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Obituary: Fumio Demura, "Sensei"
Shihan Fumio Demura, age 82, of Santa Ana, CA passed away April 24, 2023, surrounded by his family,
friends, and students.
Visitation will be held Friday, May 19, 2023, from 4:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. at Fairhaven Memorial Park and
Mortuary,1702 Fairhaven Ave, Santa Ana, CA. Funeral services will be held from 9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 20, 2023, at Fairhaven Memorial Park and Mortuary. Burial to follow at Fairhaven Memorial Park, 11- 12 pm.
He is survived by his sister Kinue and his nephew Sean, of Santa Ana, CA. He is also survived by his siblings Teruo, Yukio, Mitsue and Nobuo in Japan. He was predeceased by his parents.
Shihan Demura is the founder of Shito-Ryu Genbu-Kai. He was a highly respected world-renowned karate-do, kobudo, and batto-do instructor. He was a mentor and friend to many across the world.
Shihan Demura was born on September 15, 1940, in Yokohama, Japan. At the age of 9, he began training in karate and kendo under Asano Sensei. At the age of 12, he started training under Ryusho Sakagami in Itosu-kai karate. He received his 1st dan black belt in 1956. Shihan Demura’s reputation as a martial arts champion was secured in 1961, when he won the All-Japan Karate Freestyle Tournament, and was rated as
one of Japan's top eight competitors for the next three years. His many tournament wins include the East
Japan and the Shito-Ryu Annual Championship, and the Kanto District Championship. In 1959, while at Nihon University in Tokyo, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics, Shihan
Demura developed a special interest in kobudo, including the use of weapons (bo, nunchaku, kama, sai, ekubo, tonfa) under the direction of Taira Shinken. Shihan Demura met martial arts scholar Don Draeger, who introduced him to Dan Ivan. Mr. Ivan helped bring Shihan Demura to the United States in 1965 as a karate instructor of Shito-Ryu Karate and Okinawan Kobudo. Shihan Demura performed awesome karate demonstrations at the Japanese Village & Deer Park for many years. He was featured on the cover of Black Belt Magazine nine times. He authored numerous karate and kobudo books, magazine articles, and DVD’s. He wasinducted into the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame in 1999, and received Black Belt Magazine’s Hall of Fame twice and Black Belt Magazines Lifetime Achievement Award.
In the 1980’s, Shihan Demura became involved in the Karate Kid series of films. He was the stunt double for
Pat Morita, who played Mr. Miyagi. The Karate Kid screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen stated that Mr. Miyagi was named after Chōjun Miyagi, the founder of the Goju-ryu karate style, and that Shihan Demura was one of the inspirations for the character. Shihan Demura was also the subject of the 2015 documentary The Real Miyagi. He appeared in several films and documentaries, including: The Warrior Within, The Island of Dr.Moreau, The Karate Kid movies, Rising Sun, Mortal Kombat, and many others. He was also technical advisor for several movies including a soon to be released series “Shogun”. Shihan Demura received the All-Japan Karate Federation President's Trophy for outstanding tournament play and was awarded certificates of recognition from Japanese Cabinet officials for his contributions to the art of karate. He was captain of the U.S. Japan Goodwill Championships of 1972 and a member of Amateur Athletic Union national technical committee. He was on the board of directors of the International Martial Arts Federation, chairman and president of the Japan Karate Federation International,and Chief instructor and president of Shito-Ryu Karate-Do Genbu-Kai International. In 2019, he was presented with
the Foreign Minister’s Commendation from the Consul General of Japan for his outstanding achievements. Shihan Demura was presented the rank of 10th dan in 2022.
Shihan Demura was a real karate Sensei. He was loved by many martial arts practitioners, particularly his students. He exemplifi
ed the true meaning of being a karateka, as he traveled throughout the world
teaching and sharing his knowledge. He was down to earth and loved to spend time with family, martial
artists, and friends. He brought smiles to people’s faces with his gift of origami creations. One of his favorite pastimes was fishing.
Shihan Demura was an incredible human being and made a great impact on millions of people around the
world throughout his lifetime. He will be dearly missed by all.
To honor & celebrate Sensei’s life.
The following link, which is for access to the streaming of Sensei’s service this Saturday, May 20th, starting at 9:00 am Pacific Time. We hope people will be able to join us electronically if they are not able to attend the service in person. The link will also allow access to a recording of the service for three weeks. The obituary and link are also available on our website, https://www.genbukai-hq.org/
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5 comments:
Your piece does look like war. Great lighting. :-)
Thank you for this detailed and moving picture of Shihan's life. The way he touched so many lives will mean his legacy of Karate competence, humility and compassion will last for many generations to come. I was honored to have known him. Go in peace Jacki.
I see fire, danger, fear, struggling, .... it's war and that's terrible.
Thank you, John. This war is so unfair.
Thank you, Denise.This was more formal, I am not reay to do a personal tribute. Thanks for your kind words, dear friend.
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