As a karate-enthusiast from England, James Pankiewicz moved to Japan in 1996 to study Japanese language, culture and further his passion for karate. Living in Okinawa he formed strong relationships with many of the masters of Okinawa, most notably with Arakaki Toshimitsu Hanshi, with whom he has graded to 5th dan with in Matsubayashiryu karate-do.

In 2011, he founded the Dojo Bar. A meeting hub for international karateka visiting the home of karate. His bar not only allowed karateka from around the world to meet up, James also helped them connect and train with countless masters across Okinawa. This includes many GKR instructors and students.

In 2018, James Pankeiwicz Kancho founded his own dojo, Asato Dojo, an international centre for martial arts study and exchange: see Asatodojo.com During the pandemic, over 400 GKR students trained in an Online seminar with James Kancho, helping to inspire us through the inactivity of lockdowns.

In 2023, over 140 GKR students travelled to Okinawa for a series of seminars. James Kancho was one of the Okinawa masters who trained us, blowing everyone away with his knowledge and passion.

Now for the first time ever, GKR students will now have an opportunity to train with James Kancho – without the time or expense required to travel to Okinawa.

In regard to these seminars, James Kancho writes:

“I will mostly cover Tomari-te, the less well-known cousin of both Naha-te and Shuri-te karate which originated in the port district of Naha, capital city of Okinawa. It was handed down by the Tomari Bushi who were tasked with policing the area and many legendary karate figures emerged from this group. Tomari-te has been passed down in kata such as Tomari Passai (Bassai-dai), Wanshu (Empi), Wankan and Naihanchi. These kata are packed with extremely effective self defence applications and built on solid principles of combat.

In this seminar series we will explore the distinctive aspects of the kata and practice the skills and applications of the kata technique in drills and kumite. Skills such as soft blocking, sticky hands, heavy hand strikes, use of hip motion to generate huge power, ‘wrapping hands’ and ‘tangling hands’ techniques.

For adult advanced practitioners only, we will also practice the actual use of ‘kyusho’ points as part of your karate movements, realising a very effective addition to your attacking and defensive tactics.”