Tags: Martial Artist.
Isao Obata (小畑 功 Obata Isao 1904–1976) was a pioneering Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He was a senior student of Gichin Funakoshi who is widely recognized as the founder of modern karate and was a key figure in the establishment of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) under Funakoshi in 1949. Obata also helped introduce karate to the United States of America through his demonstrations of the art to United States Air Force personnel and through his students most notably Tsutomu Ohshima.
