Tetsuhiko Asai

Asai Tetsuhiko ( Japanese. 浅井 哲 彦 ; * June 7, 1935 in Ehime Prefecture ; † August 15, 2006 in Tokyo ) was a Japanese master of Shōtōkan - Karate -Dō and holder of the 9th  Dan grade. Posthumously he was awarded the 10th Dan by the Nihon Karate Shōtō Remmei .

Life path

Asai was born as the first son of policeman Asai Tsunehiko and his wife Tsuneko into a family of five sons and four daughters. At the age of 12 he began karate training in a local dojo . In high school, he entered the Jūdō club of the school and reached the 2nd Dan there.

In Tokyo, he went to Takushoku University and became a member of the local karate club, where he trained under Funakoshi and Nakayama and made a name for himself with his suppleness and agility. After graduating from Takushoku University in 1958, he was accepted into the JKA instructor class on Nakayama's recommendation . After completing his training, he worked as an instructor in Taiwan and Hawaii before becoming the technical director of the JKA. He held this position until the division in 1990. In 2000 he founded the Japan Karate Shōtōrenmei and the IJKA, whose chief instructor he was until his death.

Asai tried to develop his own karate throughout his life, which is also reflected in the large number of kata he created, which he taught alongside the standard kata of Shōtōkan. He also introduced wheelchair karate .

Publications

• Asai Tetsuhiko: Jitsugi Karatedō 1: Kihon-Kata ( 浅井 哲 彦 『実 技 空手道 第 1 巻 基本 形』 ), Nichiei-Shuppan ( 日 栄 出版 ), 1978
• Asai Tetsuhiko: Jitsugi Karatedō 2: Sentei-Kata ( 浅井 哲 彦 『実 技 空手道 第 2 巻 選定 形』 ), Nichiei-Shuppan ( 日 栄 出版 ), 1978
• Asai Tetsuhiko: Karatedō Jōkan ( 浅井 哲 彦 『空手道 上 巻』 ), VHS, 1997
• Asai Tetsuhiko: Karatedō Gekan ( 浅井 哲 彦 『空手道 下 巻』 ), VHS, 1997

See also

• Overview of Asai's Kata

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Award certificate for 10th Dan , as of May 9, 2010
2. ↑ IJKA (International Japan martial arts Karate dōkai Asai-ryu)
3. ↑ An Interview with Tetsuhiko Asai , in The Shotokan Way , as of May 9, 2010

Web links

• 浅井 哲 彦 の 軌跡 The Life of Tetsuhiko Asai (Japanese, English)

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