Turkish Martial Art Sayokan was founded by Nihat YIGIT. He was born in 1961, Salihli, Turkiye. His martial arts started with Tae Kwon Do in 1973 followed by Sholin Kung Fu.
His experience with areas used by the systems restricted with rules and looked for a system using techniques more freely (full contact, knock down system).
He started Kyokushin Karate as a student of Ferhat Ozsert Sensei in 1981. Mr. Ozsert influenced him to futher his studies and have real perspective of martial arts. He won the first place in 1981-82 Turkiye Kyokushin championship. He followed his teacher when Sensei Ozsert joined Ashihara in 1986. When Mr. Ozsert left active teaching, he felt absence of learning further and went to Japan in 1990.
He spent four years in Japan, focusing on Ashihara Karate. When he returned to Turkiye, developed Ashihara Karate. 3rd April 1993 with his five students joined world cup in Denmark and had one world champion, two third places. This was the first in Ashihara Karate.
He started Sayokan 1990, developed self defence strategies more of an educational system developing further some of Ashihara Karate's effective techniques and adding them to numerous techniques derived from Turkish martial culture. Further development of Sayokan derived from Turkish Martial Culture such as Hilal strategy (Crescent) used by Sultan Alpaslan in Malazgirt war.
In Sayokan, strategy is more important then the technique. The mentaility behind this is, techniques can be though and used harsly but can not alone bring success without a tried and tested strategy.
He has 30 years of experience in martial arts. He has been in 16 countries for martial arts, which are European (Germany, Netherlands, old Yugoslavia, Italy, France, Belgium, Austria, Denmark) and in the far east countries (Japan, Korea, China, Bangkok, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong).
The martial art is his lifestyle. His experience led him to realize a reform in martial arts. The result of this is Sayokan. We hope that all martial artists take its worth. Because there are many benefits for martial artists in Sayokan.
Sayokan is a reform in martial arts world and people who practice are reformists. Don't follow the age in martial arts from backwards. Don't carry your system on your back with your individual talents and experiences. Let Sayokan to carry you on its back. Because Sayokan has strategy, true mentality, doctrine, element of security and insurance. Of course you will be the one to make the decision....
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During the initial period of establishing Sayokan World Federation, Grandmaster Keith Nesbitt (President of Sayokan USA and then President of SWF) helped to establish SWF in USA temporarily until December 2005.
In December 2005, Yabgu overcome the bureaucratic difficulties and moved SWF to Turkiye for good.
Tanyu Isa Alemdag joined Sayokan in 2003 and took on the international development of Sayokan. Since then Sayokan properly established in many countries and still growing.
Tanyu also pushed forward to use "Sayokan" as only name rather then using Goshin Kaikan / Sayokan which was used to introduce Sayokan initially.
Today, Taygun David Cialini (Sayokan USA Representative), Taygun Alireza Nabipoor (Sayokan Iran Representative) and all other Tayguns and Aybars actively promoting and developing Sayokan Alplik Schools in their respective territories.