Known as the ‘father of modern day Karate’, Gichin Funakoshi is one of the most well known of the Karate Masters. His influence on the art of Karate Do knows no boundaries within specific styles. This …

Taiji Kase 1929 – 2004“Shotokan’s Power House and Role Model”Shihan Taiji Kase was a Japanese master of Shotokankarate who was one of the earliest masters responsible for introducing this martial ar …

Masatoshi Nakayama 1913 - 1987“The Creator and Head of the JKA”Masatoshi was an internationally renowned Japanese master of Shotokankarate.He helped establish the Japan Karate Association (JKA) in 19 …

Hiroshi Shirai 1937 “The Tornado of Shotokan”Hiroshi Shirae is a Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He is the founder of the Instituto Shotokan Italia (ISKA), a subdivision of the Italian Tra …

Hidetaka Nishiyama 1928 – 2008 “Only Your Best Was Good Enough”Hidetaka Nishiyama was a prominent Japanese master of Shotokan karate.He was an internationally recognized instructor, author, and admi …

Stan Schmidt 1936 –“The South African Tiger of Shotokan”Schmidt originally from South Africa began training in karate in the late 1950’s. Like many of that era, he was introduced to karate through ju …

Osamu Ozawa 1925 – 1998“A Leader Who Commanded not Dictated”He was brought up in accordance with the ancient traditions of the samurai as these were his forefathers. Osamu Ozawa was forced to endure …

Hirokazu Kanazawa 1931 -“A Champions Champion”Hirokazu Kanazawa is a world-renowned Japanese master of Shotokankarate. He is the Chief instructor and President of the Shotokan Karate-Do International …

Gichin Funakoshi founded Japanese ShotokanKarate-Do, perhaps the most widely known style of karate, and he is referred to as the "father of modern day Japanese karate". He also trained i …