Kyoshi Sensei Rajesh Thakkar was born to Santokben & Laljibhai Thakkar on 14th July 1959. Rajesh Thakkar is a person for whom it can be said that Karate is his life. He has dedicated his complete being to Karate. The mission of his existence is to spread the right values of life through teaching Karate-Do.
He began his Karate training at the age of 13 years under the able guidance of Shihan Pervez Mistry, the father of modern Karate in India. Rajesh Thakkar achieved his Black Belt from Sensei Mistry in 1979.
In 1984, he was awarded 4th Degree Black belt by Hanshi Sensei Meitoku Yagi, 10th Degree Black Belt and founder of OMGKA (Okinawan Meibukan Goju-Ryu Karate-Do Association) in Japan. He was also appointed the Chief Instructor and President of that style in India. He got his 5th Dan in 1990, 6th Dan in 1996 & 7th Dan in 2009 from Japan. He was also awarded the title KYOSHI in 2009 by Hanshi Sensei Meitatsu Yagi & Hanshi Sensei Meitetsu Yagi.
Rajesh Thakkar was a champion Karateka and was the National Champion in 1980. He has also participated and represented India at 3 World Tournaments. Since the past several years he has also been accompanying the Indian national teams to various International championships as a coach - cum - manager.
He has written two books on Karate in English (Dynamic Goju-Ryu in 1982 and The Art and Science of Karate-Do in 1993 with a second edition in 1997) and the latter has also been translated to Gujarati.
He has about 20 branch classes in addition to the main class where he himself teaches at Grant Road.
He is one of those rare teachers who practice what they teach. He is also the type of teacher who studies deeply into his subject and always tries out new methods of teaching.
Sensei Rajesh Thakkar is a simple man who has kept a low profile despite a list of extraordinary achievements. What makes him great is not just his prowess in Karate, but also his noble character, his sublime approach towards life and the SPIRITUAL VALUES that he has been imbuing in his thousands of students since over 35 years as a teacher.