Yutaka Yaguchi | |
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Born | 矢口 豊 (Yaguchi Yutaka) November 14, 1932 Hiroshima, Japan |
Died | October 26, 2023 | (aged 90)
Residence | Denver, Colorado, USA |
Style | Shotokan Karate |
Teacher(s) | Gichin Funakoshi, Masatoshi Nakayama |
Rank | 9th dan karate |
Website | http://www.iskfmountainstates.com/ |
Yutaka Yaguchi (November 14, 1932 – October 26, 2023) was a Japanese karateka who was the Chief Instructor and Chairman of the International Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF) Mountain States Region. He was born in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1932 and began karate training in 1952. He later tested under masters Gichin Funakoshi for his 1st dan black belt and Masatoshi Nakayama for his 2nd through 8th dan black belts. As one of the first graduates of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) Instructors' Training Program in 1959, he played an important role in the growth of JKA karate and the internationalization of Shotokan karate. Yaguchi first arrived in the United States on June 5, 1965. In 1974, Yaguchi founded the ISKF of Colorado, the regional headquarters for the Mountain States Region.