The late Soke Hirokazu Kanazawa 1931-2019 10th dan is one of the worlds most renowned and respected traditional karate masters to have ever lived. He won the notorious All Japan Karate Championship Kumite championship in 1957 and in 1958 won the Kata and Kumite Titles. On one occasion he won the finals whilst nursing a broken wrist from an earlier event.

Although trained in Judo in his early years Soke Soke meaning headmaster or grandmaster Kanazawa took up karate whilst at University under the late headmaster of the Shotokan style Matsatoshi Nakayama 10th Dan. Soke Kanazawa was one of the few remaining karateka privileged to have studied under Master Gichin Funakoshi the famous Okinawan schoolteacher who brought karate to mainland Japan from Okinawa and founded the Shotokan style.

Sokes lifelong dedication to teaching promoting and developing the Shotokan style led to him becoming one of the most respected martial artists and karate do instructors in history. Unlike many Karate instructors he was awarded his title of Hanshi 10th Dan by the Kokusai Budoin International Martial Arts Federation the oldest continuously operating Japanese organization promoting international Budo. Sokes Karate and the philosophy behind it is one of the truest forms of Budo to be found in the world today.

Breaking away from the JKA Japan Karate Association in 1973 Soke Kanazawa establised Shotokan Karatedo International Federation SKIF. SKIF is now the worlds largest Shotokan association having over 2 million members in over 100 countries. SKKIF was later established by Soke Kanazawa as his personal representative association in the UK led by Kyoshi Roger Carpenter.