A bit of history...

The ultimate aim of Karate lies neither in victory nor defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants
– Master Gichin Funakoshi

As karate legends go, Gichin Funakoshi's life was not terribly exciting. He never challenged anyone to a sword duel, never attempted to dismantle a bull's horn, never had a presumptuous nickname and, in fact, never left the islands of Japan. He was a poet, and a schoolteacher, and the closest he ever came to seeing battle was when he mediated a dispute between two neighbouring villages.  Yet Funakoshi is one of the most honoured, cherished and memorable martial artists in history. His innovations left indelible marks on the art form we know today as karate. Not only was shotokan karate, the style he founded, influenced by Funakoshi, but dozens of other styles as well. Gichin Funakoshi sincerely believed it would take a lifetime to master a handful of kata and that sixteen would be enough. He chose the kata which were best suited for physical stress and self-defence, stubbornly clinging to his belief that karate was an art rather than a sport. To him, kata was karate.

Funakoshi died in 1957 at the age of 88, after humbly making a tremendous contribution to the art of karate.

You know your Kata after you have done it one thousand times
– Kenneth Funakoshi

Kenneth Funakoshi is the founder and chief instructor of the Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Association. In 1960, Funakoshi started Shotokan training when the Japan Karate Association assigned its first grand champion, Hirokazu Kanazawa to teach at the Karate Association of Hawaii for three years. For the next three years, Funakoshi trained under Masataka Mori, another senior instructor from the Japanese Karate Association. From 1966 to 1969, he trained under the third and last instructor sent by the J.K.A., the legendary tetsuhiko Asai, another former grand champion from Japan. In 1969, after training 10 ye4arsunder three of Japan’s top instructors, and grand champion of the Karate Association for five years in a row (1964-1968). Kenneth Funakoshi was appointed as the chief instructor for the Karate Association of Hawaii.

Funakoshi Sensei moved to San Jose, California to teach karate in December 1986. In 1987, the non-political Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Association was founded with its headquarters in San Jose, and affiliates throughout the United States, Mexico, Europe and South America. The World Headquarters is now located in Milpitas, California.