Steve with Sensei Ticky Donovan, O.B.E
History
Karate was introduced to Japan from Okinawa in the twenties. In order to be accepted as a Japanese martial art the characters used to write the name were changed from “Chinese hand” to mean “empty hand,” a uniform and grading structure were borrowed from judo and a system of competition was devised. After WW2 four main styles evolved, Shotokan, Goju ryu, Shito ryu and Wado ryu but there are many others.
Ni-sen is not a style of karate; we practice kata (formal exercises) from several styles. Ni-sen simply means '2,000' and refers to the year of our foundation. Prior to the turn of the millennium, our chief instructor, Steve Quinn had spent 25 years with Ticky Donovan’s Ishinryu, during which time he represented England at kata and kumite (sparring) and was rarely outside the medals in national competition in his twenty-year competition career. Ishinryu is a mixture of Donovan sensei’s experience of Wado ryu, Kyokushinkai, Shotokan and techniques he developed during his distinguished competition career and many years as national coach.
At the end of 1999 Quinn sensei made the difficult decision to leave the Ishinryu karate association. He felt that with a quarter of a century of experience he should have the autonomy to run his school in the way he thought best
Much of Ni-sen is based on ishinryu, but the grading system and syllabus has been changed to make teaching, and therefore learning, easier.
Ni Sen Karate Kai