1959.Japanese karate master. Olympian.Takayuki Mikami.Hirokazu Kanazawa.1950s sports.

◆Takayuki Mikami Instructor of Shotokan-ryu karate in Japan, based in the United States. He is a recipient of the Japan Karate Association&award and holds the rank of 9th Dan Black Belt. In 1958, Mikami won the All Japan Karate Championship. The following year, he became champion in Japan in all kata (patterns) as well as kumite (sparring). In 1961, Mikami again won first place in Kata. He is also the first person to graduate from the Japan Karate Association (JKA) Instructor Training Program led by Gichin Funakoshi and Masatoshi Nakayama. ◆Hirokazu Kanazawa Karate practitioner from Iwate Prefecture. Kokusai Shotokan Karatedo Federation Soke/Supreme Shihan (10th Dan). Learned Shotokan Karate-do from Gichin Funakoshi and Masatoshi Nakayama, and is known overseas as "Sensei Kanazawa". In order to learn karate, he transferred to Takushoku University, which was known as a karate powerhouse at the time. During his tenure, he learned karate from Gichin Funakoshi and Masatoshi Nakayama. In...