Hon. Shihan Wataru Okawa
(Black Belt 7th Dan)

Late Shihan Wataru Okawa,
the founder and the President of
Japan Karate Do-Kenseikan

Mr. Okawa was born in Hirado City, Nagasaki Prefecture in Kyushu Islands which is located at southern part of Japan on January 6th, 1933 as the second son of Mr. Shizuka Okawa. The Okawa's was the land owner of the town named as Okawara and they were fairly wealthy then. His father was appointed as a police station manager in Koushu, Korea which was Japan's territory during WWII. Mr. Okawa stayed there until he was 13 years old. One year eariler the war ended, the family went back to Japan. After the war, their lands were confiscated as Agrarian Reform.

Mr. Okawa went to Fukuoka Prefecture which is major city in Kyushu. He attended Fukuoka High School, and there he met his Judo teacher, Mr. Eto, who was one of the Kodokan Judo instructors. Under him he practised Judo everyday, and soon he became assistant teacher and he taught Judo for his teacher almost every day. He got 4th dan. During those days he leaned Aikido, Karate, and old martial arts as well.

When he was 20years old he believe Karate was the most strongest and effective martial art of the world. In those days, he met late Mr. Miyata, he was a chief instructor of Japan Karate Association which is the biggest Karate school in the world. His powerful strikes and kicks impressed Mr. Okawa very much. As I heard from Mr. Okawa, he practised Karate only 1month or so under him.

He practised Karate almost by himself and made up kata's and so on on his own. Of course he studied the old kata's and other practical lessons through the old books but most of them were unuseful, once he told me. In those days, he organized Karate-Do Kenseikan.

When he was 28 years old, he became a high school teacher in Fukuoka, there he taught Karate as one of after school activities. A few years later his school became one of the strongest high schools in Japan. Eight years later, he was appointed as a college instructor in Fukuda Gakuen, Fukuoka. We met there as I was a college student.

Four years later, he moved to Tokyo as he would like to teach Karate to much more well-motivated people. In Tokyo, he taught NTT company employees who were Mr. Osanai, Mr. Oga and Mr. Oka from the very beginning, now they are instructors of Kenseikan Japan. Since then he taught many students of Wakeijuku Dormitory or childrens of many places in Tokyo. In Tokyo Kenseikan had four practising places included Wakeijuku and one in Kyushu.

Unfortunately Mr. Okawa passed away of Leukemia on September 15th, 1995. But his Karate has been handed down to his students. I sincerely hope you can also hand down to your students of Kenseikan Karate in Canada.

Fusako Okawa
President
Karate-Do Kenseikan International

© Copyright 1998 Karate Do Kenseikan Canada