Katsuaki Satō

Who is Katsuaki Satō?

Katsuaki Satō is the founder and director of Satojuku Karate, also known as Odo karate. The Satojuku honbu is located in Tachikawa, Japan.

Satō was born on April 4, 1946, on Sakhalin Island, then part of occupied Japan following the end of World War II. The Soviet Union had invaded the island during the closing stages of the war, but around 300,000 Japanese remained on the island, including Satō's family. In 1947, his family moved to Nakoso, in Fukushima Prefecture.

In high school Satō trained-in judo; after graduation, he continued to study it while working full-time as a journalist and studying part-time at Chuo University. However, at the age of 20, he injured his knee and shoulder and had to give up judo. Instead, he began training in Kyokushin karate in 1969. Satō studied karate from Terutomo Yamazaki for whom Satō has expressed much respect. Satō reached the rank of shodan on October 1, 1971. He reached the rank of 3rd dan in karate on March 18, 1973 and he had also attained 3rd dan ranking in judo. He reached the rank of 4th dan in karate on May 1, 1974.