Mr. Elijio Curiel, born in May 1954, started his karate training in 1973 in Tucson, Arizona. Initially studying under Mr. Clyde Kakimoto at the University of Arizona, he later joined the Dow dojo known as “Shotokai Karate of Tucson.”
In the summer of 1975, at the age of 21 years, he traveled to Atsugi to train in the Kawanabe dojo for two months and was awarded his Sho Dan at that time. Mr. Curiel continued his karate training in Tucson under both the Kakimoto and Dow dojos. He frequently traveled to Atsugi to continue his study of Kawanabe Karate every few years. Master Kawanabe introduced the hachiriki and hachiken to Arizona karate students in the mid-1980s when Mr. Curiel studied this new concept and continues to teach it to his students.
In 1994, Sensei Curiel started his own dojo at a local gymnasium in Tucson, where he taught a small class of faithful adult students. The Curiel dojo later moved to the El Rio Neighborhood Center in Tucson, where he teaches children and adults twice weekly.