Soke Kanazawa an original student of the founder of Shotokan Karate, Master Funakoshi Gichin, and has dedicated himself to the study and promotion of karate for more than 60 years. He founded the Shotokan Karate-do International Federation in 1978 and the organisation now has an estimated 2.4 million students in 106 countries. Soke Kanazawa passed away in 2019 and SKIF is now led by his eldest son, Nobuaki Kanazawa, who is referred to as Kancho.