On Sunday the 14th, members of PSKC participated in the Japanese Student Association’s annual Matsuri Festival in Alumni Hall. Demonstrations included Karate & Kobudo forms, applications, board breaking, and an audience participation session introducing Fukyugata Ni.
Thank you JSA for organizing the spring festival for everyone and inviting PSKC to participate.
Highlighting Ivan’s accomplishments at Young’s Tournament in Bellefonte on Saturday, he took 1st in Forms and 2nd in Sparring.
Congrats our other competitors too!
The ソグワチグワ Soguwachiguwa was a 3 day celebration beginning with the full moon in January. Okinawans would pay tribute to 歳徳神 Toshitokujin, a Shinto Kami of agriculture, seeking good fortune for their crops in the coming year. When the Gregorian Calendar was adopted, January 15th became the day that Soguwachiguwa was observed.
In 1956 on the occasion of ソグワチグワ Soguwachiguwa (Okinawan dialect) / 小正月 Koshogatsu (Japanese), the Little New Year, Master Shimabuku called a special meeting at his home & dojo in Chan village to announce a new name for his unique style of Okinawan Karate. Previously, his style had been called as Chan Migwa Te (in the late 40s) and later Su Nu Su (early 50s). He chose “Isshin Ryu” because “all things begin with one, and the heart is the most important part. Isshin Ryu is the One Heart Way/Method.
Traditionally, the Coming Of Age Day, Seijin-no-Hi, was also celebrated on January 15th. It’s the mark of entering adulthood. You could say that Master Shimabuku’s Karate entered its adulthood at this time and emerged as Isshin Ryu Karate.
Like an Okinawan Hibiscus, Master Shimabuku’s Karate bloomed as “Isshin Ryu” on that January day in 1956. Seeds of Isshin Ryu have since been carried on the winds across the oceans and around the globe.
In January of 1972, Sensei Sutton planted one of those seeds at Penn State and established the Penn State Karate Club. With help from Sensei Dorow & Sensei Liskai, PSKC developed strong roots.
A new year, a new semester, and a new Karate schedule!
Our tentative spring Karate schedule will be:
Saturdays 10AM – 232 HUB
Additional days/times will be added as room space becomes available.
We will not be meeting Wednesday (11/26/25) for Karate practice. But you can always practice wherever you are. The HUB will close at 6pm for the holiday. It will re-open on Saturday (11/29/25), we will resume our normal schedule then.
2025 THON 5K article in Onward State by Lindsay Camp:
https://onwardstate.com/2025/10/27/photo-story-2025-thon-5k/
Members of the Penn State Karate Club participated in the Multicultural Unity Fair on October 25th, sharing the Okinawan intangible cultural asset of Karate with State College community members. Following the Isshin Ryu demonstration, community members were invited to participate in Fukyugata Dai Ichi.
Afterward, some of the PSKC members hiked to the top of Mt. Nittany for the colourful autumn views and to practice “Kata on the Mountaintop”.
To celebrate Karate Day, PSKC will be participating in the Multicultural Unity Fair on Saturday, October 25th. The fair runs from 11am-4pm in the Community Room (2nd floor) of the State College Borough Building on Allen Street. The PSKC demo will be at 12:30.
Over a century ago, in the small village of Chan, on a small island in the south pacific, a boy was born. One day he would become a Karate Master whose art would reach beyond the shores of Okinawa and spread across the globe.
“Dragon Man” of Isshin Ryu, Shimabuku Tatsuo Sensei
(September 19, 1908 – May 30, 1975)
The Penn State Karate Club will meet in room 232 HUB on Saturdays from 4-6PM (starting 9/20/25) instead of Fridays. There will be no Friday meeting tonight (9/19/25).
232 HUB is on the Student Book Store side of the building, 2 floors above the WPSU radio booth.
PSKC will still meet on Wednesdays & Sundays from 7-9PM on the HUB lawn. If weather is poor, meet inside by the Student Book Store entrance, on the lower level.