Masanao Takazawa

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Masanao Takazawa is the founder of Kei Shin Kan karate and follows the teachings of his teacher, Kanken Toyama. Toyama was one of the great Okinawa karate masters who founded the Zen Nihon Renmei Karate-Do (All Japan Karate-Do Federation).

"The founders of Budokan studied a number of Martial Arts including Chinese Kung-fu, Tae Kwon Do, and several styles of Karate-do including Shito-ryu, Shotokan and Keishinkan. Keishinkan is a minor style of the Shuri-Te strain and is not widely known even in its country of birth. It comes from the line of Toyama Sensei and the excellent qualities of their instructors are well known in Australia, Malaysia and elsewhere.” Budokan Karate of Australia^{[cite this quote]}

[edit] Early life

Takazawa's father began his son's martial arts training from a young age. When Takazawa was seventeen, his father took him for training with Kanken Toyama. Like Toyama, Takazawa was a science teacher in Tokyo and later attended Boston University to study medicine. Takazawa now practices acupuncture and physiotherapy in Okaya-city.

[edit] The Creation of Kei Shin Kan Karate

In 1955, Master Toyama tested and ranked Takazawa to Hachidan (8th dan) and gave Takazawa one of the two dojos he had in Tokyo. He instructed Takazawa to name the dojo KEI SHIN KAN (respectful & humble, heart & soul/spirit, place of training). Takazawa was part of the "inner circle" of select people that Master Toyama accepted for personal training. Another of that group was Eizo Onishi (Koei-Kan). Master Takazawa was privileged to assist Grandmaster Toyama in the development of his katas: Jyuroku, Jyuhachi, and Nanajushi.

Grandmaster Masanao Takazawa resides in Okaya-city, Nagano Prefecture, Japan and is still actively teaching karate.

[edit] References

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