Philadelphia Gets Their Lessons in Self Defense

It is important to know self defense. You never know when someone might try to steal your purse or your wallet. You never know when you’re going to have to protect yourself from burglars or gun men. For the people in Philadelphia, they are getting some self defense training from non other but Teruyuki Okazaki.

Age 78, Okazaki is the highest-ranking Shotokan karate master in the world. He is training people in self defense and has done so for many years throughout many countries.

In 1977, he founded the International Shotokan Karate Federation. With over 50,000 members and followers in over 30 countries, he teaches them the simple idea what discipline is the path to peace. He is currently planning to travel to Southern Africa, at the request of their president, to teach self defense and karate because of the levels of violence there.

Okazaki moved to the United States in 1961 to carry on the teachings of his teacher, Gichin Funakoshi. Funakoshi began teaching karate in 1921. Funakoshi told his students that they must seek perfection, be respectful and faithful, and refrain from violence. Now, Okazaki is teaching his students that.

One pupil of Okazaki’s is a 10th degree black belt and has trained under him for 40 years. He has never been into a fight or used his karate as a weapon. He has been provoked several times and has never thrown a fist. That truly is discipline and one of the things that Okazaki teaches. Discipline is very important to his style of self defense.