This page is dedicated to Nobu Nishikawa Sensei for his dedication and love to teaching and sharing his knowledge with his students and fellow karate-ka's.
You are forever loved and truly missed.
Nobu Nishikawa held the rank of 5th Dan in Shotokan Karate-do International Federation (SKIF) Karate. Although he retired from the State of Hawaii Deparment of Education (DOE) as a High School industrial arts teacher, he continued to teach as a substitute teacher. Nishikawa Sensei started his karate involvement because of a promise he made with his son, Les Nishikawa Sensei over 30 years ago. He encouraged Les, then an eight year old, to begin training in karate. Les told him that he would train on the one condition that his father would also train with him. From that day, Nishikawa Sensei has trained and taught karate for over 30 years. Nishikawa Sensei has trained under Hanshi Victor Takemori and Shihan's Ed Kiyuna, Francis Fong and Ron Awa.
He once weighted 210 pounds before he started his karate training and credits the SKIF karate training system for maintaining a healthy and lean body. One memorable moment that help him galvanized his commitment to his karate training was when he attended a karate tournament in Law Vegas. He was awed by the countless karate clubs that were present at the event.
When asked what kata Nishikawa Sensei identifies himself with, it is no surprise that it is Chinte. Nishikawa Sensei always stresses direct and practical karate techniques. He enjoys Chinte since it involves circular movements and practical self-defense techniques that are not seen in other katas, such as nihon nukite (two finger strike to the eyes).
Nishikawa Sensei's style of karate is also reflected in one of his favorite techniques: the double mae geri (front kick). Lifting and keeping the knee up is paramount in this technique. Without lowering the knee after the first mae geri, another mae geri is immediately executed with the same leg as a follow up technique. This greatly reduces any wasted movement.