KOKUSAI BUTOKUKAI  | International Martial Arts Federation 
|   SHORINJI RYU KARATE DO  |   OKINAWA KOBUDO   |   TAI CHI   |   Founded 1976 by O´Sensei Richard Kim, Hanshi, 10. Dan

Meijin Jean Chalamon | 10. Dan | Commander of the Legion of Honor |

1935
Born in Cap St. Jacques in South Vietnam. Father Frenchman, mother of Chinese-Vietnamese origin.

1947-1953
Joined the Military Military School in Dalat, South Vietnam, where he started judo, jiu-jitsu, melee, and boxing.

1953-54
After finishing school in Dalat, in the middle of the Indochina War, he joins the armed forces and volunteers to take part in all the battles in the Tonking Delta. He was wounded during the battle of Dien Bien Phu and captured on the night of March 31, 1954. After being detained in the death camps of Viet Minh for 6 months, he is released and arrives in France. He is awarded the Silver Star Wars Cross.

1955-57
First stay in Algeria.
As commander of an outpost in the middle of rebel territory, he has a double mission:
- On the one hand, order is to be maintained by military action: defense of the outpost, security of the sector, ambushes, patrols and participation in military operations together with other units.
- On the other hand, the region is to be pacified: census, children's education, help in various forms for Algerian families.
The training of martial arts is less and irregular. He is wounded again during a clash with a rebel commando. He is decorated with the Military Merit Cross and then returned to France.

1958-1959
Training in Judo and Shotokan Karate with Master Kawashi, 6th Dan, one of the pioneers of Judo in France, and Jim Alcheik, 3rd Dan, who introduced Karate in the "La montagne Sainte Geneviève" association in Paris. There he meets Hiroo Mochizuki, Henri Plee and Hoanam.

1960-1962
Second stay in Algeria.
His achievements in the field and his successes in the fight have led to him again being awarded the Military Cross of Merit. The following year, he is again honored with the Military Cross of Merit due to renewed bravado.

Back in France, he is assigned to the 6th battalion of mountain hunters in Genoble. He resumes training in the Dojo of the barracks.

1965
On March 22, wedding with Michèle Barot in Grenoble.

1966
Birth of his first daughter Myriam.

1970
Birth of his second daughter Cécile.

After a year of preparation, Jean Chalamon is admitted to a competition for officers. This candidate receives a candidate because of his skills in basic military areas. In the selection process, the skills in combat are assessed.

Despite his experience in the Indo-China War and his two stays in Algeria, where he has received numerous awards in combat, he is expelled here by a materials officer who has never commanded a combat unit and never faced an opponent. Discouraged and disgusted, he leaves the armed forces. The band that has connected him with the armed forces is torn. He has always valued the sincerity, the courage, the sense of duty and the willingness to sacrifice.

He goes with his family to Paris to look for work. After completing courses at BULL and IBM, he takes part in a selection process to start as a computer scientist at CAM (Center for Automation for Leverage Management), a company specializing in computer science (1970-1993).

1971
With some work colleagues he forms a small group of trainers. One of them sees an ad in a Paris newspaper: "5. Dan Karate is looking for Dojo ". It is Richard Lee.

(1971-82)
Richard Lee teaches Shorinji Ryu Karate, Okinawa Kobudo and Tai Chi (Yang Style) at the Dojo of Jean in the Rue de Lille in Paris. Lee invites his master (O 'Sensei Kim, who lives in California) to come to France once a year to give one-week courses O' Sensei Kim, 9th Dan, has such rich knowledge in the field martial arts, called "the living encyclopedia of martial arts."

1972
Jean gives karate lessons in the sports hall of his company in Arcueil. From now on, he trains for an hour a day before going to work to maintain his excellent technical condition.

1974
Opening of a dojo at a military school in Bagneux.

1979
Appointment to San Dan (3rd Dan) Shorinji Ryu by O 'Sensei Kim.

1982

O 'Sensei Kim separates from Richard Lee. Richard Lee leaves Butokukai to found Shorinji-Ryu International. O 'Sensei Kim commissions Jean to build the Butokukai in France and Europe.

1983
Opening of a new dojo on Rue Cler in Paris.
He is licensed by the state to teach in the field of karate and related arts. He is named a Knight of the Legion of Honor by French President François Mitterand for his honorary titles in the war with Indo-China and Algeria.

1986
Appointment to Yon Dan (4th Dan) Shorinji Ryu by O 'Sensei Kim.

1990
O 'Sensei Kim can no longer travel to France, he invites Jean for his summer courses in Guelph in Canada.

1992
Appointment to Go Dan (5th Dan) Shorinji Ryu by O 'Sensei Kim.

1993
Opening of a new dojo in Villabé en Essonne. Jean retires. From then on, he devotes himself each morning to his personal training and meditation.

1996
Founding of Butokukai Europe.

1998
Appointment to Roku Dan (6th Dan) Shorinji Ryu by Sensei Kim.

1999
He is appointed Officer of the Legion of Honor by the French President Jacques Chirac .

2001
Appointment to Kyoshi.
Revitalization of Butokukai Germany e.V. and awarding of Menkyo Kaiden for Germany to Stephan Peitz on behalf of Richard Kim.

He leaves Paris and moves to his daughters in Chambéry, where he opens a new dojo. He then begins writing specialist books on karate, kobudo, tai chi, chi kung and meditation.

2003
Founding of Butokukai Spain.

Awarding of Sichi Dan (7th Dan) Shorinji Ryu by Zen Bei Butokukai.

2005
Foundation of Butokukai Poland. Awarding of Hachi Dan (8th Dan) Shorinji Ryu by Zen Bei Butokukai.

2006
The Butokukai International becomes the Kokusai Butokukai. This includes the USA, Canada, Germany, Spain, France and Poland.

He receives the honorary title Hanshi by the Kokusai Butokukai.

2008
Awarding of Ku Dan (9th Dan) Shorinji Ryu by Zen Bei Butokukai.

2011
Founding of Butokukai Scotland. Ceremony of the Ju Dan (10th Dan) Shorinji Ryu by the Kokusai Butokukai.

2012
Founding of Butokukai Luxembourg. Jean Chalamon, who started martial arts at the age of twelve, still trains every day today.

After more than 65 years of training and teaching, he feels it is an obligation to share his experience and knowledge of the martial arts with all those who are interested.

In his opinion, physical and technical work should not be disconnected from working with energy and mind. All this should be done together and at the same time.

For it is not only about improving the technical level of the practitioner, but also about the development of his person as a whole. Everything that makes up the totality of the human being must be considered: body, technique, energy, emotions, mental state, intellect and mind.

If you can also acquire the technical level over the course of a few years, it takes much longer to master the work with energy, emotions, the mental, the intellect and the spiritual. The development of these different aspects is therefore indispensable. It is important to watch over their harmony, as all these aspects influence each other to grow as much as possible, towards a human ideal.

2022
He receives the honorary title Meijin (Shorinji Ryu) by the Kokusai Butokukai.

2023
He was appointed Commander of the Legion of Honor by French President Emmanuel Macron.