SUISSE SHOTOKAN 

The SUISSE SHOTOKAN KARATE (SSK) organization was officially founded on May 7, 1977, in Bern.
The history of its founding is closely linked to the name Bernard Cherix, a pioneer of karate in Switzerland.

The SSK is a non-profit organization that teaches traditional karate in Switzerland.
It is characterized by the following three principles:

  • the practice of karate as a personal discipline that requires total physical and mental commitment, in strict accordance with the spirit and understanding of karate as taught by Master FUNAKOSHI,
  • the voluntary work of the association's managers and teachers,
  • the membership of people from all social, ethnic, and religious groups.

 A message from Sensei 


 
Welcome to Suisse Shotokan

Each one starts Karate with some particular reason; to be a good fighter, to keep in a good physical shape, to protect himself. I wanted to become very strong myself when I first began.

But Karate training soon teachs that real strength is facing oneself strictly, with severe eyes. This is the first condition of martial arts training. Therefore everone at Suisse Shotokan must be strong inwardly, but quite gentle to others.

As we train together, each contributing to a good atmosphere, let's to bring out that serious strong mentality from deep inside.
                                                                                                    Tsutomu Ohshima
 SUISSE SHOTOKAN HISTORY 
 

 The origins of Karate 


OKINAWAN KARATE

Karate is a martial art that originated in Okinawa and encompasses a variety of different styles, which are divided into several schools.

While studying at the two largest karate schools in the archipelago, Master Gichin FUNAKOSHI developed a completely new style, which he went on to spread throughout Japan: SHOTOKAN – literally “house under the trees.”

Shotokan karate aims not only to teach the art of combat, but also values such as loyalty, self-confidence, respect, and courtesy.


 Gichin FUNAKOSHI
 Tsutomu OHSHIMA - SHOTOKAN Internationalization 


“Use your mental attitude to look your opponent in the eye and understand their intentions.”

OHSHIMA Sensei

Master OHSHIMA was born on August 6, 1930.

He began sumo training at the age of five.
Later, he took up kendo and judo.
As a student at Waseda University, he began karate training with Master FUNAKOSHI in 1948.
In 1955, he moved to the United States, where he founded Shotokan Karate of America the following year.
It is the oldest karate organization in the United States.

He recently appointed several shihan to succeed him as leaders of these associations.

The current Shihan for SUISSE SHOTOKAN is Patrick MOTTET (see below).
Bernard CHERIX
(July 6, 1927 – December 17, 2009)

1957
Student of Master OHSHIMA. Founded the first karate dojo in Switzerland, in Sion.

1959
March 8: Member of the Swiss Commission of the Budo Association, karate responsible.

1960
October 22: Member of the Technical Commission of the Swiss Judo Association, responsible for karate, which was later integrated.

1963
September 22: Founder of the karate section of the Swiss Judo Association, section president.

1966
November 19: The statutes of the Swiss Judo and Budo Federation are approved by the General Assembly in Lucerne. They come into force on January 1, 1967. Bernard Cherix takes over responsibility for the karate section.

1970
January: The Swiss Judo and Budo Federation approves the founding of the Swiss Karate Federation.

1970
August 29: First general meeting of the Swiss Karate Federation in Sion. Bernard Cherix participates as a founding member.

1977
The Swiss Shotokan Karate Association was founded on May 7, 1977, in Bern.


Patrick MOTTET

1982-2009
(Vice) President of the Black Belt Council

1982-1997
Trainer and coach of the Swiss Shotokan Karate Team (SSK)

2008-2011
Karate and Self-Defense" book & DVD (with B. Cherix)

2009 / 2011
Honorary member of the SSK
Honorary chairman of the SSK

2017
Appointed by Master OHSHIMA Shihan of Switzerland Shotokan, Germany Shotokan, Greece Shotokan, and Spain Shotokan
 Bernard CHERIX - Pioneer of SHOTOKAN in Switzerland 

“The karateka must be aware of what this unconventional form of martial arts can offer him: very little if his goal is to dominate or impress others, but a great deal if he tries to be useful to his fellow human beings through self-control and dedication, by being friendly and respectful.”

Bernard CHERIX

Bernard CHERIX was the pioneer of Karate in Switzerland.
After learning wrestling, judo, aikido, and jiu jitsu from various experts, he finally discovered karate in Paris.

Bernard CHERIX combined various techniques to develop a unique and particularly effective method of self-defense.
He documented its principles in his book “Karate and Self-Defense,” published in 2008.

Bernard CHERIX has been supporting the development of karate in Switzerland for many years.

Among other things, he was technical director, trainer, national trainer, and national coach of the karate section of the Swiss Judo and Budo Federation.
From 1965 to 1976, he was also vice president of the European Karate Union.
In 1966, he met Master OHSHIMA, an encounter that profoundly changed his approach to and understanding of karate.

Bernard CHERIX was a founding member of the European Karate Union, a founding member and honorary president of the Swiss Karate Federation, and a founding member and honorary president of SUISSE SHOTOKAN KARATE.
  
 Patrick MOTTET - The "Guardian of tradition" 


Patrick MOTTET

Patrick MOTTET was born on October 27, 1957, in Saint-Maurice (VS).

At the age of eleven, in 1968, he began karate lessons under the guidance of Bernard CHERIX at the dojo in Sion, which was then still called the “Institut des sports de combat Sion.”

This encounter led to a friendship that lasted forty years, until Bernard Cherix's death.

Patrick passed his Shodan exam (1st DAN) in 1975, before obtaining the Nidan degree (2nd DAN) in 1977, in 1982, the Sandan degree (3rd DAN) in 1988, and the Yodan degree (4th DAN) in 1988. In August 2000, he received his Godan diploma (5th DAN) from Master OHSHIMA.

We would like to mention just a few of his many roles, responsibilities, and projects at SUISSE SHOTOKAN.

He was Vice President of the Black Belt Council (1982–2004), then President of the Black Belt Council from 2004 to 2009, trainer and coach of the SSK team (1982–1997) from 2002 to 2009, permanent partner of Bernard CHERIX for self-defense training, whose key elements he summarized in Bernard CHERIX's book entitled “Karaté et Self-défense” (2008), followed by a DVD in 2011.
In 1993, he organized the international meeting of Shotokan associations in Leukerbad, which was preceded by a book he wrote on the history of Swiss Shotokan

He launched SSK's first website in 1996.
In 2007, he revised the SSK's statutes, and in 2012, he successfully developed and introduced the principle of special courses for members over 50.
On June 14, 2009, he was named an honorary member of Suisse Shotokan, and on June 4, 2011, he became honorary president of Suisse Shotokan.
In 2017, Master OHSHIMA named him Shihan of Switzerland Shotokan, Germany Shotokan, Greece Shotokan, and Spain Shotokan.
 The "meaning" of SHOTOKAN 
 
 


Patrick MOTTET
Shihan SSK

Shotokan here, Shotokan there—how many associations and dojos are there under this banner, offering confused beginners everything and its opposite?

Beyond the differences of opinion, leaders and experts agree on the definition of the term and that no group has a monopoly on this famous school.

Meaning of the term Shotokan: Shotokan refers to Master Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of modern karate-do, whose pseudonym was “Shoto.” Literally, “Shoto” means “waves of pine trees” and ‘Kan’ means “house.”
In this context, here is an excerpt from a quote by Master Funakoshi:

"In order to achieve the inner peace required for karate-do, it seemed to me that the best way was to enjoy my solitude while listening to the sound of the wind in the pine trees. Since this had become an important part of my life since my earliest childhood, I decided that no name could be more suitable for signing my poems. Over the years, this name became better known than the one my parents had given me, and I often found that people did not know who I was unless I wrote Shoto next to Funakoshi."

When a dojo was built in Tokyo in 1936, it was named Shotokan (the house of Shoto). Thus, the term Shotokan, chosen for a dojo, went down in history as an expression of karate-do according to the ideas of Master Gichin Funakoshi.
  • Shotokan and its various branches
The Shotokan Dojo was destroyed in an air raid in 1945 and was not rebuilt. After the war, Master Funakoshi continued teaching at the university dojos that had been opened in the early 1930s. Several practitioners from different universities benefited from his courses and, starting in 1957, the year of Master Funakoshi's death, founded clubs, associations, and groups that drew on the Shotokan tradition.
  • The Shotokan of Master Tsutomu Ohshima

    Master Ohshima was born on August 6, 1930, and began studying economics at Waseda University in Tokyo in 1948, graduating in 1953. There he also studied karate-do directly under the guidance of Master Funakoshi. In 1952, he was appointed captain of the Waseda University karate team and invented the first competition rules. In 1955, he settled in California, where he founded the Shotokan Karate of America association. This was followed by France Shotokan, Canada Shotokan, Israel Shotokan, Morocco Shotokan, Spain Shotokan, Greece Shotokan, Germany Shotokan, Belgium Shotokan, Holland Shotokan, Japan Shotokan, and Switzerland Shotokan, to name just the most important associations.
For decades, Master Ohshima has strived not to change the training method he learned from Master Funakoshi. This orthodoxy is reflected in the English translation of his master's book “Karate-do Kyohan,” which took him about ten years to complete.

Master Ohshima emphasizes the close relationship that must develop between seniors and juniors, with the older ones leading the way by example and everything being characterized by mutual respect.
Special training is characteristic of the Shotokan taught by Master Ohshima. For four days, participants train intensively for several hours a day according to an almost unchanging program in order to surpass themselves and expand their limits. Only at the end of the special training are candidates allowed to take the black belt exam.
 
“Judge yourself strictly,” “win against yourself,” “remove mental blocks,” “try to do your best” – a selection of Master Ohshima's guiding principles. One way to seek authenticity in people.

Master Ohshima currently lives in Santa Barbara, California, near the central dojo built by his students.
 
Patrick Mottet
20.06.2012