Kazuyoshi Ishii

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Kazuyoshi Ishii (石井和義, Ishii Kazuyoshi^?, born June 10, 1953 in Uwajima, Ehime) is a Japanese master of Seidokan Karate and the founder of the K-1 fighting circuit, a martial-arts event combining Muay Thai, Karate, San Da, Tae Kwon Do, Kenpo, Boxing and Kickboxing, etc. He is currently in jail for tax evasion, which he was charged with in 2003.

Ishii started his martial art career in Kyokushin karate where he became a well-respected bare-knuckle, knockdown karate tournament champion. When Hideyuki Ashihara left Kyokushin in 1979, Ishii followed, but left Ashihara's new karate organization after only a few months. In 1980, he established the Seidokan Karate school in Osaka, with dojos and university-based karate clubs in the Kansai area. A few years later, the All Japan Karate-Do Tournament was held in Osaka, organized by Ishii and Seido Kaikan, the new governing body for Seidokan Karate.

In 1983, Ishii became the first Chairman of the newly formed All Japan Budo (Martial Arts) Promotion Association. Five years later, two of his students, Masaaki Satake and Toshiyuki Yanagisawa finished first and second in the Karate Real Champion Tournament, which increased his fame.

In 2003 Ishii was indicted on charges of corporate tax evasion and was arrested on suspicion of concealing a further 530 million yen. Despite all this, in January 2003 Black Belt Magazine honored Ishii as "Man of the Year." In 2004 he was convicted and sentenced to 22 months in prison for tax evasion by the Tokyo District Court. After many appeals, he began serving his sentence in June 2007.