2002 AAKF Western Region New Year Celebration Luncheon
Griff's Restaurant
Beverly Hilton Hotel
Beverly Hills, CA
February 2, 2002
It is a Japanese tradition to greet the New Year with a festival. For this
year's festival, the AAKF Western Region hosted a luncheon at Griff's Restaurant
to honor Nishiyama Sensei for receiving the "Order of the Sacred Treasure,
Gold Rays with Rosette" from the Emperor of Japan; as well as, the
"Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit from Polish President, Mr.
Aleksander Kwasniewski. The event was well attended; and, Griff's
staff had to scramble to provide additional seating for the overflow crowd.
Born
in Tokyo in 1928, Hidetaka Nishiyama began his Karate training in 1943 under the
founder of modern Karate, Gichin Funakoshi. Two years later, while
enrolled at Takushoku University, he became a member of the university's Karate
and in 1949, its captain. A co-founder of the "All Japan Collegiate
Karate Federation", he was elected its first Chairman. In 1951, he
graduated with a Master of Arts degree in economics and also co-founded the
"Japan Karate Association" (JKA).
In
1952, he was selected as a member of the martial arts combat instruction staff
for the U.S. Strategic Air Command (SAC) Combat Training Program. The
other Karate instructors for this program also included Gichin Funakoshi,
Masatoshi Nakayama and Isao Obata.
Nishiyama's "Karate: The Art of Empty-Hand Fighting" published in
1960, is even today, considered the definitive textbook on the subject. In
its 70th printing, it is believed to be the best selling Karate textbook in
history. In 1961 while on an invitational visit to the United States, he
organized the "All American Karate Federation" (AAKF) as a nationally
based amateur Karate organization. In November of the same year, Nishiyama
organized, under the control of the AAKF, the first National Karate Championship
in Los Angeles.
In 1965, Nishiyama organized a cooperative effort of the major Japanese Karate styles that led to the first United States vs. Japan Goodwill Karate Tournament, the first truly international Karate competition.
Then
in 1968, he organized the first World Invitational Karate Tournament, the event
held at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in conjunction with the Olympic
Commemorative Tournament in Mexico City hosted by the Mexico Karate
Federation. A conference that took place during the tournament culminated
in the formation of an international Karate organization that would hold its
first World Championship in Tokyo.
The AAKF became a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee in 1970. Then in
1973, Nishiyama co-founded the Pan American Karate Union (PAKU) and was elected
its first Chairman, with the first PAKU Championship staged in Rio de
Janeiro. During the same year, the 2nd World Championship was held in
Paris. The "International Amateur Karate Federation" (IAKF) with
Nishiyama elected as its Chairman held its First World Championship in Los
Angeles in 1975.
In 1979, in accordance with U.S. Public Law regulating national amateur sports
governing bodies, the All American Karate Federation was succeeded by the
American Amateur Karate Federation, a public benefit, non-profit
corporation. Nishiyama was elected its first President.
In 1985, the IAKF changed its name to the International Traditional Karate
Federation (ITKF) because the word "Karate" had become a generic term
applied to a variety of kicking/punching sports. The ITKF, under
Nishiyama's direction, made clear it was the governing body of Traditional
Karate, which has over 70 member nations. This fact was confirmed in 1987,
when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed that the ITKF was the
governing body for Traditional Karate.
In response to his decades of effort on behalf of Traditional Karate and its
U.S. students, the American National Flag was flown over the U.S. Capitol on
October 10, 1999 on the occasion of Nishiyama Sensei's 71st birthday. Then
in May of 2000, he was further recognized when the Nishiyama Cup was held in
Moscow, the first official Karate event conducted in Russia since the end of the
Soviet Union. In November of 2000, Nishiyama Sensei was awarded with
"Kunyoto" - Fourth Order of Merit and was decorated with
"Zuiho-sho" - The Order of the Sacred Treasure - for his many
contributions to promote Japanese culture through Traditional Karate. On
October 14, 2001 Nishiyama Sensei received special recognition from the Republic
of Poland on the occasion of the First Traditional Karate Men's World Cup.
The "Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit" was bestowed upon
Nishiyama Sensei by the President of Poland, Mr. Aleksander Kwasniewski.
