Suzuki-Tatsuo 8th Dan Hanshi (1921 - )
SUZUKI-TATSUO
Principle Instructor of the Wado International Karate-Do Federation (Wado Kokusai Karate-Do Remni).
Suzuki-Tatsuo was born in Yokohama, Japan on the 27th April 1928. At 10 years old the family moved to Ushigome, Tokyo. At 13 they moved to Hamamatsu, his father's original home town.
His first style of Karate was Shito-ryu, at his high school. He started training at the Yokohama YMCA Wado-ryu Karate Club at the age of 17 under a student of Hironori-Ohtsuka, known as Kimura. Kimura was reputed to be the best student of Ohtsuka-Hironori at that time. Suzuki-Tatsuo trained regularly with Ohtsuka-Hironori, as he visited the YMCA regularly.
Suzuki-Tatsuo was awarded 5th Dan in 1951 for outstanding courage and ability. In 1965 he was awarded 7th Dan, the highest grade ever awarded, by the Zen Nippon Karate Renmei (all Japan Karate Federation). In 1975 he was awarded 8th Dan by the All-Japan Karate-do Organisations (Wadokai) and the title of 'Hanshi', which was awarded to him by a member of the Emperor Higashikuni family.
In 1963, with the assistance of Arakawa-Toru and Takashima-Hajime, Suzuki-Tatsuo introduced Wado-ryu Karate to the UK, Europe and the USA. In 1965 he returned to England where he set up his European Headquarters. Amongst his titles he holds; 2nd Dan in Tenshin-Koryu Bo-jutsu and 1st Dan in Judo. He has also studied Zen doctrine with the high priests, Genpo-Yamamoto and Soyen-Nakagawa.