Mikio Yahara (; born April 4, 1947, in

Ehime Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,334,841 and a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Toku ...

) is a Japanese karate expert of the

Shotokan is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" thro ...

style. He holds the rank of 10th dan.

Biography

Mikio Yahara was born in

in 1947 and has deep

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

roots. He started his martial art training in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

. After studying at Kokushikan University, he became a kenshusei (or junior instructor) with the

Japan Karate Association The Japan Karate Association (日本空手協会; ''Nihon Karate Kyokai''; JKA; sometimes referred to simply as ''Kyokai'' 協会 in Japan) is one of the oldest global Shotokan karate organizations in the world. Origins Gichin Funakoshi played ...

and began his career as a competitive ''karateka''. From 1974 to 1984, he achieved substantial success both in

kumite Kumite (, literally "grappling hands") is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which a person trains against an adversary. Kumite can be used to develop a particular tec ...

and

kata ''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practiced in Japanese martial arts ...

. In 2000, Mikio Yahara founded the Karatenomichi World Federation (KWF) to pursue the true way of karate as a unique way of martial arts. As of 2023, he is the grandmaster of this large global organization spanning 63 countries. Having earned the trust of political, business, and other important figures around the world, Grandmaster Yahara remains active today. Mikio Yahara leads International Security Service and utilizes karate to protect dignitaries.

Tournament achievements

JKA All-Japan Championships

*1984 - 3rd (kumite), 1st (kata), Grand Champion *1983 - 2nd (kata) *1982 - 3rd (kumite), 2nd (kata) *1981 - 2nd (kata) *1980 - 2nd (kata) *1979 - 3rd (kumite) *1978 - 2nd (kumite), 2nd (kata) *1976 - 3rd (kumite) *1975 - 2nd (kumite) *1974 - 1st (team kumite)

JKA/IAKF World Championships

*1983 (Egypt) - 1st (team kumite), 1st (team kata), 2nd (kata) *1980 (Germany) - 1st (team kumite), 1st (team kata), 2nd (kata) *1977 (Japan) - 1st (team kumite), 1st (team kata), 2nd (kata) *1975 (USA) - 1st (team kumite), 1st (team kata)

Asian Championships

*1974 (Singapore) - 1st (team kumite) *1983 (Singapore) - 1st (kumite), 1st (kata)

WUKO/JKA World Cup

*1984 (Hungary) - 1st (kata), 1st (team kata)

References

External links

*
Official website of the International Security Service
1947 births Japanese male karateka Living people 20th-century Japanese sportsmen {{Japan-karate-bio-stub