Kumon Dojo

The Kumon Dojo appears in a late story arc of the manga. It was run by the father of Ryu Kumon. Very little is known about this locale, save that it was somewhere far from Tokyo and very run down: the school had no students, its teacher, Mr. Kumon, had no idea how to attract students or any other job, and it was beginning to fall apart, with broken walls and dilapadated roof. The only thing supporting it was a single central pillar.

Genma Saotome encountered this run-down dojo either just before Ranma was born or very early on the training trip. Meeting Mr. Kumon, he took sympathy on the man and offered to help him, giving him a scroll containing the details of a branch of martial arts techniques that Genma had created; the Yamasenken, or Way of the Noisy Thief. Genma was privately thinking, as he would later admit, that Mr. Kumon would use the moves on the scroll to become a bandit; that way, he could fix up his dojo and make it more attractive to students, who would come to learn the Kumon style.

However, that was not to be the case. Perhaps Mr. Kumon was too noble to use the moves in such a way, or perhaps he never saw beyond the "human body as a house" metaphor. Whatever the reason, he devoted himself to mastering the Yamasenken in an effort to use them to attract students in and of themselves. However, he only mastered the style as far as the Kaichū Hōju Satsu technique; for some reason, he choose to practice this spine-crushing grapple against the closest target - the solitary pillar supporting his dojo. Needless to say, when he mastered the move, he broke the pillar and brought the dojo collapsing on top of him.

Ryu Kumon survived, but his father was mortally injured. With his last words, he gave the scroll of the Yamasenken to Ryu and begged him to both master it and to discover the other half of the style, the Umisenken, which he could then use to rebuild the dojo.

Perhaps it is mere coincidence, but Genma Saotome declared both of the 'senken styles to be sealed techniques shortly after the destruction of the Kumon Dojo.

Ryu Kumon spent the next decade and more wandering Japan, mastering the Yamasenken and seeking out Genma Saotome. However, his dream was to come to nought when he was first defeated by Ranma Saotome and the true, shameful nature of the Yamasenken and Umisenken were revealed to him.