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MEIYO DOJO LOS CARDALES
A PLACE TO LEARN, LIVE AND UNDERSTAND BUDO
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 For more than twenty years, Tortuguitas was the place where Sensei Gustavo Gondra developed a fundamental part of his path within Budo. His dojo operated there and there, over the years, an idea that transcended the daily practice of karate took shape: the need to preserve, transmit and also show the history and culture that accompany martial arts.
In October 2021, Meiyo was born, along with his own museum, as an expression of that same search and without wanting or thinking about it from Okinawa was endorsed by none other than the founder of the first private Karate Museum in the world created by Sensei Tetsuhiro Hokama located in the city of Nishihara, who named Gondra as the seventh private Karate Museum in the world. It was not only a place to train, but a space destined to preserve the memory of martial arts, their teachers, their objects, their documents and, fundamentally, their spirit.
With the transfer of Sensei Gustavo Gondra to Los Cardales, that story did not end. On the contrary, a new stage began.
In the Las Lomadas neighborhood, on a property surrounded by approximately 2,000 square meters of parkland, Meiyo got back on its feet. The dojo and the museum found a new space there, but this time with the possibility of realizing a dream that for many years had remained in the heart of its founder: to create a place of accommodation for those who wish to travel from different parts of Argentina or from other countries to study and practice Budo. since until that moment Sensei Gondra received his visitors in his own home.
 A few meters from the dojo and the museum is this private accommodation, designed to receive up to two people and allow those who arrive to stay there during their internship period, in an environment specially prepared for study.
Because for Sensei Gustavo Gondra, studying Budo never meant only learning a technique.
Karate, Kobudo and now Iaido have a history, a philosophy, a way of understanding discipline, respect, perseverance and the relationship between teacher and student. Therefore, those who arrive in Meiyo will not only find a place to train. You will find the possibility of approaching a deeper experience: practicing, knowing, questioning, observing, studying and understanding.
The dojo is attached to the museum, and the museum is attached to the practice. Accommodation completes that circle.
In this way, those who travel to Los Cardales will be able to start the day practicing, then approach the history of what they are studying and share moments of conversation and reflection that allow them to understand that behind each movement there is a story and that behind each teacher there is a path.
Meiyo is also deeply linked to Japanese Budo in its different expressions. Karate, Kobudo and Iaido are studied there, and the only dojo in South America representative of the Seishin-ryu Iaido of Japan operates, whose base is located in the city of Sapporo, in Hokkaido.
 This project was not born out of a commercial intention or the search to simply build a complex for practitioners. Meiyo's project was born in 2021, at a very special moment in the life of Sensei Gustavo Gondra. His wife, Marta Monroy de Gondra, was going through an illness thatthat prevented him from leaving his home for long periods. It was then that Marta made a suggestion that, over time, would end up becoming something much bigger than they could both imagine: to transform the barbecue area of the house, intended for meetings and barbecues, into a dojo. It was born from a much more intimate need: to give back something of everything that Budo gave to Sensei Gustavo Gondra throughout his life. Everything Gondra owns was through Karate, his family, children, his current wife Roxanna Firpo who accompanies him permanently contributing ideas to further improve the project started in 2021.
After decades of training, travel, meetings with teachers and shared experiences in different parts of the world, the possibility of opening the doors of his own home, his dojo and his museum to other practitioners represents the natural continuity of that path.
 Those who arrive will be able to come from afar. Some will travel hundreds or thousands of kilometers. Others may come from a nearby dojo. But they will all have one thing in common: the desire to learn. And Meiyo will be there. A dojo. A museum. An accommodation. A park.
But, above all, a place where Budo can be lived beyond the hours of training.
Because a teacher does not transmit only what he knows. He also transmits what he has lived, what he has received from his own teachers and what he considers necessary to leave for the generations to come.
Sensei Gustavo Gondra speaks deeply about the presence of the old masters who, according to the ancient customs of Budo and the tradition of Okinawa and Japan, a dojo and a museum are not only physical spaces. They are also places where the memory of the old masters can remain. There, their spirits symbolically gather, accompany and observe those who continue on the path, reminding them of the responsibility of preserving the techniques, traditions, values and ancient customs that gave origin and shape to martial arts.  Therefore, every practice in Meiyo is also a way to honor those who came before and to keep their teaching alive for those who will come after.
That is why, in Los Cardales, Meiyo today represents much more than a new home. It represents the realization of a long-awaited dream: to create a small place where you may also find a space to look inwards. That, in short, is the true meaning of Budo.
Learning to walk in order to transcend in eternity...! |
VISIT FROM PERU FOR KARATE AND KOBUDO TRAINING
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 From October 25 to November 1, Argentina will once again receive the visit of Sensei Ismael Quintanilla, 3rd Dan of Uechi-Ryu and 1st Dan of Kobudo, who will carry out a new stage of intensive practices, updating and improvement within the disciplines that are part of his martial path.
During their stay, Karate and Kobudo training will be developed, and, according to the availability of time, the practice of Iaido will also be incorporated. Likewise, and always considering the technical level achieved and the conditions of each discipline, the possibility of completing this stage with the corresponding exams will be evaluated.
This will be Sensei Ismael Quintanilla's third visit to Argentina, reaffirming a bond of practice and sustained learning within WUKKO International, an organization led by Sensei Gustavo Gondra.
From the perspective of Budō, each meeting represents an opportunity to deepen knowledge, correct details, share experiences and continue advancing on a path that is not limited to obtaining degrees, but seeks the integral growth of the practitioner.
The visit will be, once again, a space for training, exchange and continuity on the path of Budō. |
RENKAN DOJO VILLA GESELL
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Sensei Martiín Sosa.
Our arrival at WUKKO, an international organization led by Sensei Gustavo Gondra, 10th Dan, was accompanied by great expectations, knowing in advance the important place that Sensei Gondra occupies within traditional Karate at an international level. The class held at Meiyo Dojo, which also houses the 7th Private Karate Museum in the world, far exceeded anything we had imagined. During the practice, Sensei Gondra transmits with clarity and depth not only the technical aspects of Karate, but also essential values of Budo: discipline, humility, respect, perseverance and the spirit of improvement.
 His way of teaching allows him to discover new forms of training and, at the same time, to understand that Karate is not limited to the execution of techniques. Each movement also represents an opportunity to get to know ourselves, perfect ourselves and walk the path of Budo.
The camaraderie and respect between the practice partners made that day a unique experience. In Meiyo Dojo you can perceive, from the first moment, a special energy, built through years of practice, teaching and commitment to the true principles of Budo. The museum also brings a unique dimension to the Dojo, by integrating daily practice with the preservation of the history, culture and traditions of Karate. In this way, training acquires a meaning that transcends the physical and allows us to understand that each generation receives a legacy that it has the responsibility to know, respect and transmit.
For those of us who are part of Renkan Dojo Villa Gesell, being part of WUKKO represents a true honor and, at the same time, a commitment: to continue learning, growing and walking the path of Karate with respect for those who preceded us and responsibility to those who will continue this path. An honor for Renkan Dojo Villa Gesell to be part of WUKKO and share this Budo path. |
39th TRIP TO JAPAN 2026
A Budo Path That Has Been Going Since 1986 |
 On September 29, Sensei Gustavo Gondra will embark from Argentina on his 39th trip to Japan, continuing a relationship with Okinawa and martial arts that began in 1986.
On this occasion, the trip will also have a special feature: he will be accompanied by a small delegation made up of Alessandra Catafesta, 1st Dan of Uechi-Ryu, Professor Pablo Pol teacher of Shorinji Kempo Tomari Te and his daughter Belen. A small group, but united by the same spirit of learning, respect and search that characterizes Budo.
Since that first trip in 1986, every return to Okinawa meant much more than training. They were years of learning, meetings with teachers, visits to dojos, exchanges, ceremonies, exams, responsibilities and, fundamentally, the construction of bonds that can only be understood from the perspective of Budo.
That is why the 39th trip does not simply represent a new visit. It is the continuity of a story built over four decades. Return to Okinawa Sensei Gustavo Gondra will depart Argentina on September 29, arriving in Okinawa on October 1.
During the first days he will develop activities related to training and meetings with different references of Karate and Budo. On October 11, he will travel to Zapporo Hokkaido, Japan, to participate in the Mimura Cup, organized by the International Karate Masters Association and the All Seishinryu Karate Do Federation, where he has been specially invited.
In this important event he will have the responsibility of making an exhibition, bringing to the tatami an expression of his career and the martial tradition he represents.
Likewise, during this stage in Japan he will carry out his Iaido practices, continuing with a search that demonstrates that Budo does not end in a certain discipline. The true martial path permanently invites the practitioner to study, observe and perfect himself. On October 14, she will return to Okinawa, where she will remain until October 21. There he will continue with visits to different dojos, meetings with teachers and friends of many years and meetings aimed at strengthening the bonds that have been built over decades.
An important part of this last stage will also be dedicated to the preparation of all the details there in Okinawa of the delegation planned for 2027, a project that will allow to continue bringing practitioners closer to the cradle of Karate and deepening ties with practitioners from Argentina. A small group, a great path. |
| VISIT FROM PUERTO MADRYN AND RAWSON SOUTH OF ARGENTINA |
 A Budo Encounter at Meiyo Dojo During the month of November (18 to 23), Meiyo Dojo, located in the Alto Los Cardales area, in Cardales, will receive the visit of two exponents of traditional martial arts: Sensei Jorge Navarro, 8th Dan, and Sensei Darío Vázquez, 3rd Dan, in addition to their degrees within the discipline of Kobudo.
The purpose of the visit will be to develop four intensive days of practice, updating and study, understanding that in Budo the experience is not transmitted only through words, but fundamentally through shared practice, observation and constant correction.
Along with the training, work meetings, exchange of ideas and directives will be held aimed at planning the year 2027, establishing objectives and lines of work for the future.
Both teachers are part of CNKI and, in the specific field of Kobudo, of Okinawa Kobudo Hachokai, thus maintaining the link with the traditions and teachings that have their origin in Okinawa.
Visitors will be received by Sensei Gustavo Gondra, who will be in charge of directing the training during these days.
From the perspective of Budo, these encounters have a meaning that goes beyond a seminar or a series of classes. These are moments in which knowledge meets experience, where the degrees momentarily cease to be a reference and each practitioner returns to occupy his or her essential place: that of the one who continues to learn.
Budo teaches that you never finish walking the path. Every encounter with another practitioner, every correction received, every technique repeated and every conversation between masters can become an opportunity to deepen what has been built for years.
Therefore, these four days at Meiyo Dojo will not only be training days. They will also be a space for exchange, reflection, updating and building the future, with an eye on 2027 and, at the same time, with their feet firmly planted in tradition. Because in true Budo, the tradition is not to remain still in the past: it is to correctly receive what was transmitted to us and to have the responsibility of making it grow for those who come after us. |
INTERNATIONAL VISIT |
 WUKKO Colombia announces the arrival of Hanshi Gustavo Gondra, 10th Dan Karate and 9th Dan Kobudo, to our country.
From November 6th to 16th, we will experience an extraordinary period filled with learning, tradition, and technical refinement. During his stay in Cali, Colombia, Hanshi Gondra will be teaching exclusive classes at the organization's dojos and presiding over the official evaluations for Dan ranks in Karate and Kobudo.
A unique opportunity to elevate our technical level with a world-renowned figure in traditional martial arts!
Stay tuned for upcoming posts for the detailed schedule and class times at our dojo! |
| EXAM AT MEIYO - CNKI ARGENTINA HEADQUARTERS |
 Within this framework, a moment of particular significance took place from the conception of Budō. Sensei Ruiz, of Shotokan Karate, took his exam for 7th Dan, after having remained for sixteen years in the 6th Dan graduation. The evaluation was carried out through the representation of Sensei Gustavo Gondra, Director of CNKI Argentina, and was accompanied by Sensei Javier Barbera, 8th Dan. The event took place in the presence of the different practitioners and following the evaluation principles of the Okinawan Karate tradition.
From the perspective of Budō, a graduation does not only represent the recognition of a certain technical ability. The passage from one degree to another is also the recognition of a journey, of the years of practice, of perseverance and of the  responsibility involved in continuing to transmit what has been received.
In this sense, the sixteen years spent in 6th Dan take on a particular significance. Time, within Budō, is not measured only in the number of years, but in the depth with which each practitioner has been able to travel through that period, sustaining discipline, practice and commitment to the chosen path. The result of this evaluation will be settled in Japan before the International Karate Masters Association, where the corresponding certification will be managed.
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A DAY OF BUDŌ, TRANSMISSION AND RECOGNITION
IN MEIYO DŌJŌ
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 On Saturday the 12th, a day was held in Meiyo Dōjō, in Los Cardales, that transcended the usual practice of Karate to become a true Budō meeting, understood as a path of formation, transmission and continuity of a tradition.
Students from Meiyo Dōjō, members of the Virtual Dōjō of the City of Buenos Aires and representatives of a new dōjō from the city of Villa Gesell, recently incorporated into WUKKO, participated. The presence of practitioners from different places made it possible to share the practice and, fundamentally, to strengthen the bonds that unite those who walk the same path, beyond distances and differences in schools or origins.
As part of the day, visitors toured the Meiyo Dōjō museum and were able to observe documentation, testimonies and certifications that reflect the career of Sensei Gustavo Gondra and the links established over time between Okinawa, Japan and the spread of Karate to the world. The day thus left a meaning that exceeds a class, a visit or a graduation exam. It represented a meeting between generations and schools, an instance of transmission and recognition and, fundamentally, an expression of the spirit of Budō: to practice, learn, preserve and transmit, understanding that the true value of the degree does not lie only in what has been achieved, but in the responsibility that begins from that moment |
OKINAWA 2027: A PATH OF BUDO
By the hand of Sensei Gustavo Gondra
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 A learning experience from Sensei Gustavo Gondra
There are journeys that begin when you take a plane and others that begin many years before, when the decision to travel a path is born in the heart. For Sensei Gustavo Gondra, Okinawa was never simply a destination. Since 1986, the island has been part of his life, his training and his path within Budo. With the 2026 trip, he reaches 39 trips to Okinawa, building over four decades a deep bond with the land where traditional Karate was born.
But that path was not traveled only personally. Over the years, Sensei Gustavo Gondra also had the opportunity and responsibility to take other practitioners so that they could know, train and live directly what he had learned for so many years.
The first delegation was in 1987. Then came new groups and experiences in 1988, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2017 and 2018, until we reach the present journey of 2026. Each of those delegations had its own history.
In 1992, Sensei Gustavo Gondra led a delegation of 25 people from Argentina, Chile and Brazil, already giving an international dimension to that shared path to Okinawa. In 2017, a new delegation, made up of practitioners from Argentina and Colombia, toured the island again with Sensei Gustavo Gondra. There were approximately 30 people united by the same search: to get to know Okinawa, train with their teachers and get directly closer to the roots of traditional Karate.
The journey continued in 2018, reaffirming a trajectory that was not built on a single journey, but through decades of presence, learning and transmission. Because traveling to Okinawa to practice Karate is only part of the way.
True learning begins when you understand that Budo does not end at the end of a class. It is in the way of greeting, in the respect for the teachers, in the discipline, in the humility, in the observation and in the ability to learn from each experience, in the street, in the daily dealings with everyone. Training in Okinawa means putting yourself back in the student's shoes. Visiting its historical places means understanding where what has been practiced for so many years comes from. Sharing with your teachers means listening, observing, and learning.
And walking around the island means understanding that behind each technique there is a story and behind each teacher there is a path traveled. For this reason, the 2027 trip is born with a proposal that goes far beyond a practice trip.
It will be an opportunity for those who wish to get to know Okinawa from the perspective of Budo, accompanied by someone who since 1986 has returned again and again to that land, building bonds and collecting experiences that today he can transmit to new generations.
The proposal contemplates traveling in October 2027, coinciding, if the definitive dates allow it, with the activities and parades related to World Karate Day, to experience an event of particular significance within the international Karate community. It will be a trip to train, but also to observe. To know, but also to learn. To tour Okinawa, but also to understand it. And, fundamentally, to share an experience that is difficult toIt can only be transmitted through photographs or words.
From that first delegation in 1987 to the present, the path has continued:
1987, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2017 and 2018. Each year represents one page. Each trip, a lesson. Each student who accompanied that path, a part of the story. Because in Budo, a master doesn't just teach what he knows. It also opens doors for others to walk the path that he once began. OKINAWA 2027 A journey to train. A trip to get to know. A journey to learn.
A journey to experience Budo. By the hand of Sensei Gustavo Gondra. |
32 CNKI CHAMPIONSHIP ARGENTINA 2027
CNKI空手道選手権
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 Dear Colleagues:
I am pleased to invite you and through you all your Instructors and Students to participate in the Championship called: "32 CNKI CHAMPIONSHIP 2027" It will take place on Saturday 8 with Seminars and Sunday 9 MAY 2027, where the competitions will take place in the categories: Individual Kata, Individual Kumite (all categories), Team Kata and Kumite (Adult Danes only) and Kyu and Danish Individual Kobudo.
This event will be open to all Traditional Karate-Do Schools of Okinawan and Japanese origin. The general organization of the Championship is in charge of CNKI / IKA Argentina, Representative International Karate Masters Association Japan. The Regulations to be used are Shobu-San-Bon and Traditional Shobu-Nihon. We ask you to take a moment to read this Invitation in its entirety and collaborate in this way with a better organization of the event and registration of the competitors of each participating School, Dojo or Entity. All must respect the deadlines and schedules set for the Pre-Registrations and Final Registrations. Without further ado waiting to count you among our specially invited Masters and to honor us with your distinguished presence, we greet you with due respect.
Gustavo Gondra
10* Dan Hanshi – Shihan Master Instructor
General Director of CNKI Argentina / CNKI.COM.AR
International Karate Masters Association Japan |
WUKKO WORLD UECHI RYU KARATE DO HACHIOKAI KENKYUJO
WORLD HEADQUARTERS / International Classes by Zoom
Representatives in:
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, United States,
Spain, Holland, Italy,
Peru, Uruguay, Mexico, Venezuela.
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VIRTUAL AND PRESENTIAL DOJO
Adults: Tuesday - Thursday (in person and zoom Los Cardales)
- Wednesday 8 pm (zoom)
Adults: Tuesday - Thursday - 1 pm (zoom)
Kobudo: Tuesday - 7 pm to Wednesday (zoom)
Inquiries: gustavogondra@yahoo.com.ar / Cell: 1540555724
OFFICIAL WEBSITE / https://wukkodentokarate.com
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Uechi Kan © 2026
