Okinawa Kenpo Karate School - Master Higa's Resume

 

Master Teruyuki Higa
Okinawa Kenpo Karate School Ô
2086 Front Street
Uniondale, NY 11553
516-292-8770

211 Newport Road Uniondale, NY 11553
 516-292-3472 (Home)

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Master instructor and 7th degree black belt in Okinawa Kenpo Karate. A native Okinawan who studied under one of the most famous Okinawan karate masters, Shigeru Nakamura, tenth degree black belt and founder of the Okinawa Kenpo Karate-Do Association. As the U.S. Representative of this association since 1972, came to the United States on a mission to spread the teachings of traditional Okinawa Kenpo Karate.   

 

 Awarded 7 Degree Black Belt Certificate
By Taketo Nakamura 
(Son of Master Shigeru Nakamura)
June 7th 1983

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts, 1967                               University of the Ryukyus  
English Literature                                       Okinawa, Japan

EXPERIENCE

Okinawa Kenpo Karate School Ô                 Uniondale, NY  
Master Instructor and Founder                    1972—Present

Instructor of traditional Okinawa Kenpo Karate in Empty Hand Self-Defense and use of traditional Okinawan weapons. Emphasizes practical as well as effective full contact fighting with protective gear in order to safely practice fighting techniques at full power and full speed. 

Nassau Community College                        Garden City, NY  
Adjunct Professor                                          1975 —2001

As faculty member, instructed fundamentals of Karate for college credit courses.

Hofstra University                                        Hempstead, NY  
Adjunct Professor                                         1979— 2009

As faculty member, instructed fundamentals of Karate for college credit courses.

MEMBERSHIPS AND OFFICIAL POSITIONS  

  • President of the U.S. East Coast Okinawa Association (2000-present)
  • U.S. Representative of the Okinawa Kenpo Karate-Do Association
  • Certificate of Civil Goodwill Ambassador (Karate) to the USA appointed by the Governor, Okinawa Prefectural Government (1990 and 2001)


  • New York Correspondent of the Ryukyu Shimpo Newspaper, Okinawa, Japan  (1983-1994)

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN KARATE (OKINAWA, JAPAN)  

1/30/66 2nd place, All Okinawa Kenpo Karate Tournament
2/5/67 Champion, All Okinawan & American Karate Championships  
3/26/67 Gave special demonstration and model sparring, All Japan Chito-Ryu Karate Championships, Kumamoto, Japan
11/6/67 2nd place, All Okinawa Open Karate Championships
3/25/68 One of Top Ten Winners, All Okinawa Open Karate Championships
4/21/68 3rd place, Okinawan Top Ten Finals
12/27/87 Karate seminar at Okinawa Kenpo Headquarters Dojo in Nago City, Okinawa
8/4-5/90 Produced “NY & Okinawa Joint Variety Show” Naha City & Nago City, Okinawa, Japan. Televised on O.T.V. on 9/15/90  

8/20/90 Gave special demonstration as a Civil Goodwill Ambassador, Worldwide Okinawan Karate Festival, sponsored by Okinawa Prefectural Government, at Okinawa Convention Center, Ginowan City, Okinawa
11/29/92 Produced “The Second NY & Okinawa Joint Variety Show” Okinawa Convention Center, Ginowan City, Okinawa, Japan. Televised on RBC TV on 9/10/93

 

11/3/01 Karate and Martial Arts Exchange Festival at the 3rd Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival "Budo-Kan", Naha, Okinawa

     

 


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10/14/06 Karate and Martial Arts Exchange Festival at the 4th Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival "Budo-Kan", Naha, Okinawa
10/14/11
10/15/11		 Karate and Martial Arts Exchange Festival at the 5th Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival "Budo-Kan", Naha, Okinawa
8/1/18 Special Demo (Nunchaku) The 1st Okinawan Karate International Tournament, Naha City, Okinawa
11/4/22 50 Anniversary Demo - 100 Board Breaking with 2 fingers, Naha City, Okinawa

               

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN KARATE (USA)

5/6/72 Gave special demonstration, 6th Annual Northeast Championships, Reading, PA  
6/10/72 Gave special demonstration, Masters Invitational Karate Championships, Pittsburgh, PA
8/19/72 Won 2nd place (Breaking) & 2nd place (Kata), 1972, Academy Scholarship Karate Tournament, Waterbury, CT  
9/17/72 Won 2nd place (Weapon), DKI Tournament Championships, Reading, PA  
10/7/72 Won 2nd place (Kata) & 3rd place (Fighting), 1st. East Coast Four Seasons Karate Championships, Richmond, VA  
11/11/72  Gave special demonstration, 3rd Continental Open Tae Kwon-Do Karate Championships, NY, NY  
2/24/73 Won 3rd place (Fighting), 1st Gold Cup Tae Kwon-Do Karate Championships, Brooklyn, NY
3/11/73 Won 2nd place (Breaking), 1st Annual Doctots Open Karate Championships, NY, NY  
4/29/73  Gave special demonstration, 1st Oriental World of Self-Defense, Madison Square Garden, NY  
6/16/73 Won 1st place (Weapons), The Okinawan Karate Institute Invitational Karate Tournament, Patterson, NJ  
10/28/73 Won 2nd place (Forms) & 3rd place (Breaking), 1973 Academy Scholarship Karate Tournament, Waterbury, CT  
10/14/73  Gave special demonstration, 6th Oriental World of Self-Defense, Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden, NY  
11/29 - 12/2/73 Gave special demonstration, Japanese Camera Show, New York, NY  
1974,1978 Named one of the top stars in Karate by Official Karate Magazine  
5/5/74 Gave special demonstration, 1974 International Gold Cup Open Tae Kwon-Do Karate Championship, Hempstead, NY  
5/24/74 Gave special demonstration, Martial Arts Expo, 1974, Chattanooga, TN
6/2/74 Gave special demonstration, 1974 Oriental World of Self-Defense, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY  
6/29/74 Appointed referee, New York State Police Olympics, Brookville, NY  
7/27/74 Sponsored Martial Arts Expo, Patchogue, NY
10/19/74 Won 2nd place (Forms), 1974 Academy Scholarship Karate Tournament, Waterbury, CT
1/2-11/75 Gave demonstrations during special tour throughout major cities in Israel  
1/12/75 Gave special demonstration, 1a Okinawa Invitational Karate Tournament, C.W. Post College, NY  
4/12/75 Gave special demonstration, Karate & Kung Fu Masters Expo, MD  
5/10/75 Gave special demonstration, World Professional Full-Contact Karate Championships, Nassau Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum. Trained and coached Fay Schreibman who wan Woman’s full contact championship.  
6/8/75 Gave special demonstration, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY (Oriental World of Self-Defense)  
10/4/75 Gave special demonstration, 1975 Gold Cup Tae Kwon-Do Tournament, C.W. Post College, NY  
10/18-19/75 Gave special demonstration, 1st All Venezuela International   Karate Tournament & Exhibition, Caracas, Venezuela  
1/18/76 Won 2nd place (Weapons), 2nd All Okinawan Invitational Karate Tournament, Long Island Arena, NY  
4/11/76 Gave special demonstration, Full Contact Karate World Heavyweight Championship, Madison Square Garden.  
10/23/76 Gave special demonstration, 1976 All South Karate Championship, sponsored by Master Mikami, Louisiana  
12/5/76 Gave special demonstration, Intercollegiate Wrestling, Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY  
9/11/77 Gave special demonstration, The International Community Festival, Mount Vernon, NY  
9/24/77 Gave special demonstration, The Oriental Martial Arts Exhibition, Hofstra University, NY
11/5/77 Gave special demonstration, Wah Lum Invitational Martial Arts Championship & Exhibition, Sponsored by Master Pal Chan, Boston, MA  
5/7/78 Won 1St place (Kata) and gave special demonstration, Town of Hempstead, 1st  Invitational Karate Tournament  
9/24/78 Ran 1st Annual Okinawa Kenpo Karate-Do Tournament Hempstead, YMCA, NY  
12/3/78 Gave special demonstration, 1978 Hollywood Martial Arts Action Contest, California State University, Los Angeles. Sponsored by Master Sho Kosugi and Kubota  
9/16/79 Gave special demonstration, 1979 Oriental World of Self-Defense, Madison Square Garden, NY  
3/19/83 Gave special demonstration, 1983 it All American Open Karate, Kung Fu and Tae Kwon Do Championships at Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden, NY  
3/24/83  Gave special demonstration at Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
9/9/84  Gave demonstration at Nassau Coliseum, Oriental World of Self-Defense
5/3/88 Invited by President Reagan to attend the Proclamation Ceremony and Reception for the Asian Pacific American Heritage Week at the White House, Washington, DC. Performed karate demonstration at Sylvan Theater (5/7) in commemoration of this special occasion  
11/5/88 Produced and performed 1988 Okinawan & Japanese Martial Arts Expo at Hofstra University Playhouse, Hempstead, NY  
1/25/91 Karate demonstration at Okinawan Center in Hawaii  
3/91 Ran an instructional course on Self-Defense Tactics and Weapons for the National Police of Panama. Gave special demonstration for first Okinawa Kenpo Karate Tournament, Panama City, Panama  
5/6/92 Karate demonstration at the United Nations UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France  
1992   Karate demonstration at the United Nations, New York, NY  
7/95  Ran an instructional course on Self-Defense Tactics and Weapons for the National Police of Panama  
8/97 Ran an instructional course on Self-Defense Tactics and Weapons for the National Police of Panama and the Panama Coast Guard  
8/22/98 Produced and performed “International Dance and Karate Performance” at Hillwood Recital Hall, C.W. Post Campus, Brookville, NY  

10/21/98  Produced Dance and Karate Show at United Nations Church Center, New York, NY  
3/13/99 Produced and performed “2nd International Dance and Karate Performance” at St Francis Xavier Church, New York. NY  
11/3/03 Karate Seminar in Puerto Rico 
3/24/04 Gave interview and demonstration for Hofstra University Television called “The Art of Kenpo”
5/3-4/04 Karate Seminar in Puerto Rico 
4/25/06 Received Certificate of Appreciation in Recognition of 20 years of dedicated service to the Hofstra University
5/1/06 Karate Demonstration at Hofstra University
6/11/06 Received Certificate of Recognition in appreciation for past support by the St. Joseph High School Theatre Company
6/11/06 Received Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of the spirit of sharing with a demonstration of your skills by the St. Joseph High School Theatre Company

TELEVISION APPEARANCES (USA)        

4/12/75 ABC Channel 7 “Wide World of Sports’
5/8/75 WLIW Channel 21 News
6/3/75 WPIX Channel 11 News
4/11/76 CBS Channel 2 News
9/76  Channel 47 News
10/22/76 Channel 6 (New Orleans) “Sports News”
8/23/98 Long Island News 12  
3/24/04 Hofstra TV – The Art of Kenpo
6/14/15 Orion Beer TV Commercial – Queens, NY

TELEVISION APPEARANCES (JAPAN)

8/23/75 RBC “Saturday Wide Show”
7/28/80 RBC “Area Report”
5/19/83 OTV “Sports News”
5/20/83 OTV “Friday Special Guest Show”
8/21/84 RBC “RBC Journal Special, Okinawans in America”
7/5/87  OTV “Okinawans in USA”
7/26/87 OTV “Okinawans in USA, General Edition”
12/27/87 OTV News
1/2/88 RBC “1988 Shinshun Minyo Kohaku Utagassen”
1/7/88 NHK “Okinawa 730: Shinshun Variety, Dragon 1988”
1/9/88 NHK Repeat of 1/7/88 Show
2/19/88 RBC Repeat of 1/2/88 Show
6/6/89 RBC News “Area Report”
7/11/89 RBC “Hot Night Okinawa Island”
7/30/90 RBC “Area Report”
7/31/90 OTV News (Interview)
8/1/90 OTV News (Book Publishing Party)
8/5/90 OTV News (Variety Show)
8/6/90 OTV News (Visiting Okinawan Governor)
8/9/90 NHK Live Talk Show
8/18/90 RBC Talk Show
8/20/90  OTV News (Karate Good-Will Ambassador)
8/21/90 NHK News
9/15/90 OTV NY & Okinawa Joint Variety Show
1/23/92 NHK Talk Show (Studio Okinawa, Yoshida Kenichi)
11/27/92 NHK Talk Show (Okinawa Channel, Yoshida Kenichi)
11/30/92 OTV Sports News  
9/10/93 RBC  The 2nd NY & Okinawa Joint Variety Show
10/10/06 NHK Okinawa Talk Chanple - Live
10/12/11 NHK 610 News
11/4/22 NHK News Coverage Of 100 Board Breaking With 2 Fingers

RADIO APPEARANCES IN OKINAWA (JAPAN)

1/9/87 RBC Radio Akira No Kyyuroku
1/24/88 ROK Radio Okinawa The Worldwide Uchinanchu
6/11/89 ROK Radio Okinawa The Worldwide Uchinanchu
?/?/89 RBC Radio Sports News
?/?/89 ROK Radio Okinawa The Worldwide Uchinanchu
7/29/90  ROK Radio Okinawa The Worldwide Uchinanchu
12/2/90 RBC Radio RBC Morning Station
7/31/89 RBC Radio Morning Station Radio Topics
1992 -4/7/94 RBC Radio   Weekly Radio Series Entitled "New York Today"
Reported By T. Higa
2/?/98 RBC Radio Nagomasa Higa
12/1/99 ROK Radio Okinawa The Worldwide Uchinanchu
9/?/01 ROK Radio Okinawa The Worldwide Uchinanchu
6/10/10 RBC Radio Sawayaka Sports Jockey
9/4/11 ROK Radio Okinawa Uchinanchu Interview
1/29/12 ROK Radio Okinawa World Uchinanchu

VIDEO

Produced “Okinawa Kenpo Karate Empty Hand and Weapon Fighting Techniques,” 8/88  

MOVIE

One of the co-stars in the Biography movie of Bruce Lee entitled “Fist of Fear, Touch of Death;” filmed in New York; produced by Aquarius Releasing, Inc., 1980  

BOOKS

Published autobiography, “My Struggling Life in New York,” 1990 in Okinawa Japan.

Acknowledged In:

  • “Classical Kata of Okinawan Karate,” by Pat McCarthy

  •  "The Official History Of Karate in America", by Al Weiss  

  •  “Okinawan Karate: Teachers, Styles and Secret Techniques,” by Mark Bishop, 1987

  • "Martial Arts: Traditions, History, People", by John Corcoran and Emil Farkas

Magazines And Newspapers

Master Higa has been featured in several Magazines and Newspapers, both in the United States and Japan.  For a full list, click here.

 


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Contact Master Higa's Okinawa Kenpo Karate School - (516) 292-8770

Okinawa Kenpo Karate School
1051 Front Street, Uniondale, NY 11553
(516) 292-8770
Please Contact Us By Phone or EMail.

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