Joko Ninomiya

Widely regarded as a phenomenal fighter, Joko Ninomiya is also known for his strong fighting spirit. He was a longtime student of Hideyuki Ashihara and the founder of Enshin Karate and the Sabaki Challenge.

Joko Ninomiya was born on 27 January 1954, in the village of Hizuchi, Yawatahana, Japan. He was the youngest of ten children, having five older brothers and four older sisters.

Ninomiya’s family-owned fruit orchards. His father also worked as a carpenter.

By 1960, Ninomiya had grown to be the biggest child in his class. He practised Sumo wrestling, and in August 1960, he won his first Sumo tournament.

In 1966, at age 12, Ninomiya began learning Judo at Junior High School. He trained under Enmyo Ishida. Around this time he had dreams of one day travelling to the United States.

By the age of 14 Ninomiya had been promoted to 1st Dan in Judo.

In 1969 Ninomiya began training at the Kyokushin dojo of Hideyuki Ashihara, who was a student of Mas Oyama.

Ninomiya had met Ashihara the previous year while practising Judo at a local police gym. Although he still practised Judo, he trained with Ashihara every chance he got. In time Ashihara became like a second father to him.

In 1971 Ninomiya received his brown belt from Ashihara. Ashihara selected him and five other students to represent the dojo at the 3rd All Japan Open Tournament, held in Tokyo. Ninomiya was the youngest competitor in the tournament. He lost to the eventual champion, Katsuaki Sato, in the second round. The match went into two overtime periods.

Around 1971, John Jarvis, a black belt from New Zealand, visited the Ashihara dojo to train for two weeks. It was the first time that Ninomiya had fought against a foreigner. Jarvis was significantly bigger and taller than him which was a big learning curve for him.

On 22 October 1972, Ninomiya competed at the 4th All Japan Open Tournament. He again lost to the eventual champion, Miyuki Miura, in the third round.

In 1973 Ninomiya was promoted to 1st Dan.

After graduating from high school in 1973, Ninomiya worked at a corporate job for about three months. However, he resigned from the job because he found it conflicted with his training.

Ninomiya dreamed of one day having his own dojo and one day visiting the United States. He dedicated himself to training hard. This was a difficult time in his life. Not having a job he lived alone in a one-room apartment. His life was made bearable by Ashihara sometimes visiting him and taking him taking him out to dinner.

On 4 November 1973, Ninomiya competed at the 5th All Japan Open Tournament. He made it to the third round but lost to Hatsuo Royama in overtime. He finished in 8th place.

In March 1974 Ninomiya was selected to travel to New York with five others to live and train in the United States for two months. The other five students were Yoshiji Soeno, Yukio Nishida, Katsuaki Sato, Nobuyuki Kishi, and Toshikatsu Sato. Their coach was Yuzo Goda.

The Japanese party was nicknamed the Seven Samurai. They visited the dojos of Shigeru Oyama, Tadashi Nakamura, and Seiji Kanamura. They had the opportunity to train and compete against the likes of William Oliver and Willie Williams.

At the end of the first month in the United States, Shigeru Oyama was so impressed by Ninomiya that he offered him a teaching position at his Scarsdale dojo.

In October 1975 Ninomiya returned to Japan. He competed at the 1st All-World Tournament, held at the Tokyo Gymnasium. There were 128 competitors from 30 countries.

Several days before the tournament started Ninomiya injured his back. However, he chose to compete. He had a total of six fights. He reached the semifinals, narrowly losing to Katsuaki Sato, after three overtime extensions. Sato defeated Hatsuo Royama in the final to become the first World Champion. Ninomiya finished in third place, with Daigo Oishi finishing in fourth place.

After his All-World Tournament success, Ninomiya returned to the United States.

In 1976 Ninomiya returned to Japan to compete in the 8th All Japan Open Tournament. On his way to the final, he defeated top competitors Keiji Sanpei and Takashi Azuma. He lost to Katsuaki Sato in the final.

While preparing for a sword demo with Seiji Kanamura in 1977. Ninomiya accidentally cut through a tendon in his hand. He needed an operation, which resulted in a five-day stay in hospital. His injury meant that he missed the 9th All Japan Open Tournament, and his quest to become champion.

On 2 July 1977, Ninomiya left New York for Denver, Colorado. Having lived in the United States for several years, this was his chance to fulfil his dream of establishing his own dojo.

Initially, Ninomiya trained in a Denver park. He soon received interest and enquiries from passersby. He soon had students training with him before having an established dojo.

In August 1977 a grand opening was held for Ninomiya’s new dojo in Denver. Initially, he had ten students. A month later he had thirty students.

Ninomiya returned to Japan in 1978. He had received a call that his father had died from a heart attack. He stayed in Japan for several weeks.

With a heavy heart, Ninomiya competed in the 10th All Japan Open tournament. There were 128 competitors. Ninomiya won his first fight by decision. He then won his subsequent fights by knockout. He reached the final by defeating Makoto Nakamura in the semifinal.

Ninomiya defeated Kenji Sanpei in the final to win his first All-Japan title. He had achieved another of his dreams. His only wish was that his father could have seen him achieve his goal. He also dedicated his win to his teacher and mentor Hideyuki Ashihara. This was Ninomiya’s last All-Japan Open Tournament.

As champion Ninomiya visited dojos across Japan, giving speeches and signing autographs.

On his return to the United States, Ninomiya was met at Denver Airport by his American students.

In 1979, to supplement his income, Ninomiya began teaching part-time at a halfway house for kids who had been to jail and were making their transition back into society. These were tough and violent kids.

Ninomiya was the sixth teacher the halfway house had had in the last two years. He helped some of the kids and formed lasting relationships with them through Karate. Unfortunately, some kids were beyond his help.

In September 1980, Hideyuki Ashihara left the IKO (International Karate Organisation) and established his style of Ashihara Karate, which was a more street-orientated style of Karate. He established the NIKO (New International Karate Organisation). The main dojo was located in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture. Ninomiya ran the US region of Ashihara Karate from Denver.

By 1988 Ninomiya had been training with Hideyuki Ashihara for 20 years. However, on 30 May 1988, he wrote a letter to Ashihara, stating that he would be breaking away from Ashihara Karate. He established his style of Enshin Karate. Many of his American students and instructors followed him to the new organisation.

In 1989 the 1st Annual Sabaki Challenge was held in Denver. The tournament was an open full-contact competition.

On 24 April 1995, Ninomiya’s teacher and mentor, Hideyuki Ashihara, died in Matsuyama, Japan. He was aged only 50. Over 1000 people attended his funeral. He was survived by his son, Hidenori Ashihara.

In 1998 Ninomiya’s book, Sabaki Method Karate in the Inner Circle, was published. It was co-authored with Ed Zorensky and detailed the philosophy and techniques underpinning Enshin Karate.

From the 1990s to 2000s, Enshin Karate grew from strength to strength. In addition to the Annual Sabaki Challenge held in Denver, a World Sabaki Challenge was also established. An annual Summer Camp was also established. Training was sometimes held in the Rocky Mountains.

By 2004 Ninomiya had three sons, Mike, Kōichi, and Jota. At the 2004 World Sabaki Challenge his son Mike, became the heavyweight champion.

After Ninomiya turned 60 in 2014, he handed the day-to-day running of his Hombu dojo in Denver, to his son Mike.

In February 2016, Denver’s A-list nominated Enshin Karate as one of the Best Martial Arts in the city.

The World Sabaki Challenge was held On 22 April 2017. It also marked the 1st Junior World Sabaki Challenge taking place.

2018 marked the 30th anniversary of the founding of Enshin Karate. A celebratory reception was held at Domo Japanese Country Foods Restaurant. There were over 100 people from all over the world in attendance.

In 2020 Ninomiya was named Black Belt Magazine’s Man of the Year.

For many years, Joko Ninomiya has been one of the faces of full-contact Karate in the United States. He has developed Enshin Karate into being one of the most well-respected full-contact Karate styles.

Enshin Karate schools have been established around the world. Ninomiya’s sons, Mike, Kōichi, and Jota have followed him into the world of martial arts.