Karate. We at JIKC are proud to be a part of this tremendous heritage of martial arts. JIKC's instruction, a mixture of traditional Japanese Karate known as Shotokan and Wado-Ryu, emphasizes circular blocks and body shifting with hard, offensive striking techniques. Also incorporated in JIKC instruction are various techniques from the Shotokan system which are more linear in nature with both hard defensive and offensive techniques.