Ryeui Ryu Instructors

Nakaima Kenji

5th Soke

Nakaima Kenji is the fifth and current Soke (pronounced "soh-keh") of the Nakaima family and the Ryuei Ryu style of karate. His father, Nakaima Kenko, was the first of the Nakaima family to teach the style to students other than those of direct family lineage.


Sakumoto Tsuguo

President

Sakumoto Tsuguo is a former renowned World Karate Champion. Sakumoto Sensei studied under Nakaima Kenko, and is the current President of the Ryuei Ryu organization.

  • The 7th, 8th & 9th World Karate Champion

  • The 2nd & 3rd World Games Champion

  • The 2nd & 3rd World Cup Champion

Tomohiro Arashiro

Pan American Chief Instructor

Tomohiro Arashiro was born in Nago City, Okinawa, Japan. He began studying karate in 1968 with Nakaima Kenko, grandson of Ryuei Ryu founder Nakaima Norisato. A junior high school student at the time, Arashiro and his friend Matsuda Takeshi would train at Nakaima Sensei's home for two-hour sessions, twice a week. While training on school grounds, the two boys caught the attention of the teacher Sakumoto Tsuguo, who also began to train with Nakaima Sensei. With a growing contingent of students, the Ryuei Ryu style was officially made public by Nakaima Sensei in 1971.  


In 1979, after completing a degree in Physical Education at Chukyo University in Nagoya City, Aichi, Japan, Arashiro Sensei and his friend Kuniyoshi Tsutomu agreed to immigrate to the United States to teach Ryuei Ryu Karate and kobudo. Their fledgling group expanded from informal gatherings in a park in San Diego, to sessions at local recreation centers and VFW halls, to a formal dojo in 1984. Arashiro Sensei is currently the Pan American Chief Instructor of Ryuei Ryu. 

Alfonso Gomez Sensei

Founder of UCSD Program

Alfonso Gomez began his martial arts training in Judo in 1969 and received his Shodan in 1974. In 1976, he began training in karate and became affiliated with Ryuei Ryu Karate under Arashiro Kyoshi in 1992. Gomez Sensei has been the Chief Okinawan Karate Instructor at the University of California, San Diego since 1986. Over the past twenty years, his efforts have produced many Junior and Collegiate Champions. 

Ophira Bergman Sensei

Head Instructor - UCSD

Ophira Bergman began her martial arts training in 1979 and received her Shodan in 1988. Bergman Sensei is a past National Champion and Collegiate Champion and is the current UC San Diego Collegiate Team Instructor. 

Left to right: A. Gomez, T. Arashiro, T. Sakumoto, J. Hickman, C. Hickman