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David Akutagawa (1937-2008) was a Japanese Canadian martial artist active during the late 20th century.
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Early life
Born in 1937, Akutagawa first came to Canada after receiving a degree in Economic Science from Kohnan University in Kobe, Japan. His karate background at that time was in Shit?-ry? and Sh?t?kan-ry? styles.
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Career
He held 8th Dan in Shit?-ry? was 6th dan, shihan, and renshi in Chit?-ry?; his karate history spanned a half-century.
In 1967, he began teaching karate at the RCMP Self Defense Depot in Penhold, Alberta and at the RCMP Academy in Regina, Saskatchewan. He taught the RCMP Instructors there for over a decade.
In order to further his karate career, Akutagawa traveled to Toronto to meet and train under Masami Tsuruoka, the "Father of Canadian Karate", as well as the head instructor of Chit?-ry? in Canada. In 1966, Tsuroka introduced Akutagawa to Tsuyoshi Chitose, founder and supreme instructor of Chit?-ry?. Thus began Akutagawa's training in Chit?-ry?, until Chitose's death in July 1984. Akutagawa resigned from the International Chito-kai in December 1996 and founded the Renshikan (???) Karate Association in January 1997. On June 1, 2006, S?ke Kenei Mabuni of Shit?-ry? Karate-d? promoted Akutagawa to 8th Dan and Shihan. Akutagawa also enjoyed studying Okinawan Kobud?, iaid? and j?jutsu with various experts.
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Death
On Wednesday, October 8, 2008, Akutagawa suffered a massive heart attack and died at the Vancouver General Hospital.
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Sources
- Colling, Michael, Chitose Tsuyoshi - A Bridge Through Time, retrieved 2007-11-14
- Organizations and Instructors with direct ties to Chit?-ry? Karate-do, archived from the original on 2007-10-08, retrieved 2007-11-14
- Colling, Michael; Schmidt, Don, Chit?-ry? Diversity (- Scholar search), retrieved 2007-11-14
- "Karate Celebrations" (PDF), Karate BC News, p. 8, July 2007, archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-08-08
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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