Tetsuhiko Asai
| Tetsuhiko Asai | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 7, 1935 Ehime Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | August 15, 2006 (aged 71) Japan Liver cancer |
| Style | Shotokan Karate |
| Teacher(s) | Gichin Funakoshi, Masatoshi Nakayama, Teruyuki Okazaki |
| Rank | 10th dan Black Belt Karate (JKS/IJKA) |
| Spouse | Keiko Asai |
| Children | Hoshimi Asai |
| Notable students | Sadamu Uriu |
| Website | http://www.ijka.net/ |
Tetsuhiko Asai (浅井 哲彦 Asai Tetsuhiko?, June 7, 1935 – August 15, 2006) was a prominent Japanese master of Shotokan karate who was a former Technical Director of the Japan Karate Association (JKA), founder and Chief Instructor of the International Japan Martial Arts Karate Asai-ryu (IJKA), and founder of the Japan Karate Shoto-Renmei (JKS; also known as the Japan Karate Shoto Federation).
Asai was born on June 7, 1935, in Ehime Prefecture (on the island of Shikoku), Japan. He was the eldest of seven children. As a boy, he trained in sumo. In addition, his father (a policeman) taught him judo, kendo, and sojutsu. When he was 12 years old, he witnessed a fight between a boxer and a karateka (practitioner of karate); the karate combatant was able to disable his opponent with a kick, and Asai was impressed.
In 1958, Asai graduated from Takushoku University, where he had trained in karate under Gichin Funakoshi, Masatoshi Nakayama, and Teruyuki Okazaki. He trained hard and was allowed to sleep in the karate dormitory. At Nakayama's recommendation, he entered the JKA instructor training program and graduated from the course three years later. Asai won the JKA championship in kumite (sparring) in 1961, and in kata (patterns) in 1963. He was overall JKA champion in 1961, having come first in kumite and second in kata that year. Asai became the first instructor to introduce karate to Taiwan. Through the second half of the 1960s, he taught karate in Hawaii for five years, with his students including Kenneth Funakoshi (a fourth cousin to Gichin Funakoshi).
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