 In 1979 Chogi Kishaba, a student of Masami Chinen, sent his students, Toshihiro Oshiro and Kiyoshi Nishime, to the United States.In 1985 they founded the Ryūkyū Bujutsu Kenkyu Doyukai or RBKD (Association for the Study and Research of Okinawan Martial Arts) for the purpose of bringing Yamanni-ryū to the West.Kishaba is the head of the RBKD.