MODERN
MASTERS
Legends
of Shotokan
There
are a number of great Shotokan karate teachers in the
world today who are unique enough in their own right
to be referred to as, "modern masters".
Some of
these individuals were direct students of either
Sensei Gichin Funakoshi, or of his son Sensei
Yoshitaka Funakoshi, others were not. However, that
in no way diminished their knowledge, their skill, or
their right to be considered in the same company as
those who began their training at the original Shoto
Kan dojo so many years ago.
Most if
not all of the sensei's listed here were at one time
or another affiliated with, or were members of, the
now split Japan Karate Association (JKA), that
originally came into being in 1949. Today, however,
most of these sensei's have long since branched out
and formed their own unique organizations, yet they
all still share a deep common desire, and that is to
see the art Shotokan Karate-Do and the basic
underlying principles of Sensei Gichin Funakoshi,
spread to all corners of the globe.
It is
important for the reader to understand that this is
by no means meant to be a definitive list for it is
still a work in progress and no slight is intended to
anyone not yet listed here. Nor is it my intention to
go into any great detail on the teaching methods,
background, or all the accomplishments of these
individuals. There are other resources available to
anyone wishing an in-depth look at these individuals
so where ever possible I have included a link to a
relevant web site where additional information on
these senseis can be obtained.
It is
my hope is that on your own you will seek out
additional details for yourself, and in so doing come
to your own conclusions regarding the merits of these
rare few, these "modern masters".
Sensei
Yoshitaka Funakoshi
1906 -1945
The
third son of the Founder of Shotokan Karate, Master
Gichin Funakoshi, Sensei Yoshitaka Funakoshi, also
known as Giko, was lost to us in his late thirties as
a direct result of tuberculosis which had afflicted
him since childhood.
During
his short life his impact on Shotokan Karate was
truly profound.
He was
amongst other things, responsible for the
introduction of new ways of kicking. These methods
included, mawashi geri, yoko geri kekomi, yoko geri
keage, fumikomi, and ushiro geri. Although small in
stature by Western standards Sensei Yoshitaka was a
very powerful individual. By using all of his body
weight, and introducing the full extension of the
hip, he gave us a more dynamic way of creating power
while at the same time adding a greater range to all
these methods of kicking.
In
addition, the low stances that today characterize the
modern Shotokan style came about as a direct result
of Sensei Yoshitaka's training methods, as well he
established the fundamental kumite methods we use
today such as, Ippon Kumite, Jiyu Ippon Kumite, and
Gobon kumite along with other fighting techniques.
There is simply no telling where our basics and katas
would be today had he lived to an old age.
The
kata Wankan is said to have been created by him and
that it's short duration, only twenty movements, is
due to the fact that he never was able to complete
the kata. His death in 1945 was a great loss not only
to his family, but also to the future of Shotokan
karate.
Shihan
Masatoshi Nakayama, 10th Dan, JKA
April 6,
1913 - April 15, 1987
Born
into a samurai family in Kanazawa, Japan, in 1913
Master Nakayama is known today as the most famous
student to have trained directly under Master Gichin
Funakoshi. Instrumental in the founding of the 
in 1949 Master Nakayama is
also best known for the introduction of more
scientific ways of training and for the JKA's
decision to send JKA instructors overseas to Hawaii
and Europe starting in the 1960's in order to spread
the art of Shotokan Karate beyond the shores of Japan.
The
author of a great many books on the subject of
Shotokan Karate these publications are today still
considered as essential reading on the subject for
any serious student. Master Nakayama was the Chief
Instructor of the JKA from 1955 until his death on
April 15, 1987. With his passing the world of
Shotokan lost one of its few remaining direct links
to the Founder, and Father of Shotokan Karate, Sensei
Gichin Funakoshi.
Sensei
Hidetaka Nishiyama, 9th Dan, ITKF
November 21, 1928 -
November 7, 2008
Born in Tokyo in 1928,
Sensei Hidetaka Nishiyama was one of the very few
instructors who began karate training directly under
Master Gichin Funakoshi, which he did in 1943 at the
original Shoto Kan dojo. Two years later he enrolled
in Takushoku University where he joined the karate
team ultimately becoming Team Captain.
A co-founder and member
of the Board of Directors of the Japan Karate
Association (JKA) Sensei Nishiyama was also the co-founder
of the All Japan Collegiate Karate Federation, and
was elected its first chairman. Also an author, his
book "Karate, The art of Empty Hand Fighting",
is one of the most popular books ever written on the
art of Shotokan Karate.
In 1985 Sensei
Nishiyama formed the International Traditional Karate
Federation, as a true Master of Karate, Sensei
Nishiyama continues his lifelong goal of pioneering
the art of traditional Japanese karate by conducting
seminars throughout the world. Sensei Nishiyama's
passing is a great loss to our worldwide
Shotokan family. For
additional information on Sensei Nishiyama please
visit the ITKF web site at http://www.itkf.org/ .
-
- Sensei
Teruyuki Okazaki, 9th Dan, ISKF
-
-
- June 22,
1931 -
-
- Sensei
Teruyuki Okazaki was born in Fukuoka Prefecture,
Japan, and he began his karate training at the age of
sixteen when he entered Takushoku University in 1948.
For the next ten years he would remain a direct
student of Sensei Gichin Funakoshi, the Founder of
Shotokan Karate, until Sensei Funakoshi's death in
1957.
-
- After
Sensei Funakoshi's death Sensei Okazaki came under
the guidance of Sensei Matsatoshi Nakayama, whom he
assisted for many years, during which he was
instrumental in the establishment of tournament rules
and much of the curriculum for the then fledgling
JKA'S Instructors Program. The first three graduates
of that program were Sensei Mikami, Sensei Kanazawa
and Sensei Takaura.
- In 1961
as the second instructor to be sent overseas (after
after Sensei Kanazawa), Sensei Okazaki located in
Pennsylvania, USA, where was responsible for the wide
spread growth of Shotokan karate in the United States
of America. Today the Chief Instructor of his own
organization which he formed in 1977, known as the
International Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF) which
is headquartered in Philadelphia, Sensei Okazaki
still remains closely affiliated with the JKA. For additional information on
Sensei Okazaki please visit the ISKF web site at http://www.iskf.com .
-
-
- Sensei
Taiji Kase, 9th Dan, WKSA
-
-
- February 9, 1929 -
November 24, 2004
-
- Born in
Chiba, Japan in 1929 Sensei Kase's was one of the few
who could lay claim to having been taught at the
original Shoto Kan dojo by the son of the Founder of
Shotokan karate, Sensei Yoshitaka Funakoshi, the
depth of Sensei Kase knowledge and skill was said to
be enormous.
-
- After
the end of the World War II Sensei Kase continued to
train at university, he joined the fledgling Japan
Karate Association (JKA) in 1950 becoming a Director.
In addition he was responsible for teaching the first
post war generation of international instructors
Sensei's Kanazawa, Sensei Enoeda, and Sensei Shirai.
-
- Sensei
Kase remained a member of the JKA until 1989 at which
time he co-founded with Sensei Hiroshi Shirai and
organization known as, the World Shotokan Karate-Do
Academy (WKSA) which focused on returning to the
teachings of his teacher Sensei Yoshitaka Funakoshi.
The WSKA currently restricts the members of its
organization to 3rd Dan and above. Sensei Kase's
recent passing is a great loss to the world wide
Shotokan family. For
additional information on Sensei Kase please visit
the WSKA web site at http://www.leicesterkarateclub.co.uk/imprintofamaster.htm .
-
-
- Shihan
Hirokazu Kanazawa, 10th Dan, SKIF
-
-
- 1931 -
-
- Born in Iwate
Prefecture in Japan in 1931, Shihan Hirokazu Kanazawa
is one of the best known and most widely respected
Shotokan karate Masters in the world today.
-
- Shihan Kanazawa's
karate was honed during his time at Takushoku
University, after graduating he joined the JKA in
1956 becoming a direct student of Sensei
Masatoshi Nakayama, and he became one of the first
graduates of the Japan Karate Associations legendary
Instructors Training Program.
-
- His victory in the 1957
"All Japan Karate Championships" and
subsequent victory in both kata and kumite in the
1958 "All Japan Karate Championship"
ultimately led the JKA to send Shihan Kanazawa
overseas to Hawaii in 1961. While there he was to
become the first Shotokan sensei to instruct Shihan
Kenneth Funakoshi, 9th Dan, Chief Instructor, of the
Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Association. Several years
later Shihan Kanazawa would move to England to become
the Chief Instructor for the Karate Union of Great
Britain.
-
- In 1977 in a surprising
move Shihan Kanzawa left the JKA and formed his own
organization the Shotokan Karate International
Federation (SKIF). Shihan Kanzawa is currently ranked
10th Dan and is the only living Shotokan Master to
currently hold this rank. For additional information
on Shihan Kanazawa please visit the SKIF web site at http://www.skif.jp/index-e.htm .
-
-
- Sensei
Keinosuke Enoeda, 9th Dan
-
- July 4,
1935 - March 29, 2003
-
- Born in
Fukuoka, Japan in 1935 Sensei Enoeda was descended
from samurai lineage and as such was drawn to martial
arts from an early age, attaining his Ni Dan in Judo
by the age of sixteen. Fate, however, was to see him
walk a different road. His first introduction to
karate came when he witnessed a demonstration of
karate at Takushoku University, he was so impressed
that he enrolled in the university as a business
major in order to be able to study karate.
-
- After
enrolling in Takushoku University he joined the
karate club, within two years of joining he had
earned the rank of Shodan, and he ultimately went on
to become the club Captain. After graduating from
university he entered the JKA'S Instructor Program
where he was to spend the next three years under the
watchful eye of Sensei Matsatoshi Nakayama.
- As a
top competitor, and JKA Champion, Sensei Enoeda
become known as the "Tiger of Shotokan" a
name that would one day be known worldwide.
-
- Sent
overseas to the United Kingdom in 1965 he settled in
Liverpool, where he was to set the tone for English
Shotokan karate that was to last for the next forty
years. Today the Karate Union of Great Britain
continues his legacy. Sensei Enoeda's recent passing
is another great loss for the world wide Shotokan
family. For
additional information on Sensei Enoeda please visit
the KUGB web site at http://www.kugb.org/profiles/profiles_enoeda.html .
-
-
- Shihan
Kenneth Funakoshi, 9th Dan
-
-
- September
4, 1937 -
- Shihan Kenneth
Funakoshi, Founder and Chief Instructor of the
Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Association, started judo
training in 1948 under Arakaki Sensei at the Fort
Gakuen Japanese Language School in Honolulu, Hawaii.
He attended Farrington High School in the Kalihi
District and was on the football team and captain of
the Territory of Hawaii (Hawaii was not a state yet)
Championship swim team. While attending the
University of Hawaii on a swimming scholarship
Funakoshi Sensei started Kempo training under Adriano
Emperado from 1956 to 1959.
-
- In 1960, Shihan
Funakoshi started Shotokan training when the Japan
Karate Association (JKA) assigned its first Grand
Champion, Sensei Hirokazu Kanazawa, to teach at the
Karate Association of Hawaii, Shihan Funakoshi
remained a student of Sensei Kanazawa's for the next
three years. Then from 1963-1966 Shihan Funakoshi
trained under Sensei Masataka Mori, another
instructor from the JKA. Finally from 1966 to 1969,
he trained under the third and last instructor sent
by the JKA, the legendary Sensei Tetsuhiko Asai,
another former Grand Champion from Japan.
- In 1969, after training
ten years under three of Japan's top Shotokan
instructors and then winning the Grand Championship
of the Karate Association of Hawaii for five years in
a row (1964-1968), Shihan Funakoshi was appointed as
the Chief Instructor for the Karate Association of
Hawaii.
-
- Shihan Funakoshi moved
to San Jose, California to teach karate in December
1986. In 1987, the non-political Funakoshi Shotokan
Karate Association was founded with its world
headquarters now in Milpitas, California and the
organization now has affiliates throughout the United
States, Canada, England, Ireland, Europe, Russia,
Mexico, and many other countries around the world.
For additional information on Shihan Funakoshi please
visit the FSKA web site at http://www.fska.com/ .
-
-
- Sensei
Yutaka Yaguchi, 8th Dan, ISKF
-
-
- 1932 -
-
- Born in
Hiroshima, Japan in 1932, Sensei Yaguchi is another
of the very few remaining masters to have trained
under the Founder of Shotokan karate, Master Gichin
Funakoshi's. In addition to grading for his first and
second Dan under Master Funakoshi, Sensei Yaguchi was
also one of the first of many to graduate from the
legendary JKA Instructors Training Program. As strong
competitor Sensei Yaguchi placed third in the kumite
at the 1963 JKA All Japan Championship.
-
- The
first JKA instructor to be sent to the United States
by Sensei Nakayama in 1964, today Sensei Yaguchi is
the Chief Instructor, Mountain States Region of ISKF
in Colorado, U.S.A. an organization founded by Sensei
Teruyuki Okazaki, 9th Dan, in 1977 and affiliated
with the JKA. For
additional information on Sensei Yaguchi please visit
the ISKF web site at http://www.uniques.com/shotokan/ .
-
-
- Sensei
Mikio Yahara, 9th Dan, KWF
-
- April 4,
1947 -
-
- Sensei
Mikio Yahara was born in Ehime Prefecture, Japan in
1947. A graduate of Kokushinkan University and a JKA
instructor he is today a legend within the Shotokan
karate community for his remarkable fighting skill, a
former JKA Kata and Kumite Champion his reputation
precedes him where ever he goes.
-
- Sensei
Yahara is today the Chief Instructor of the, Karate-no-michi
World Federation, an organization he founded with
Sensei Akihito Isaka, 8th Dan, with the aim
of creating truly effective karate. A firm believer
that karate must return to its original source and be
a true reflection of Budo, Sensei Yahara trains with
the constant goal of perfecting his technical skill. For additional information on
Sensei Yahara please visit the KWF web site at http://nunokwf.planetaclix.pt/mikio_yahara_sensei_e.htm .
-
-
- Sensei
Shirai, 9th Dan, ITKF
-
-
- July 31, 1937
Born in Nagasaki, Japan in
1937 Sensei Hiroshi Shirai is a graduate of Komozawa
University in Tokyo where he studied karate under Sensei
Hidetaka Nishiyama and he remains affiliated with him to this
day. A graduate of the JKA Instructor Program where he came
under the influence of Sensei Taiji Kase.
A former instructor with the
JKA and a former JKA champion Sensei Shirai has lived in
Italy since 1965 and is currently the head of the Technical
Committee of the International Traditional Karate Federation
(ITKF) and is joined on this committee by Sensei Masao
Kawasoe, 8th Dan, the overall head of the ITKF is Sensei
Hidetaka Nishiyama. For additional information on Sensei
Shirai please visit the ITKF web site at http://www.dtkv.de/trainer/shirai.htm .
-
-
- Sensei
Hideo Ochi, 8th Dan, JKA
-
-
-
- February 28, 1940 -
-
- Born in 1940 Sensei
Ochi started karate during his days at Takushoku
University in Tokyo. A former graduate of the JKA's
Instructor Program in 1964 he began teaching at the
JKA Honbu dojo on a regular basis after passing his
final examination.
-
- An active competitor he
Sensei Ochi is also a former All Japan Grand Champion
placing first on numerous occasions. In 1970 Sensei
Ochi was sent overseas to Germany to join Sensei
Kanzawa. In 1993 he formed his own organization
Deutche Japan Karate Bund (DJKB) to help return
German karate to more traditional roots and away from
sport karate which was becoming ever more prevalent
in that country.
