Hiroyoshi Okazaki
9th Dan, ISKF Chairman and Chief Instructor
Hiroyoshi Okazaki was born in Chiba, Japan on March 4, 1961. As a young child, his father’s career as a civil engineer meant that he and his family resided in different locations on the main island of Honshu. When he entered high school, his family permanently settled in Kawasaki City. Before graduating from Teikyo High School in 1978, he began his martial arts training at the Japan Karate Association headquarters in Tokyo.
On August 25, 1979, Okazaki moved to the United States, settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and continued his training at ISKF Headquarters. While in Philadelphia, he attended Temple University and, in 1990, received his BFA degree from the Tyler School of Art. Throughout that time, he continued to train, compete, and teach at the ISKF Honbu Dojo under the tutelage of Shihan Teruyuki Okazaki. In 1995, he graduated from the ISKF Instructor Training Program, becoming a Certified Instructor, Examiner, and Judge.
In 2015, upon his retirement, Shihan Teruyuki Okazaki designated Hiroyoshi Okazaki to assume the position of Chairman and Vice-Chief Instructor of the International Shotokan Karate Federation. The International Board of Governors and Technical Committee unanimously approved this appointment. Upon his retirement, Shihan Yutaka Yaguchi appointed Okazaki as Chief Instructor of the ISKF.
Okazaki currently holds the rank of 9th Dan. Currently, he continues as Chief Instructor at ISKF Headquarters in Philadelphia. He is an Adjunct Professor in the KPAP program CPH at Temple University and instructs at his Okazaki Karate Academy club in Palmyra, New Jersey. Additionally, he travels extensively nationally and internationally to conduct seminars and examinations.
Mark Tarrant
8th Dan, ISKF Mountain States Head instructor
Mark Tarrant is the head of our Mountain States region. Tarrant was a long-standing member of the Mountain States competition team. He earned two individual national championships and was a part of seven national championship teams. Tarrant was a member of the US ISKF team for ten years and earned individual and team medals internationally.
Tarrant is on the ISKF technical committee and graduated from the ISKF instructor program. His mentor, the late Shihan Yutkata Yaguchi, personally appointed Tarrant as his successor of the Mountain States Region upon his retirement.
Tarrant still actively trains at his dojo in Arvada, Colorado. He travels to various dojos and events to conduct examinations and seminars.
Teryuki Okazaki
10th Dan
Born June 22, 1931, in Fukuoka, Japan. He passed away on April 21st, 2020. After studying aikido, judo, and kendo, he began karate training in 1947. Master Okazaki joined the Japan Karate Association (JKA), where he studied under both Master Gichin Funakoshi and Master Masatoshi Nakayama. In 1953, Master Okazaki graduated from Takushoku University in Tokyo with a BA in Political Economics. In 1955, he helped Master Nakayama develop the JKA Instructor’s course. Later, as a pioneer instructor, he became the first coach of the course. He later taught at Boei University (considered Japan’s West Point), Takushoku University, and Tokyo Toritsu University. He also instructed the instructor trainees for the JKA Headquarters.
Master Okazaki was sent to the United States by JKA Chief Instructor Masatoshi Nakayama in 1961 to help share Shotokan karate with people throughout the world. He established a dojo in Philadelphia (now Headquarters for the International Shotokan Karate Federation) and formed the East Coast Shotokan Karate Association in 1963. In 1977, he founded the International Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF), which is now one of the largest karate organizations in the world. The ISKF has approximately fifty thousand members in over thirty countries. Master Okazaki received the rank of 10th Dan in October 2007. He had been a faculty member of Philadelphia’s Temple University since 1970 and was also an instructor at the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, West Chester University, and Thomas Jefferson University. In June of 2007, the ISKF became independent of the JKA/WF, allowing the ISKF to spread to more countries outside of the Pan-America region. Master Okazaki is the author of two books, The Textbook of Modern Karate, and the Perfection of Character: Guiding Principles For The Martial Arts & Everyday Life. Master Okazaki was chosen as Black Belt magazine’s Man of the Year and belongs to their Hall of Fame.
Master Okazaki passed away in April of 2020.
Yutaka Yaguchi
9th Dan
Born on November 14, 1932, in Hiroshima, Japan. Sensei Yaguchi began karate training in 1952. He studied under Masatoshi Nakayama, the late chief instructor of the JKA, Motokuni Sugiura, the present chief instructor of the JKA, and Teruyuki Okazaki, chief instructor of the ISKF, and received his shodan and nidan from Master Funakoshi himself.
Among the first to graduate from the JKA Instructors Program, he trained with and competed against the likes of Hirokazu Kanazawa, Takayuki Mikami, Katsunori Tsuyama, Hiroshi Shoji, Keinosuke Enoeda, and Tetsuhiko Asai.
Master Yutaka Yaguchi was not only the previous chief instructor for the Mountain States region, including part of Canada, but also the technical director for the International Shotokan Karate Association. He is a 9th-degree black belt who came from Japan to help start Shotokan Karate in the United States over 45 years ago. He is famous for his speed and power and has developed more national champions than any other JKA instructor. Master Yaguchi continued to train as a retiree, with occasional guest instructor appearances.
Master Yaguchi passed away in October of 2023