The Nihon Karate Club (NKC) was founded in spring quarter of 2009. “Nihon” meaning Japanese in Japanese, the two words are used interchangeably for the Club’s name. With the interest of officially being recognized by the ARC as a club sport, representing UC Irvine at competitions, and being able to host an annual home tournament, members of the ARC's Traditional Japanese Karate class congregated to form the Nihon Karate Club. It was aptly named after Nihon Karate Dojo, stationed in Buena Park, California, run by Sensei Bruce Nguyen and Sensei Chad Eagan, the instructors of the affiliated ARC class.
NKC has made a number of accomplishments since its establishment, including:
- 1st place at the Collegiate PATMA Tournament at UC San Diego on April 2009. Our members also participated in the open competition, winning a total of 6 medals.
- Long Beach International Tournament during August 2009, with individual members participating in the open tournament and winning a total of 5 gold medals.
- Hosting the annual UC Irvine Collegiate Karate Championship, starting in November 2009, with support from PATMA and sponsorship from Sanbon Pro Apparel. The 2009 tournament was the first karate tournament held at UCI for over 30 years
- Competed against other collegiate teams in the US Karate Collegiate league from 2009 to 2016, taking first place 6 times.
- Competed in the Southern California National Qualifiers, taking home 3 medals in 2019, and 14 in 2020.
- Led numerous self-defense seminars around Orange County.
- Volunteered and competed in the 2022 SoCal National Prep Championship, bring home a total of 8 medals.
- Participated 3 other tournaments in 2022, AAU UCSD District Championships, 23rd Annual USA Wado Ryu Karate Championship, and AAU Super Regionals. Returned from each tournament with handful of medals.
- Competed in SoCal National Prep and AAU Super Regionals 2023, winning 20+ medals.