Yutaka Yaguchi

Who is Yutaka Yaguchi?

Yutaka Yaguchi is the Chief Instructor and Chairman of the International Shotokan Karate Federation Mountain States Region. He was born in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1932 and began karate training in 1952. He later tested under masters Gichin Funakoshi for his 1st dan black belt and Masatoshi Nakayama for his 2nd through 8th dan black belts. As one of the first graduates of the Japan Karate Association Instructors' Training Program in 1959, he has played an important role in the growth of JKA karate and the internationalization of Shotokan karate. Yaguchi first arrived in the United States on June 5, 1965, and continues to reside in the US to the present day. In 1974, Yaguchi founded the ISKF of Colorado, the regional headquarters for the Mountain States Region.