Rainhill Kase Ha Shotokan Karate Academy

Sensei Taiji Kase 9th Dan

Sensei Taiji Kase was one of the greatest teachers of Shotokan Karate and one of the few who could lay claim to having been taught at the original Shotokan dojo by the son of the founder of Shotokan Karate, Master Gigo Funakoshi. The depth of Sensei Kase's knowledge and skill was enormous.

As a director of the Japan Karate Association (JKA), he was responsible for teaching the greatest generation of international instructors: Sensei Kanazawa, Sensei Enoeda and Sensei Shirai.

Though he was a member of JKA and one of the creators of the first competition rules, he never ceased to practice karate as a Budo martial art, resulting in a distinguished line of Shotokan Karate which he called, the Kase Ha Shotokan Ryu Karate-Do (Shotokan with Kase's personal touch).

In order to reach a level beyond technique and physical power, Sensei Kase's approach towards different aspects of practice, such as physical, mental and spiritual, had only one aim and that was to go beyond the limits.

Sensei Kase had a vision to teach karate free of any sport or political conditioning and whilst there were many conflicts and changes in world of karate, he paved the way for the development of his own karate style which comes to us directly from Masters Gichin and Yoshitaka Funakoshi.

Sensei Kase devoted his life to karate. His integrity and humility, together with his loyalty towards friends and students made him an example for all to follow.

For those of us who have had the good fortune to know him, know that besides being a Master of Karate, he was a great personality, modest and an example of harmony between body and spirit.

"Greatness was never their ultimate goal, we thrust it upon them in honour of their dedication".