Ashihara kaikan (芦原 会館) is a modern full contact street karate developed from Kyokushin karate by Hideyuki Ashihara with influences from various martial arts including Muay Thai, Pankration, and Jujutsu with an emphasis on Sabaki, using footwork and techniques to turn an opponent's power and momentum against them and to reposition oneself to the opponent's "blind" spot.

Shihan Hideyuki Ashihara (senior instructor) displayed his Sabaki skills to defeat multiple attackers in a demonstration at the start of documentary.

The katas are based on Sabaki and are applicable to real fighting situations making them unique in the world of karate[citation needed].

Ashihara Karate is called a modern style, in part, for its revolutionary katas[citation needed] have no historical influence from traditional Samurai era karate katas[citation needed], every move (strike, footwork, block or sweep) is effective in a street fight[citation needed] with the karateka envisioning an opponent and once the kata is mastered by the karateka it will then be performed with an attacker, with the karateka grading solo and with an attacker.

In Ashihara Karate, Sabaki describes the movement made by a defender stepping out of line of an attack, into a position from which he/she can launch a counter-attack.

This controlled movement, in preparation for a subsequent advance, is the basis of the strategy of Ashihara Karate: the combination of defence and offense into one ... SABAKI[citation needed].

If your opponents approach head on, it needs a great deal of power to force them back, especially if they are a lot stronger.

It consists of a jacket (uwagi) and trousers (zubon) made of white cotton or canvas and a belt (obi), the colour of which indicates the rank of the student.

The ten lower ranks (Mudansha) of Kyu or non-black belt holders are divided into the following colours: white, blue, yellow, green and brown.

This was after two South Africans, Hoosain Narker & Brian Ebden competed in the last US Sabaki Challenge Championships organised by Joko Ninomiya shihan.

Since then they held several others, but in 1990 started an Invitational International Championships supported by Kancho Ashihara with a foreword written by him in the first and second editions of the tournament.

In 1993, Kancho Ashihara gave permission to the Denmark Branch to organize a World Tournament naming it the Sabaki Challenge Spirit.

Kancho Ashihara students include former US head instructor Joko Ninomiya (Kyokushin 1978 All Japan Tournament champion and Kyokushin 1975 World Open finalist) founder of Enshin Karate, former Honbu senior instructor Makoto Hirohara (Sabaki US Open Karate Challenge Tournament Champion) founder of Shintaiikudo and former Honbu senior instructor Hiroshi Harada founder of Josui International Karate.