Keifu · 系譜 · The Line of Transmission

Our Lineage

Every technique we practice carries the fingerprints of the masters who shaped it. This is the line we are honored to inherit and to pass on.

Yūshin Dōjō trains within Japan Karate-Do Inoue-Ha Shito-Ryu Keishin-Kai (ISK) — a traditional style of Shito-Ryu karate refined across generations. Our lineage flows from the legendary Soke Teruo Hayashi, through his foremost student Soke Yoshimi Inoue, to Kyoshi Julio Martinez, and into our own dojo under founder and head instructor Sensei Kenneth Jenkins. To understand our karate is to understand these teachers.

Japan Karate-Do Inoue-Ha Shito-Ryu Keishin-Kai (ISK) gold crest

Japan Karate-Do Inoue-Ha Shito-Ryu Keishin-Kai

Our parent affiliation — the international body (ISK) that preserves and transmits the Inoue-Ha interpretation of Shito-Ryu karate-do worldwide.

The Masters

A Living Line of Transmission

Soke Teruo Hayashi in seiza
Grandmaster · Soke

Teruo Hayashi

Born in Nara in 1924, Soke Teruo Hayashi was one of the most respected karateka of the 20th century. He began in judo before turning to Goju-Ryu karate under Seiko Higa, then trained under Kosei Kuniba — chief disciple of Shito-Ryu founder Kenwa Mabuni — as well as Shoshin Nagamine and Kenko Nakaima, absorbing Shuri, Tomari, and Ryuei-Ryu traditions at their source.

Famous for his fighting spirit and his pursuit of authentic technique, in 1970 he founded Hayashi-Ha Shito-Ryu and the Japan Kobudo Kenshin-Ryu-Kai in Osaka. He held the rank of 9th Dan and the title of Hanshi from the Japan Karate Federation, and served for over a decade as technical chairman of the world governing body (WUKO/WKF). It was to Hayashi that a young Yoshimi Inoue would devote himself as a live-in disciple.

Founder of Hayashi-Ha Shito-Ryu · a defining master of modern karate-do.

Sensei Myra Noss, Soke Teruo Hayashi and Shihan Reed Noss standing together in gi
Sensei Myra Noss, Soke Teruo Hayashi — founder and grandmaster of Hayashi-Ha Shito-Ryu — and Shihan Reed Noss. It is through the Noss family that this line reaches Yūshin Dōjō.
Archival photograph of a Japanese karate master seated with senior black-belt students
From the archives — senior black belts of the Hayashi-Ha line. It was teachers from this generation, including Shihan Reed Noss, who shaped Sensei Jenkins's foundation.
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Soke Yoshimi Inoue in gi and black belt
Our Style's Founder · Soke

Yoshimi Inoue

Born in Tottori in 1946, Soke Yoshimi Inoue began karate at sixteen and, at just eighteen, became the sole live-in disciple (uchi-deshi) of Grandmaster Teruo Hayashi in Osaka. He would become the youngest person in Japan Karate Federation history to be awarded 8th Dan — a master teacher celebrated for his profound grasp of body mechanics: speed, timing, and power made clear to any student.

Following a year of mourning after Hayashi's passing in 2004, he founded Inoue-Ha Shito-Ryu Keishin-Kai (ISK), headquartered at the Keishin-Kai Hombu Dōjō in Tottori. As a Japanese national team coach he guided more than twenty world champions — including three-time world champion Mie Nakayama and kata greats Rika Usami and Antonio Diaz — yet remained devoted to the traditional heart of karate-do. His teaching is the direct foundation of everything practiced at Yūshin Dōjō.

It is with great regret that we note his passing in 2015. The style he founded continues under the teachers he trained, and every kata practised on our floor carries something of what he gave.

Founder of Inoue-Ha Shito-Ryu Keishin-Kai (ISK) · 1946–2015.

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Kyoshi Julio Martinez in kamae before a torii gate
Master Instructor · Kyoshi

Julio Martinez

Kyoshi Julio Martinez, who maintains the direct link between Inoue-Ha for the Americas and the Inoue-Ha Hombu Dōjō in Japan, oversees the development of our style, with the style's central seat located in Santiago de los Caballeros. With extensive experience in the world of karate, he brings a human, fraternal quality, guiding the schools under his support generously, empathetically, and patiently.

Credentials

  • 7th Dan Karate-Dō Hayashi-ha Shitō-ryū 1999
  • 7th Dan Karate-Dō Inoue-ha Shitō-ryū 2008
  • 6th Dan Okinawa Gōjū-ryū 2009
  • 5th Dan Okinawa Karate-Dō Ryūei-ryū 1992
  • 5th Dan Okinawa Kobudō (weapons) 1992
  • 5th Dan SKIF Shōtōkan 1990
  • 5th Dan Eishin-ryū Iai-dō 2007

National Class "A" Referee · Member, World Karate Federation (WKF) · Member, Dominican Karate Federation (FEDOKA)

Senior instructor within Inoue-Ha Shito-Ryu Keishin-Kai (ISK) · Follow on Facebook

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Sensei Kenneth Jenkins, founder and head instructor of Yūshin Dōjō
Yūshin Dōjō · Founder & Head Instructor

Sensei Kenneth Jenkins

Sensei Jenkins began studying Hayashi-ha Shitō-ryū Kai Karate-dō in 2004 and returned to full-time study in 2017 with a renewed desire for mastery. His foundation was shaped by instructors who trained directly under Soke Teruo Hayashi — including Shihan Reed Noss of the respected Noss family of karate — through Nippon Hayashi-ha Shitō-ryū and later the International Hayashi-ha Shitō-ryū Federation (IHSKF).

Today Yūshin Dōjō is proudly connected to Inoue-ha Shito-ryu Keishin-Kai through ISKIA under Kyoshi Julio Martinez, and is a member of USA-NKF. Sensei Jenkins holds San-dan (3rd degree black belt) in Karate and Sho-dan (1st degree black belt) in Okinawa Kobudō Kenshin Ryū — carrying this line forward for every student who steps onto our floor.

"Rooted in tradition, driven by courage." · Read his full biography

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