Katsuaki Satō

is the founder and director of Satojuku Karate, also known as Odo (The Champion's Way) karate. The Satojuku ''honbu'' (headquarters) is located in Tachikawa, Japan.

Satō was born on April 4, 1946, on Sakhalin Island, then part of occupied Japan following the end of World War II.Odo Karate Satojuku: Katsuaki Sato
(November 25, 2009). Retrieved on March 23, 2010. The Soviet Union had invaded the island during the closing stages of the war, but around 300,000 Japanese remained on the island, including Satō's family. In 1947, his family moved to Nakoso, in Fukushima Prefecture.

In high school Satō trained-in judo; after graduation, he continued to study it while working full-time as a journalist and studying part-time at Chuo University. However, at the age of 20, he injured his knee and shoulder and had to give up judo. Instead, he began training in Kyokushin karate in 1969. Satō studied karate from Terutomo Yamazaki for whom Satō has expressed much respect. Satō reached the rank of ''shodan'' (1st degree black belt) on October 1, 1971.
He reached the rank of 3rd ''dan'' in karate on March 18, 1973 and he had also attained 3rd ''dan'' ranking in judo.Anonymous (1972): "20 top fighters in Japan." ''Black Belt'', 10(10):53–58. He reached the rank of 4th ''dan'' in karate on May 1, 1974.

Satō excelled in tournament competition. He won the 1971 (Third) and 1974 (Sixth) All-Japan Full Contact Karate Championships (AJFCKC), as well as the 1975 First All-World Full Contact Karate Championships (AWFCKC).Nakamura, T. (2006)
What is the Kyokushin's World Tournament?
(''sic''). Retrieved on March 23, 2010.Irish Karate Kyokushinkai: History of Kyokushin
(August 30, 2009). Retrieved on March 23, 2010.
(2010). Retrieved on March 23, 2010. He was part of a Kyokushin training group nicknamed "The Seven Samurai," which included Jōkō Ninomiya.Ninomiya, J., & Zorensky, E. (2000). ''My journey in Karate: The Sabaki Way'' (p. 59). Berkeley, CA: Frog Books. () Satō defeated Ninomiya on his way to taking the 1975 Kyokushin title.Adams, A. (1976): "Only the strong survived: Broken bones, bruises, trips to the hospital for combatants in Mas Oyama's First World Open Karate Tournament in Tokyo." ''Black Belt'', 14(6):50–54, 75. In 1976, he was listed at 5' 10½" (179 cm) in height and 183 lb. (83 kg) in weight.Adams, A. (1976): "Top Ten Karateka for 1976 (Japan)." ''Black Belt'', 14(10):69. A later source specifies and . He then retired from full-time karate training and competition and devoted himself to assisting his family's business.

In 1977, Satō started his own karate style, Satojuku, in Mitaka, Tokyo, as a single ''dojo'' (training hall). Satojuku has now grown to include ''dojo'' in many locations in Japan. Satojuku is known as a similar style to Kyokushin, but emphasizes precise knockdown techniques over techniques designed to injure or "knock-out" one's opponent. The organization sponsors an annual tournament, the All-Japan Point & K.O. Tournament, held at Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan, with full-contact, knockdown rules of competition.

Describing his art in 1987, Satō wrote, "Odo means the way champions must behave. It is based on humane feelings and courtesy, on being honorable, on being devoid of selfishness or bias. It is the antithesis of any martial art that relies only on force to conquer an opponent."Sato, K. (1987)
Forward (''sic'') from ''Odo no Karate''
(August 1987). Retrieved on May 14, 2010.

References

External links

Odo Karate Satojuku


Odo Karate Satojuku USA

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sato, Katsuaki
Living people
1946 births
Japanese male karateka
Karate coaches
Martial arts school founders
People from Tokyo
Kyokushin kaikan practitioners
Japanese male judoka