Hideyuki Ashihara was born on December 5th 1944 outside Hiroshima, Japan. Hideyuki grew up with his grandparents in a small village called Nomicho. As a boy he was a restless soul and often got into fights. He first came into contact with Budo when he started training in Kendo at the age of 10  as an outlet for his energy. In 1960, when Ashihara was 15 years old, he moved to Tokyo and started working at a petrol station. This was his working place for six years. In September 1961 the young man entered a karate club for the first time. He saw karate students' training hard and sparring realistically, something he liked immediately. The club was Oyama Dojo, the Kyokushinkai Honbu Dojo.

Kyokushinkai Karate is a full-contact knock down style derived from Shotokan Karate by Mas Oyama.

Ashihara trained intensely and participated in every possible training session. His stubbornness and perseverance finally made it possible for him to grade to Shodan on March 26th 1964. He was then only 19 years old, and no one at the dojo could defeat him in kumite.

In 1966 Ashihara was made an instructor in Kyokushinkai Karate at the Honbu Dojo. He performed well, and it was decided that Ashihara would have the honour of travelling to Brazil to instruct and spread Kyokushinkai Karate, something he had dreamt of for years.

Unfortunately it was not to be. Ashihara got into a fight, defeating five people, who attacked him in the street. The police brought him in for questioning, and the whole incident was reported to the Kyokushinkai Honbu Dojo. Ashihara was suspended from all training. After two months suspension he was pardoned and sent to Nomura on the island of Shikoku in southern Japan.

After three months he was called back to Tokyo and received another chance to travel to Brazil. This time he declined. He wanted to return to Nomura and continue the work he had started there. This was granted, and now Ashihara's reputation as a fighter and instructor started to spread in that part of Japan.

Nomura soon became too small, and Hideyuki Ashihara moved to the neighbouring city Yawatahama. He quickly founded one of the biggest Kyokushinkai clubs in Japan, and the activities were extended to two additional cities, Uwa and Uwajima.

It was during this period that Ashihara developed the concept of Sabaki, and the three principal points for Ashihara Karate were formed:

Preparation and the use of the four positions represented by the circular symbol of Ashihara Karate.

The importance of timing and evaluation of distance (maai.)

Stance, which must always be maintained whatever the situation to give maximum mobility.

Hideyuki Ashihara moved to the city of Matsuyama, and Ashihara Karate quickly became popular there as well. Ashihara started to instruct the police force, and started university clubs in the area. Clubs were developed in Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, Shiga and other places. In March 1978 the construction of the Dojo in Matsuyama commenced and Ashihara moved there at the end of the year. In 1979 the building was completed, and since 1980 it has been the Honbu Dojo for NIKO -Ashihara Kaikan.

Ashihara was still associated with the Kyokushinkai organisation, but instructors in neighbouring districts were complaining about Ashihara's expansion of clubs. To avoid conflict within Kyokushinkai, Hideyuki Ashihara choose to resign from actively practising Karate at an official meeting in Tokyo in March 1978. Ashihara announced that he was willing to give up leadership of the clubs he had developed to concentrate on running his club in Matsuyama. It turned out that this was not enough, and Ashihara was expelled from Kyokushinkai shortly thereafter, following requests from competing instructors

It was from this background that Hideyuki Ashihara created the New International Karate Organisation (NIKO,) in September 1980. In this organisation Ashihara could continue to develop his own style, Ashihara Karate.

Shortly after founding NIKO, Hideyuki Ashihara started to plan the publishing of a series of books on the Ashihara system. The first part was published in 1983, and a total of three books were published. Two of these have been translated to English but are now sadly out of print. There are also three instructional videos by Ashihara, which are still used for educational purposes.

In 1987 came the first signs of Ashihara's illness. He had ALS, a rare disease of the nervous system. In the beginning of the 90's his condition worsened and Ashihara passed away on April 24th 1995, only 50 years old. Over 1000 people were at his funeral and paid their last respects to a man, who went down in history as a truly, great karate master.

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