On this day, 11 April 1907, Minoru Mochizuki, founder of the Yoseikan dojo, was born in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Mochizuki was one of the few men to have been a direct student of the three great Budo masters, Jigoro Kano, Morihei Uesiba and Gichin Funakoshi. An accomplished martial artist, Mochizuki held a 10th Dan in aikido; a 9th Dan in jujutsu; a 8th Dan in judo; a 8th Dan in kobudo; a 5th Dan in kendo; a 5th Dan in karate; and a 5th Dan in jojutsu.
It was Mochizuki’s believe that Japanese martial arts had become too fragmented into separate disciplines. To address this he established the Yoseikan dojo in Shizuoka, as a place where the major techniques found in Japanese martial arts could be consolidated.
Recent Comments