Sensei Hector Tapia Biography
Sensei Hector Tapia
Sensei Hector Tapia is the Chairman of the Ken Shin Kan Karate Do School in Australia. He holds the rank of 7th Dan Black Belt.
Sensei Hector was born in Santiago Chile in 1943, his intuition and quest for knowledge drove him to the martial arts in the mid 1960’s he began his training at a Kempo Karate School situated in the central districts of Santiago.
From the first moment he entered the Dojo he was enchanted and intrigued by the martial arts. It was clear to him that he was going to dedicate himself to Karate for the rest of his life.
In 1970 Sensei Hector Joined the Ken-Shin-Kan Karate-Do Goju-Ryu Academy training under the tutelage of Sensei Raul and Roberto Fernandez de la Reguera, who currently hold the rank of 9th Dan and are international directors of the Ken-Shin-Kan Karate-do Academy.
By 1973 after 3 years of hard devoted daily training Sensei Hector achieved his 1st Dan black belt.
Sensei Roberto (Centre) Sensei Hector (Right)
A few years later Sensei Hector and his family migrated to Australia looking for a better life. Upon settling they happily embraced the new country and its culture.
With him he brought his Karate and his goals were clear in his mind. He would spread his art and promote the Ken-Shin-Kan way in Australia.
He continued his training on a daily basis initially at a park near his home with his sons. Many onlookers were captivated by the Karate they saw. Soon those with strong spirit and courage asked to learn Karate from him.
Soon after Sensei Hector established his first karate club and that marked the beginning of the Ken-Shin-Kan in Australia.
At Ken Shin Kan Head Dojo (Chile)1985 (Bottom Left)
Over the last 40 years Sensei Hector has travelled back to Chile every few years for extended periods of training at the Honbu Dojo (Headquarters) so as to develop his karate.
Sensei Hector currently holds the grade of 7th DAN and is the Director of the Ken-Shin-Kan School in Australia.
Among his high level students, and managers are his sons Christian Tapia 6th DAN and Marcello Tapia 4th DAN.
Training in Sydney, Australia
Sensei Hector remembers that Master Seiichi Yoshitaka Akamine, used to say “that a Martial artist should not be satisfied with their achievements, instead there should be a constant search for knowledge always attaining new objectives.”
Having a keen thirst for knowledge Sensei Hector has also acquired a 4th Dan in Japanese Swordsmanship with the Mushintodo Kenbukan under the tutelage of Takagi Tesshu Sensei. He also has a diploma in Shiatsu Japanese Massage therapy. The students have benefitied from this when injuries occur or after hard training sessions.
Sensei Hector is also a master of “Kobudo” (Traditional Karate Weapons) which is an integral part of Ken Shin Kan Go-ju Ryu teachings.
Sensei Hector 1975 Sydney, Australia