Founders
We are Japanese Karate Association World Federation America (JKA•WF America)
The JKA•WF America is based on traditional Japanese martial art philosophy and training as part of everyday life. The tenets of Dojo Kun are to be honored outside of the training hall. Physical, mental and spiritual aspects are all equally vital parts of the student’s training. Not only is the member required to work on improving techniques and developing new skills in the dojo, the member is also expected to set high goals in their day to day life.
JKA•WF America stresses the value of “Educational Karate” through academic pursuits. Striving for academic improvement in school is part of the U.S. martial arts doctrine. We emphasize and nurture the development of member’s self-discipline and aspirations through martial arts training.
Master Gichin Funakoshi
1868–1957
Gichin Funakoshi was born in 1868 and began studying martial arts at an early age. His principal teachers were Ankō Itosu and Yasutsune Azato, two of the most influential masters of Okinawan martial arts.
Funakoshi played a decisive role in shaping modern karate. He introduced the term karate using the characters meaning “empty hand,” redefining an art previously associated with Okinawan fighting traditions and giving it a philosophical and educational foundation suited to modern Japan.
In 1922, Funakoshi was invited to Tokyo to demonstrate karate at the First National Athletic Exhibition, organized by the Ministry of Education. Following this demonstration, he chose to remain in Japan and devoted himself to integrating karate into the Japanese educational system.
In addition to his martial practice, Funakoshi was an accomplished poet and used the pen name Shōtō, meaning “pine waves.” The term kan means “hall,” and students training under Funakoshi became known as Shōtōkan, giving the style its name.
In 1949, Funakoshi helped establish the Japan Karate Association and served as its head until his death in 1957.
Master Masatoshi Nakayama
1913–1987
Masatoshi Nakayama was an internationally renowned Japanese master of Shotokan karate.
He entered Takushoku University in 1932, where he began his formal study of karate under Gichin Funakoshi and Funakoshi’s son Yoshitaka (Gigō).
In 1949, Nakayama played a central role in the establishment of the Japan Karate Association (JKA). While Funakoshi served as the organization’s formal head, Nakayama was appointed Chief Instructor.
Nakayama developed a systematic and methodical approach to karate instruction and played a key role in standardizing Shotokan training methods. He authored numerous influential textbooks on karate, which helped popularize and disseminate Shotokan practice worldwide. For nearly four decades, he worked tirelessly to spread Shotokan karate internationally, until his death in 1987.
Nakayama was the first master in Shotokan history to be awarded the rank of 9th dan during his lifetime and was posthumously awarded the rank of 10th dan.
Shojiro Koyama
9th Dan
Master Shojiro Koyama (DATE–2021) trained under Sensei Masatoshi Nakayama of the Japan Karate Association. He moved from Japan to Arizona to teach karate in 1964, founding both the Japan Karate Association of Arizona and the Arizona Karate Association. In 1988, Master Koyama published Shotokan Karate: Traditional Karate for a Richer Life. He retired from teaching in 2019.
Shigeru Takashina
9th Dan
Master Shigeru Takashina (1943–2013) was the Chief Instructor and founder of the South Atlantic Karate Association, an organization of the JKA. Graduating from the JKA Instructor's Course in 1968 and moving to the U.S. in 1972, Master Takashina was among the first wave of JKA instructors that taught Shotokan Karate for outside Japan.
Yasuaki Nagatomo
7th Dan
Sensei Yasuaki Nagatomo is the Chief Instructor of both the Japan Karate Association of New Mexico and JKA•WF America. Originally from Kyushu, Japan, he began training in karate in 1980 and has been teaching in Albuquerque, New Mexico, since 1986. He currently holds a 7th-degree black belt and instructor certification with the Japan Karate
Association World Federation (JKA•WF).
Nariman Afkhami
5th Dan
Mr. Afkhami is the Chairman of JKA•WF America. Dedicated to philanthropy, he has played a key role in founding and supporting the organization. In 1980, 1981, and 1983, he won the ISKF/JKA U.S. Nationals Men’s Team Kumite event alongside Sensei Chuck Coburn and Asa Herring.