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Iki Shin Do is a rare, eclectic style that originated on the small Japanese island of Iki. "Eclectic" simply means that it's an art that was created by putting together pieces of other styles. The name Iki Shin Do means "island temple way". The small image on this page is the Iki Shin Do symbol, which is simply the words "Iki Shin Do" in Japanese over the Japanese flag. You can click on the image to get a larger version of it.

The island of Iki is located just north-northwest of the much larger island of Kyushu (or Kyusyu), which is on the north end of the Ryukyu archipelago (the opposite end from Okinawa). It's not actually part of the Okinawan Prefecture, and is much closer to the main island of Japan than it is to Okinawa. Today, it's a major tourist attraction.

Iki Shin Do had its beginning with a man named Vic Harrell who was stationed on Iki island after World War II. He was taught some form of karate based on Shotokan while on the island. He brought back what he learned to the United States. Initially, the name given to this style was "Bushidokan".

John Anderson began training under Vic as a young boy (while also studying tae kwon do, and later, kobudo under sensei Roger Pratt). During this period, the style was given the name Iki Shin Do, and sensei John Anderson obtained the rank of 5th dan sometime around the age of 14. He began teaching some of his own students, and not too long afterwards, Vic Harrell died, leaving sensei John Anderson the highest ranking practitioner of Iki Shin Do.

Iki Shin Do is based mostly on Shotokan karate (which is the style of the well-known Funakoshi Gichin). It also has some ju-jutsu influences. Characteristic traits of Iki Shin Do are linear offense and defense. Okinawan styles typically tend to emphasize circular defense, while styles imported to Japan, such as Shotokan, tend to make greater use of linear defense. It's predominantly a hard, external style, meaning that it relies more on brute force and physical training than the more esoteric principles of energy redirection (such as in aikido), and places little emphasis on mysticism, unlike internal styles. Of course, these are generalizations, as there are some circular attacks and defenses, and occasional energy redirection techniques. Iki Shin Do utilizes the body's natural tendency for expansion and contraction. For example, people have a tendency to move toward a fetal position when danger is sensed (contraction), or to fling limbs outward when surprised (expansion). Leverage holds and the utilization of pressure points in Iki Shin Do result from the ju-jutsu influence.