The Beginning
The ISKF was founded in September 1977. Shihan Teruyuki Okazaki, 10th dan, the Chairman and the Chief Instructor of the ISKF (retired), and Shihan Yutaka Yaguchi, 9th dan, the Vice Chairman and the Vice Chief Instructor (retired), were two of the original founders. Today, the ISKF is comprised of over twenty-eight Pan American countries, and over thirty-two countries from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The ISKF is still growing and continually adds new clubs and countries to its membership, and currently has over 75,000 individual members worldwide.
The vision of the ISKF founders was to promote traditional shotokan karate-do as described in the teachings of the Dojo Kun and Niju Kun. Master Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of modern shotokan karate, wrote the Dojo and Niju Kuns not only as a guide to practicing karate, but also as a guide to everyday life. He viewed karate as a vehicle to spread peace and harmony worldwide. Master Nakayama was also a staunch supporter of spreading karate to the world and letting each culture adopt and spread karate in their homelands. He wanted to present karate-do in the context of each country’s culture and in a democratic fashion. He believed this approach would contribute to spreading karate-do around the globe. This vision laid the foundation for the structure and guidance of the International Shotokan Karate Federation.
The name of the organization encapsulates the purpose, history, and future of the ISKF. The choice for the name was a conscious decision of the founders to acknowledge the growth of karate around the world and to show respect to each member country. Because karate was becoming a worldwide martial art, the founders felt it was only fair to act as an international entity. Karate, although a traditional Japanese martial art, was now international, hence they dropped Japan from the title just as judo, kendo, and aikido organizations did. “Shotokan” shows respect and homage to Master Funakoshi for developing the form we now practice.
Master Gichin Funakoshi
1869 – April 26, 1957
Master Masatoshi Nakayama
April 13, 1913 – April 15, 1987
Teruyuki Okazaki, 10th Dan
GRAND MASTER
Master Teruyuki Okazaki was born June 22, 1931, in Fukuoka, Japan. After studying aikido, judo, and kendo, he began karate training in 1947. Master Okazaki joined the Japan Karate Association (JKA), where he studied under both Master Gichin Funakoshi and Master Masatoshi Nakayama.
In 1953, Master Okazaki graduated from Takushoku University in Tokyo with a BA in Political Economics. In 1955, he helped Master Nakayama develop the JKA Instructor’s course. Later, as a pioneer instructor, he became the first coach of the course. He later taught at Boei University (considered Japan’s West Point), Takushoku University, and Tokyo Toritsu University. He also instructed the instructor trainees for the JKA Headquarters.
Master Okazaki was sent to the United States by JKA Chief Instructor Masatoshi Nakayama in 1961 to help share Shotokan karate with people throughout the world. He established a dojo in Philadelphia (now Headquarters for the International Shotokan Karate Federation) and formed the East Coast Shotokan Karate Association in 1963. In 1977, he founded the International Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF), which is now one of the largest karate organizations in the world. The ISKF, of which Master Okazaki remains Chief Instructor, has approximately fifty thousand members in over thirty countries.
Master Okazaki received the rank of 10th Dan in October of 2007. He has been a faculty member of Philadelphia’s Temple University since 1970, and is also an instructor at the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, West Chester University, and Thomas Jefferson University. In June of 2007, the ISKF became independent of the JKA/WF, allowing the ISKF to spread to more countries outside of the Pan-America region. Master Okazaki conducts seminars and clinics, provides training sessions, and administers ranking examinations all across the United States, as well as internationally. He is the author of two books, The Textbook of Modern Karate, and the Perfection of Character: Guiding Principles For The Martial Arts & Everyday Life.Master Okazaki was chosen as Black Belt magazine’s Man of the Year and belongs to their Hall of Fame.
Yutaka Yaguchi, 9th Dan
MASTER
Born in 1932 in Hiroshima, Japan, Sensei Yaguchi began karate training in 1952. He studied under Masatoshi Nakayama, the late chief instructor of the JKA, Motokuni Sugiura, the present chief instructor of the JKA, and Teruyuki Okazaki, chief instructor of the ISKF, and received his shodan and nidan from Master Funakoshi himself. Among the first to graduate from the JKA Instructors Program, he trained with and competed against the likes of Hirokazu Kanazawa, Takayuki Mikami, Katsunori Tsuyama, Hiroshi Shoji, Keinosuke Enoeda, and Tetsuhiko Asai.
Master Yutaka Yaguchi is not only the chief instructor for the Mountain States region, including part of Canada, he is the technical director for the International Shotokan Karate Association. He is a 9th degree black belt who came from Japan to help start Shotokan Karate in the United States 35 years ago. Famous for his speed and power, he has developed more national champions than any other JKA instructor.
