Hideyuki Ashihara
| Hideyuki Ashihara | |
|---|---|
Historical photo of Hideyuki Ashihara
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| Born |
December 5, 1944 Hiroshima, Japan |
| Died | April 24, 1995 (aged 50) Matsuyama, Japan |
| Style | Ashihara kaikan |
| Teacher(s) |
Masutatsu Oyama Jon Bluming |
| Children | Hidenori Ashihara |
| Notable students | Kazuyoshi Ishii, Jōkō Ninomiya |
Hideyuki Ashihara (芦原 英幸 Ashihara Hideyuki?, December 5, 1944 – April 24, 1995) was a Japanese master of karate who founded Ashihara karate in 1980 with the emphasis on Sabaki. He is often attributed as one of the originators of the tai sabaki (whole body movement) method. He was known for his weapon skills including shuriken and tonfa.
He was born on December 5, 1944 outside Hiroshima in Japan. He was raised by his grandparents in a small village called Nomicho. As a boy he was a restless soul and often got into fights. He first came into contact with Budo when he started training in Kendo at the age of 10 to get an outlet for his energy.
In 1960, when he was 15 years old, he moved to Tokyo and started working at a petrol station. This was his working place for six years. In September 1961, he first entered a karate club. He saw karate practitioners train and spar hard and realistically, something he liked immediately. The club was Oyama Dojo, later the Kyokushinkai Honbu Dojo run by Masutatsu Oyama.
He trained intensely and participated in every possible training session. His stubbornness and perseverance finally made it possible for him to grade to Shodan on March 26, 1964. He was then only 19 years old, and no one at the dojo could defeat him in kumite.
In 1966, he was made instructor in Kyokushinkai Karate at the Honbu Dojo. He performed well, and it was decided that he would have the honour of travelling to Brazil to instruct and spread Kyokushinkai Karate, something he had dreamed of for years.
Unfortunately it was not to be. He got into a fight and defeated five persons, who attacked him in the street. The police brought him into questioning, and the whole incident was reported to the Kyokushinkai Honbu Dojo. He was suspended from all training. After two months suspension he was pardoned and sent to Nomura on the island Shikoku in southern Japan.
After three months he was called back to Tokyo and received a new chance to travel to Brazil. This time he declined. He wanted to return to Nomura and continue the work, he had started there. This was granted, and now his reputation as a fighter and instructor started to spread in that part of Japan.
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