Kawasoe Masao

Kawasoe Masao ( Japanese 川 副 正 夫 ; * June 13, 1945 in Chōsen Province (today: Korea )) is a Japanese Shōtōkan - karate master and holder of the 8th Dan .

Career

Born on June 13, 1945 in Korea, Kawasoe grew up as the son of a businessman in Saga on Kyūshū .

In 1956 he began with Jūdō and in 1960 with his karate training under Tsuyama Katsunori after he had seen a karate demonstration. In 1963 he received his 1st Dan from Miyata Minoru. This enabled him to study at Takushoku University , where he was noticed by the then chief instructor of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) Nakayama Masatoshi . He then invited him to attend the instructor course, which he completed within three years. In 1966 he achieved the 2nd Dan and in 1970 the 3rd Dan followed.

"Through his mastery of karate basics he has come to reach a level few achieve, his technique inspires all who see it to strive for the ideals of Shotokan Karate."

- Nakayama Masatoshi : Best Karate , Vol. 4

As an instructor, Kawasoe began teaching karate in Taiwan and Madagascar in 1970 before moving to Great Britain in September 1974 , where he still lives today. There he worked first until 1982 as Enoeda Keinosuke's assistant . Kawasoe is the head coach of the International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF) under Nishiyama Hidetaka for Great Britain and the technical director of the World Shotokan Institute (WSI). He is also currently the chief instructor of the United Kingdom Traditional Karate Federation and the Japan Traditional Karate Institute (JTKI) and teaches courses around the world.

swell

• Clive Layton: Masao Kawasoe, 8th Dan. Recollections of a Shotokan Karate Master: The Early Years (1945-1975) 2008, ISBN 9780955512247

Web links

• Masao Kawasoe Profile (English)

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Kawasoe is the family name, Masao the first name.