9th Dan JKA, President of the ITKF/AAKF
Hidetaka Nishiyama was born in 1928 in Tokyo, Japan. From 1933-1945 he studied Kendo, earning his Shodan in 1943. Mr. Nishiyama attended Takushoku University from 1945 to 1951, (M.A. in Economics) where he started learning Karate. By 1950, Mr. Nishiyama had earned his Sandan and was considered one of the premier technical Karate practitioners in the JKA. From 1950-1960, Mr. Nishiyama was co-founder of the first competitive version of kumite (free-sparring), founder of the All Japan Collegiate Karate Union, taught members of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), and was named the Chief of the Department of Instruction for the JKA. In 1960, at the request of Mr. Oshima, Mr. Nishiyama came to the United States. In 1961 he organized the AAKF, which became the official representative for the JKA in the United States. Today he remains as the top technical person in the JKA and the most senior continuously active member of the JKA living today. His writing credits include Karate, The Art of Empty Handed Fighting (1960).