- Shirō Asano (karateka)
Shirō Asano 9th dan (born
29 October 1939 ) is Chairman and Chief Instructor of Shotokan Karate-do International of Great Britain, and theShotokan Karate-do International European Federation He is the Chief Instructor of Shotokan Karate International (SKI) Great Britain and SKI European Federation. To this day Asano Hanshi, 9th Dan, remains one of the highest graded Karate instructors in the world. He was one of the first Japanese Instructors to bring the art of Karate-do directly from the formidable Takushoku University in Tokyo, Japan to the United Kingdom.
He was 2x all Japan Champion and is renowned for his fighting prowess, superb timing, courageous spirit and remarkable array of techniques. Asano Hanshi came to the UK in the 1960s to teach the art of Karate-do. He has coached England to World and European Championship Gold medals.
The world renowned HANSHI SHIRO ASANO was born in Shinjuku, Tokyo on 29th October 1939. He took up Karate aged 15, although his father practiced Judo. A graduate of the notorious Takushoku University, Tokyo, and a former pupil of Master
Masatoshi Nakayama , Shiro Asano became the All Japan Universities Champion in 1957. He repeated this success in 1958. Upon leaving Takushoku University, famous for it's martial arts but in particular it's Karate heritage, during which time he had been a prominent member of the Takushoku University Karate Club, he enrolled in the infamous Japan Karate Associations Instructors Course (nick-named "The Hornets Nest") He was appointed a J.K.A. Instructor on 1st April, 1963, and by this time he was a 4th Dan. Shiro Asano taught in Germany, and at Liverpool before finally taking up residence in Nottingham in early summer 1968. He settled in Nottingham after first becoming involved in clubs in Leicester and Wolverhampton. The two other clubs folded, leaving Nottingham to carry on. It was a shaky start for a man who had left his birthplace for a new home where karate was a little-known minority sport, with standards far below those expected in Japan. Mr Asano, used to training for six hours a day, found the attitude of his British students wanting. The Japanese master's disciplined methods proved unpopular. "For the first two or three years there was no fighting spirit here, nothing", he recalls. "Teaching was no good so it was difficult to make the standard strong." During the first year he only had two or three pupils, teaching at a church in Hyson Green, Nottingham. He said: "Students would look through the window first before coming to lessons to see who was teaching, if they saw it was me they would go - they would look out for the English teachers, who weren't as hard on them." But the students slowly came round to his way of training and Mr Asano built up a loyal, dedicated class - some of whom still train with him today. Hanshi Asano remains oneBiography
Born in
Shinjuku ,Tokyo ,Japan , Asano Shiro was a graduate of Takushoku University, Tokyo, and a former pupil of MasterMasatoshi Nakayama .He became the All Japan Universities Champion in 1957, and repeated this success in 1958.
Upon leaving University, during which time he had been a prominent member of the Takushoku University Karate Club, Asano was appointed a J.K.A. Instructor on 1st April, 1963, and by this time he was a 4th Dan.
He taught in
Germany , and atLiverpool before finally taking up residence inNottingham in early summer 1968. He became Chief Instructor to the Midlands Karate Group.In 1974 he was appointed Chairman and Chief Instructor to Shotokan Karate-do International (Great Britain).
He received his 7th Dan towards the end of 1978 and he was appointed Chief Instructor in Europe in Spring 1979.
He was awarded 8th Dan by the Shotokan Karate-do International Federation in 1987.
In October 2001 he was promoted to 9th Dan
Hanshi .See also
*
Karate
*Shōtōkan-ryū
*Hirokazu Kanazawa External links
* [http://www.skief.com Shotokan Karate International of Great Britain Homepage]
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