Master Shigeru Nakamura:
Master Nakamura was born in 1894 and lived in the City of Nago. His first introduction to karate came at the Icchu Middle School, in Shuri where Karate had just been introduced to the educational system. His instructors included Kanryo Higashionna, Kentsu Yabu & Chomo Hanashiro. Yastune Itosu also made periodic visits to the school. Upon graduation from the middle school, Nakamura returned to Nago, where he continued his training under Shinkichi Kunioshi, the successor to the legendary Naha "Bushi" Sakiyama. In 1953 Nakamura established his own dojo in Nago City, calling his form of the art "Okinawa Kenpo".

In 1955, the "Okinawa Kenpo Renmei" was formed by Masters Shigeru Nakamura and Zenryo Shimabuku, with Master Nakamura as President. Master Nakamura was known for his development of the "Bogu Gear" for contact sparring. TOP

Master Seikichi Odo:
After Master Nakamura's death in 1969, the Okinawa Kenpo Renmei, appointed SEIKICHI ODO as Master of Okinawa Kenpo Karate. As Master of Okinawa Kenpo, Seikichi Odo was also installed as President of the All Okinawa Kenpo Karate-do League. Shortly afterwards, Master Odo officially added the weapons to the Okinawa Kenpo system, with the result being what we now know as "Okinawa Kenpo Karate-Kobudo".

In the mid-1970's Master Odo created the "Okinawa Kenpo Karate Kobudo Association", to be renamed in 1983 to the "Okinawa Kenpo Karate-Kobudo Federation". Today Master Odo is ranked as Judan (10th Dan) in both Karate & Kobudo, and is considered one of the top weapons practitioners in the world today. In 1998, Master Odo renamed the Okinawa Kenpo Karate Kobudo Federation to be the"Ryukyu Hon Kenpo Kobujutsu Federation", and changed the name of the arts taught under his direct auspices to "Ryukyu Hon Kenpo Kobujutsu". Master Odo served as a member of the IKKF Executive Board from its inception in 1991 to March, 1999. Master Odo passed away on March 24, 2002 in Okinawa, Japan. TOP

Shihan Rich Pelletier
Rich Pelletier, a student of Shihan DeValentino, has been studying martial arts for over 32 years. He currently holds the rank of 6th degree black belt and continues to seek more knowledge of the arts. The variety of martial arts that Rich has studied include Shorin Ryu Karate, Okinawa Kenpo and Kobudo, Tai Chi, Jujitsu, Wrestling, Boxing, Kickboxing, The SPEAR System developed by Tony Blauer of Montreal, Canada, Tae Kwon Do and various styles of Kung Fu. Rich currently teaches traditonal Okinawan Karate and Kobudo (Ancient weapon arts) as well as his own blend of arts that he has fine tuned over the years. His goal is to give students a well rounded education in a variety of classical and modern arts. Rich's main instructers include Sensei Kurk Lalemand (Shorin ryu), Sensei Forrest Blair (Tae Kwon Do), Kyoshi Marcus Devalentino (Okinawa Kenpo Kobudo Karate-Do), Coach Tony Blauer (Blauer Tactical Confrontation Systems Management-SPEAR SYSTEM) and Ian Gambell (Tai Chi Chuan). Sensei Pelletier is a member of the National Association of Professional Martial Artists, Personal Defense Readiness (Blauer Tactical), Martial Arts Industry Association, and the Lewiston-Auburn Chamber of Commerce. Before teaching martial arts full time Rich worked as a critical care nurse and was a member of the US Army Reserves for 13 years. TOP