The association game
The historical development of karate in Denmark
The establishment of Japanese karate-do in Denmark from the 1960s to the end of the 80s was very colorful to say the least. Goju-ryu Karate-do in the early 60s, JKA Shotokan with Jørgen Bura Larsen in 1963, Gensei-ryu in 1965-67 and the same with Kyokushinkai with Jørgen Albrechtsen in 1967.
The start was quiet, - until the Bruce Lee films from 1970-1973 started a new bad boy - mafia martial arts film era.
In Denmark, Jørgen Albrechtsen and Kyokushinkai were very successful in exploiting the new demand.
The Kyokushinkai in Japan were known for their very close association with the Japanese mafia and this image was cultivated and promoted in a very literal sense. Fights with the police, other mafia groups and ordinary people became commonplace in Japan, as elsewhere in the world.
But the facts are that it attracted a very large group of people who liked this culture and show of power. At the same time, Kyokushinkai was a business that had to make money and the Korean-Japanese founder of the system did not hide the fact that he would like to see the whole world conquered, whatever the cost!
Therefore, Kyokushinkai's marketing tactics, both in writing and physically, were intimidating. Danish Jørgen Albrechsen was one of the best at this and it is said that the main school on Ørnevej was the world's largest karate school with several thousand members, 15-20 schools and 5-6,000 members in Denmark.
Kyokushinkai had basically challenged all other martial arts systems by saying "No one above and no one beside - and all others are inferior to Kyokushinkai". But when they were taken at their word, it never came to fruition.
Kyokushinkai soon suffocated in their own success and in the early 80s, Jørgen Albrechsen pulled the plug on the Danish Karate Union, which was synonymous with Kyokushin Karate in Denmark.
There are at least 5 different Kyokushinkai organizations in Denmark today, but also as many Shotokan organizations, which after the split of Kyokushinkai in the 80s and the absorption of the Danish Karate Association into DIF, became the largest karate-do system in Denmark in the mid-80s and 90s 'ers.
At one point, Denmark was the fourth best karate nation in the world, so the national team with Jørgen Bura from JKA did very well.
Right up until the success meant that more people wanted to do it and that era was ended.
The Green Hornet and Kato (Bruce Lee, 1966-67)
Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris fight in the Colosseum in the movie the way of the dragon.
The karate war in the 1970s was unique in Danish history as it reached the headlines over the years. Another karate war in the early 00s, on the other hand, did not. It was called the "Gensei-ryu war", which dealt with one too many "Yakuza-inspired" and intimidating attempts by a Japanese Gensei-ryu faction, which used a new Danish benevolent and ambitious department. as the spearhead of an all-out frontal attack.
The purpose was to rewrite and erase the entire history of Gensei-ryu from the 50s and around 50 years forward throughout the world, including Europe, Scandinavia and Denmark. And to that, recognize the Japanese faction and Danish branch as the only legitimate Gensei-ryu heirs.
At first everyone thought it was a huge joke, and tried plain formed dialogue. But soon the heavily manipulated dialogues, threats and strange behavior led to very strong reactions around Europe, Denmark and Japan for a few years.
After which people quickly moved on with their lives after a few years, when most felt that common sense, logic, common behavior and behavior, documentation and factual dialogues were impossible.
The newspaper articles and the various reports are still accessible online (2023)
In 1975, a book was published about all the then established Budo systems in Denmark - including Gensei-ryu Karate-do
