Tetsuhiko Asai
Shuseki Shihan
Tetsuhiko Asai
9th Dan JKA
1935 - 2006
It is with great regret that I inform you that on August 15, after a long battle with leukemia, Tetsuhiko Asai Sensei died. The Karate world has lost a unique master, and with it the potential to develop his vast knowledge.
Almost ten years ago, I promised myself that I would not miss the opportunity to learn from the great masters of our time while they were alive and would try to preserve as much as I could from their knowledge. Although I knew that Asai Sensei was very ill, watching him move and what strength and spirit he radiated, I doubted that his illness was serious. I did not allow the time for separation to come so soon… Now I can promise only one thing: to keep and continue to develop the testament of the great teacher and to wish his students all over the world to do the same.
Ossu!
Lachezar Nenov
Asai Shihan graduated from Takushoku University, where he began to study Karate under the guidance of Master Funakoshi (the father of traditional Karate), Nakayama (co-founder of JKA and her Chief Instructor until his death in 1987) and Okazaki. After graduation, he joined the renowned JKA instructor class and later went to teach Karate in Hawaii and Taiwan.
Asai Shihan won the JKA Championship in Kumite in 1961. and in Kata in 1963. He is the only JKA instructor unique in combining various circular evasion techniques used in some Chinese martial arts. In the third volume of his book Best Karate, M. Nakayama Sensei summarizes Asai Shihan's Karate in the following words: “The ever-changing movements of Tetsuhiko Asai, sometimes resembling a dance performed in the air, leave the audience gaping with admiration. Avoiding hitting the opponent's kicking leg by slamming into the grooves below, sliding the attack as far away as the thickness of a piece of paper, jumping for a hand-saber kick on the opponent's neck, landing and reversing the foot-cutting direction - such complex and acrobatic achievements like those actually used in battle, he performs in the Kumite. Probably not equal. His inimitable talent dates back to his youth training, reinforced by powerful hips, flexible body, deep technical skills, excellent reflexes, courage and fearlessness. ”
After M. Nakayama's death in 1987. The Japanese Karate Association splits into two factions: Asai Shihan becomes chief instructor of one, supported by instructors such as Keigo Abe, Mikio Yahara, Toru Yamaguchi, Sadashige Kato, Masao Kagawa, and chief instructor of the other becomes Motokuni Sugiura, supported by President Nakahara. Long-standing lawsuits follow, with Asai Sensei initially winning the dojo hombo case, which he was later forced to abandon for expensive maintenance. On March 5, 2000. a conference of national directors was held to decide on the closure of the organization (JKA) and a new association was founded: "Budo Shadan Japan Karate Shotokai (JKS)", later renamed "Japan Karate Shoto Renmei (JKS)" . In parallel with 1990. Under the leadership of Asai Sensei, the International Japan Karate Association (IJKA) also works with Europe's chief instructor Sadashige Kato Sensei, while JKS operates mainly in Japan. IJKA and the newly founded J.K.S. are technical organizations that inherit the tradition and techniques of the Shoto (Gichin Funakoshi) style in order to disseminate them as Karate Do for life. These are non-profit organizations (a group set up to strengthen the health, social care, environment, culture or sport ideally). Our Lifetime Karate offers affordable training for children and adults. We are developing new Karate Kata styles, complemented by Shotokan Kata styles, and we are using new training methods for children, the elderly, the sick and the physically disabled. We are also creating a new style of kata, using wheelchairs, to recover patients after surgery. This definitely helps to strengthen the body and mind. The training offers effective training methods, both on land and in water. We offer all of this to promote health and aim to benefit the society we live in through further exploration and study of the arts.
Tetsuhiko Asai
9th Dan JKA
1935 - 2006
It is with great regret that I inform you that on August 15, after a long battle with leukemia, Tetsuhiko Asai Sensei died. The Karate world has lost a unique master, and with it the potential to develop his vast knowledge.
Almost ten years ago, I promised myself that I would not miss the opportunity to learn from the great masters of our time while they were alive and would try to preserve as much as I could from their knowledge. Although I knew that Asai Sensei was very ill, watching him move and what strength and spirit he radiated, I doubted that his illness was serious. I did not allow the time for separation to come so soon… Now I can promise only one thing: to keep and continue to develop the testament of the great teacher and to wish his students all over the world to do the same.
Ossu!
Lachezar Nenov
Asai Shihan graduated from Takushoku University, where he began to study Karate under the guidance of Master Funakoshi (the father of traditional Karate), Nakayama (co-founder of JKA and her Chief Instructor until his death in 1987) and Okazaki. After graduation, he joined the renowned JKA instructor class and later went to teach Karate in Hawaii and Taiwan.
Asai Shihan won the JKA Championship in Kumite in 1961. and in Kata in 1963. He is the only JKA instructor unique in combining various circular evasion techniques used in some Chinese martial arts. In the third volume of his book Best Karate, M. Nakayama Sensei summarizes Asai Shihan's Karate in the following words: “The ever-changing movements of Tetsuhiko Asai, sometimes resembling a dance performed in the air, leave the audience gaping with admiration. Avoiding hitting the opponent's kicking leg by slamming into the grooves below, sliding the attack as far away as the thickness of a piece of paper, jumping for a hand-saber kick on the opponent's neck, landing and reversing the foot-cutting direction - such complex and acrobatic achievements like those actually used in battle, he performs in the Kumite. Probably not equal. His inimitable talent dates back to his youth training, reinforced by powerful hips, flexible body, deep technical skills, excellent reflexes, courage and fearlessness. ”
After M. Nakayama's death in 1987. The Japanese Karate Association splits into two factions: Asai Shihan becomes chief instructor of one, supported by instructors such as Keigo Abe, Mikio Yahara, Toru Yamaguchi, Sadashige Kato, Masao Kagawa, and chief instructor of the other becomes Motokuni Sugiura, supported by President Nakahara. Long-standing lawsuits follow, with Asai Sensei initially winning the dojo hombo case, which he was later forced to abandon for expensive maintenance. On March 5, 2000. a conference of national directors was held to decide on the closure of the organization (JKA) and a new association was founded: "Budo Shadan Japan Karate Shotokai (JKS)", later renamed "Japan Karate Shoto Renmei (JKS)" . In parallel with 1990. Under the leadership of Asai Sensei, the International Japan Karate Association (IJKA) also works with Europe's chief instructor Sadashige Kato Sensei, while JKS operates mainly in Japan. IJKA and the newly founded J.K.S. are technical organizations that inherit the tradition and techniques of the Shoto (Gichin Funakoshi) style in order to disseminate them as Karate Do for life. These are non-profit organizations (a group set up to strengthen the health, social care, environment, culture or sport ideally). Our Lifetime Karate offers affordable training for children and adults. We are developing new Karate Kata styles, complemented by Shotokan Kata styles, and we are using new training methods for children, the elderly, the sick and the physically disabled. We are also creating a new style of kata, using wheelchairs, to recover patients after surgery. This definitely helps to strengthen the body and mind. The training offers effective training methods, both on land and in water. We offer all of this to promote health and aim to benefit the society we live in through further exploration and study of the arts.
