The "Okuden Circle" is not a federation in the traditional sense but as the logo already shows an open circle of like-minded individuals who have the goal to learn and structure the knowledge of the Okuden - or in other words, both - the high-level and general principles of the martial art to make it accessible to its supporters. Towards this end, internationally recognized and wisely chosen maste
rs and teachers are regularly invited to share their knowledge with this Circle. It is not only about simply inviting a good martial artist, it's about identifying THE specialists in their fields and to learn from them. The basics of Okuden Circle are friendship, trust, honesty, strength of character, directness and loyalty. Weakness, pettiness and reticence are not tolerated from us as these attributes have nothing to do with martial arts and almost every one of us has faced this negatively in the past. As mentioned above the Okuden Circle is an open circle of like-minded individuals. We do not want unnecessary politics, or redundant rules. We do not see anybody as competition, nor do we want to be competitive. Practitioners from all federations and styles are welcome in our open circle. Who "we" are:
We are a group of martial arts enthusiasts who have set a goal to learn the world's best in the field of internal martial arts and principles. Here the primary focus is not necessarily in the techniques, but rather in the underlying concepts, and principles within it. The principles are universal and can be integrated into all martial arts. Once the principles are understood and internalized - the technique becomes automatically correct. Our goal:
Our goal is that each year we train with as many high-level instructors and masters from various martial arts as possible across all styles. To organize and realize this and to contribute to it financially, we would like as many people as possible, that have exactly the same interest in the various principles of the martial art, recorded in this community. The idea:
The concept for the Okuden Circle originated in early 2012. Benjamin Cem Gencoglu shared his idea with some of his friends who share his passion for the research and development of martial arts principles. They were enthusiastic about the idea from the first second forward. That idea sparked the decision to create this platform, for which the learning of principles, friendship, ideals, trust and loyalty are paramount.
