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| SOKE SEIKO SUZUKI |
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| The head of
this organization is Soke (Grand Master) Seiko Suzuki |
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 Born
in Chiba-ken Japan in 1936, Sensei Seiko Suzuki began his career in Karate do
in 1954. In order to find work, he moved to Tokyo, where he was soon
introduced to Sensei Ryusho Sakagami, who had just opened a dojo in the
area. Initially the dojo was located in the Shin-koiwa area of
Tokyo, but by 1954, when Suzuki Sensei joined, it had moved to the Kameido
area.
Within two years, Suzuki Sensei was named as the instructor of the Kameido
dojo in Tokyo, under the direction of Ryusho Sakagami. While he enjoyed
training immensely, he found running a dojo by himself to be very
challenging indeed; in fact, there were very few Karate dojo in the Tokyo
area at that time.When Sakagami Sensei decided to relocate the 'Genbukan'
Headquarters in Yokohama, he left Suzuki Sensei to teach in Tokyo without
supervision. More than a simple instructor, he became Sakagami Sensei's
right hand man and principal assistant in the dojo, teaching in the
Yokohama Headquarters, as well as other Genbukan dojos (as the group was
then called).
By 1959 he was named as Chief Instructor in Eastern (Kanto) Japan for the
freshly named 'Itosu-kai' group. While Sakagami Sensei had many good
students in Osaka, Yokohama and Tokyo, Suzuki Sensei was certainly
considered one of the best. He was renowned for his ability to grasp new
techniques and concepts very quickly and became known for his smooth and
powerful technique. He often performed for Sakagami Sensei at
demonstrations and workshops.
For example, he was asked to perform the kata Gojushiho at the 1st All
Japan Karate-do Championships. Many famous instructors were at this
tournament, and it was at this time that he became known as one of
Sakagami Sensei's principal students. In 1965 he received his 7th Dan,
Shitoryu Itosukai, and in 1980 received his Menkyo Kaiden, which indicated
that he had fully mastered the entire syllabus. By this time he was a
technical director in the Itosukai group, able to award any Dan grade in
the organization.
Like many of Sakagami's students, Suzuki often trained with the Kobudo
master Shinken Taira as well. This instructor was famous in Japan as
perhaps the most accomplished in the art of Okinawan Weapons.
After Sakagami's passing in 1993, Suzuki Sensei decided to found his own
style, the Suzuki-ha Shito-ryu Nihon Karatedo Seiko-kai.
Suzuki Sensei continues to follow the path his teacher, Ryusho Sakagami,
set before him. He has returned to the original location of his great
Master's dojo in Tokyo in Shin-koiwa, where he teaches both Karate and
Kobudo. Headquartered in Japan, there are Seiko-kai dojo in Canada
and the United States, Venezuela and Argentina, as well as Ghana, India,
Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Philippines. |
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