He was born in 1962 in Kanazawa, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan. In junior high school he was captain of the school judo club.[3] When he was 16 years old he joined Kyokushin Kaikan Ishikawa Dojo. At 19 years old he made his debut in his first All Japan Tournament.
He remained a top athlete in Kyokushin All Japan Tournaments, going on to beat Michel Wedel, Gerard Gordeau and Michael Thompson.[4] He fought and lost to Andy Hug[5] however Hug was unable to walk after the fight.[6]
In 1990 he won a gold medal in the 22nd All Japan Kyokushin Tournament.[7] and in 1991 he placed second in the 5th World Karate Tournament.[8]
He is the shihan of Kyokushin Kaikan Masuda Dojo.[9] In 2007 Masuda published the book "Freestyle Karate"[10] and in 2009 he published "Masuda Akira - Go, Budojin toshite Ikiru".[11]
Referencesedit
^Note on Japanese names: Family names go before given names, so in Japan he is known as Masuda Akira, while in the west he is usually referred to as Akira Masuda
^masutatsuoyama.com: "100 Man Kumite - Akira Masuda (March, 1991)"
^primary source: biography Masuda, Akira "Freestyle Karate" Archived 2012-07-20 at archive.todayISBN 978-4-902535-03-7, Novelpress, August 2007
^kyokushinresults.freeserve.co.uk 14th All Japan - 1982, 8th place: Akira Masuda; 15th All Japan - 1983, 5th place: Akira Masuda; 17th All Japan, 1985, 3rd place: Akira Masuda; 18th All Japan, 1986, 2nd place: Akira Masuda; 21st All Japan, 1989, 4th place: Akira Masuda; 22nd All Japan, 1990, 1st place: Akira Masuda Archived 2007-09-12 at the Wayback Machine
^"andyhug.com". Archived from the original on 2007-09-18. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
^"kyokushinresults.freeserve.co.uk: "Fighter Profiles Japan"". Archived from the original on 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
^kyokushinresults.freeserve.co.uk: "All Japan Champions: 1990 Champion Akira Masuda" Archived 2011-07-28 at the Wayback Machine