Kyoshi Tamakore was born 12 February 1946. His martial arts interest came about at the age of 9 under the guidance of Master Meiji Nakahara Hoo.
Over many years Kyoshi Tamakore continued to train in his beloved karate and in 1974 he opened his first school in Rotorua, New Zealand where he conducted classes there. He then went on to open two more schools in Fiji and the Cook Islands, and at a later date, moving to Auckland to
establish more schools.
Kyoshi Tamakore was involved in establishing the first full contact karate tournament in New Zealand, along with other well known martial artists, including Grand Master Henry F.H. Gibson (Kung Fu), Sensei Sargent (Budokan Karate), Sensei Chris Dessa (Ashihara Karate) and Grand
Master Sifu Lam (Leegar Kung Fu).
He also went on to instruct self defence to some of the security services in New Zealand, teaching at the air training corp in Ardmore Air Base and teaching some of the R.N.Z.A.F. at the Whenuapai Air Base as well as conducting seminars at different schools throughout the Auckland regions. His training abilities also extended to the special air service personnel before the Falklands War, training the special riot squad of Tahiti and being a special unarmed combat instructor for the Foreign Legion unit in Tahiti.
His successes on the tournament scene also included winning the grand champion title at the 1978 Pro-Am full contact martial arts tournament, which was held in Oahu, Hawaii. He has trained with distinguished martial artists including Benny the Jet, Kwan Duk Choi and many more and has trained under the Jyoshin Mon Society of Okinawa.
As a result of a very serious motor vehicle accident in 1984/85 Kyoshi Tamakore's training ceased until 1988 due to his injuries. With the determination to overcome the injuries and the desire to return to his martial arts, Kyoshi Tamakore slowly began training again and eventually re-opened some of his schools in the Auckland region. He also headed a team of 17 competitors to Grand Blanc Michigan U.S.A of which 12 competitors returned with national titles.
1993 saw Kyoshi Tamakore travelling to Australia for family reasons. It was while in Brisbane that he opened his first karate school where he continued to teach and coach his students, sending another team of competitors. This time to attend the Nevada National Titles in 1996. Success was again with the team who arrived back in Australia with 9 national titles.
Under the guidance of the late (Hanshi) Meiji Hara Hoo, Kyoshi Tamakore graduated with honour to 7th Dan black belt and is now the first and foremost in his chosen art. He is also a level A international Tae Kwon-Do Federation (I.T.F.) examiner and is graded to 4th degree. He is currently the president of International Taido Kenpo-Kan Karate-Do of Australia and the South Pacific representative for the Pacific Rim Tour in association with Master Ted Tabura of the Lima Lama Society.
Inducted into the A.M. A.H.O.F/W.K.U.H.O.F . for 1997
KENPO-KAN INSTRUCTOR OF THE YEAR FOR THE COOK ISLANDS