Michael G. Foster
| Michael G. Foster | |
|---|---|
| Born |
19 April 1940 Jamestown, New York, United States |
| Other names | Mike Foster |
| Style | Yoshukai Karate |
| Teacher(s) | Yamamoto, Mamoru |
| Rank | 9th dan karate |
| Website | http://www.theyoshukaikarate.com/ |
Michael G. Foster (born 19 April 1940) is a U.S. karate pioneer and the founder and head of Yoshukai International, a world-wide organization of Yoshukai Karate schools. Yoshukai is a Japanese karate style adapted from Chito-ryu by Yoshukai founder Mamoru Yamamoto.
Mike Foster was born in Jamestown, New York, an industrial and farming community in Western New York state in 1940. Foster developed into an athlete in high school and played football, among other sports. He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1956, seeking opportunities for advancement and travel. He completed basic training at Blackman, Texas, and in 1957 was stationed at Ituzuke Air Force Base near Fukuoka, Japan.
At Ituzuke Air Force Base, Foster first studied judo, and later karate with Watanabe Sensei, a Goju Ryu instructor who taught at the Itazuke Administration Annex base gym. Watanabe felt that Foster was a promising student and suggested that he study with Mamoru Yamamoto, later noted as founder of Yoshukai Karate but then still affiliated with Tsuyoshi Chitose's Chito-ryu. In 1964 Foster returned to Japan to test for second degree black belt and spent three weeks training at Yamamoto's dojo. He then returned to Japan in September 1964 to live and train in Yamamoto's dojo for approximately nineteen months.
Foster returned to the U.S. in 1966 as 4th degree black belt, and was named the Chief Representative of the U.S.A. Yoshukai Karate Association by Yamamoto. In this capacity, Foster established karate schools and headed schools in the USA which were part of the U.S. Chito-ryu Karate style. According to John Corcoran, Mike Foster and John Pachivas can be credited as responsible for establishing karate in the state of Florida.
In 1970 following Yamamoto's split from the Japanese Chito-kai Karate Federation, Foster left the U.S. Chito-kai, taking many schools under his direction with him and creating the Yoshukai Karate organization in 1971. Foster remained in the U.S. director position until 1980 when he left and founded his own Yoshukai International Karate Association. At this time Hiroyuki Koda assumed directorship of the U.S. Yoshukai Karate Association (USYKA), remaining under the umbrella of Mamoru Yamamoto. In 1989 after a lawsuit, Foster was awarded the right to use the name "Yoshukai International Karate Association."
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