Kenichi Sawai

Kenichi Sawai 健一澤井 (1903–1988) was a Japanese martial artist and a colonel in the Japanese army. He was an associate of Mas Oyama.

Contents

• Kenichi sawai 1903 1988
• Kenichi sawai and mas oyama kumite old style
• References

Having achieved a fourth-dan grade in judo and a fifth-dan in kendo, Kenichi visited Beijing in 1939 to challenge Wang Xiangzhai, the founder of yiquan. He made several attempts to defeat Wang, including one where he fought with a shinai whilst Wang used only a stick. However, Kenich was soundly defeated each time. Kenichi subsequently applied to study under Wang, and was accepted. However, virtually all of his training was provided by Wang's student, Yao Zongxun.

Kenichi subsequently returned to Japan, where he introduced a slightly modified version of yiquan which he called Taikiken.