History of Zen-Do
 ZEN-DO translated from Japanese means “all paths” and originates from the traditional Karate style of Wado-Ryu and Mu-Gen-Do fighting system, a synthesis of European and Eastern Martial Arts.   Wado-Ryu Karate is a Japanese martial art founded by Sensei Hironori Ohtsuka in 1934.Sensei Ohtsuka developed Wado-Ryu after studying the Samurai martial art of Jiu-jitsu and Shotokan (another style of Karate). The full name of the style is Wado-Ryu Karate-Do. The term Wado-Ryu means “way of peace” or “way of harmony” indicating the intention was to use training in Wado-Ryu as a means of solving problems in a non-violent way. Karate-Do means “way of the empty hand” as Karate is, for the most part studied without the use of weapons. In the 1970’s the United Kingdom became gripped with the spread of Karate and experienced the first wave of Japanese instructors who pioneered Wado-Ryu karate in the UK.   Meiji Suzuki came to the UK to teach Wado-Ryu Karate at the Tonbridge Club in King’s Cross, London . It was whilst watching a full contact competition in Ireland during 1979 that Meiji Suzuki decided to expand and extend the core of his martial arts knowledge by challenging the strict Wado-Ryu training system that he had used for 25 years. He travelled to Yugoslavia and trained with the national team coach Peter Mijik in his system of kick boxing. Meiji Suzuki then went on to develop and founded the Mu-Gen-Do fighting system. Mu-Gen-Do means “the Unlimited Way”. This means the Mu-Gen-Do fighting system does not then become fixed, as Wado-Ryu and remains open to new ideas and techniques.