Sadly, we just found out that Kancho Kenneth Funakoshi passed away on July 3. He was known world-wide as the founder and retired leader of the FSKA with many thousands of members from the USA, Mexico, South America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Despite the many articles written about him, videos of his seminars, and honorific titles, he always remained down-to-earth and retained his easy-going, local pidgin. He could be a hard taskmaster in the dojo, but he also had a sense of humor and an excellent memory which was great for story-telling. Whenever he taught, his presence and commanding, piercing voice would fill the dojo and make everyone try even harder.

Over the years, your sensei’s have received instruction from and attended seminars of many karate masters. However, that is not the same as consistent training under your primary instructor. Each of us trained under sensei in both regular and advanced classes from the early 1970s until he left for the mainland in 1986. Inevitably, what we learned from him went far beyond mere technique. His teaching style, personal thoughts about the art, even his philosophy of life exerted a strong influence on us. This teacher-student relationship is usually limited to karateka and their primary instructor. We were additionally fortunate to train with him when he was in his thirties/forties and still in his prime. To Sensei Peter, Wayne and me, he will always be our sensei – by that, I mean he’s man who personally gave us our foundation in the art of Shotokan Karate-Do, which we, in turn, get to share with you.

Our condolences and prayers for the Funakoshi family.