Biography of Shihan Amir Mahdavi
Amir Mahdavi was born on March 26th, 1971 in Iran.
Amir began his martial art training from early ages and reached the level of Blue Belt in Taekwondo in his teens. He continued his training in the field of Kan Zen Ryu, which is an Iranian style, under the supervision of Sensei Morteza Nilforoshan, who is the first Karate Kai in Isfahan, Iran, and reached the level of Black Belt Shodan.
With the introduction of Shito-Ryu in Iran in 1990, Amir and a group of karate instructors in Isfahan joined this style and started further training under the supervision of Sensei Ali Kamali. Amir succeeded in reaching the instructor level in 1992 and continued his training to reach the referee level in 1994.
In the year 2001 Amir gained the title of Excellence as a Referee in the Karate Committee and was honored with the title of Kata Level 1 which were the highest levels of achievement in this sport in Iran. He continued his Shito-Ryu Shito-Kai in the National Iranian Karate Federation until the year 2005 and reached Godan in this style.
In 2006 Amir's special attention and respect for the traditional karate and its principles pulled him to seek more knowledge in that sport and he managed to get training in Shito-Ryu Hanko-Ryu in England and subsequently introduced and registered the style in Iran in the following year. He achieved the title of Rokudan in 2008 from Hanku-Ryu society of England.
Amir continued his training under the supervision of Sensei Nariman Jedi (the president of Hanko-Ryu Karate group in England) for the next four years and became a member of the Instructor group of the Iranian Karate Federation in 2010. He started his research and study in the technical field of karate and received an independent work permit to establish a Shito-Ryu Hanko-Ryu society in Iran.
In 2011 Amir received the title of Excellence in instructor level from the National Iranian Karate Federation and secured a certificate of International Instructor under the supervision of Sensei Antonio Oliva, the president of the technical committee of WKF.
In 2012 Amir was attracted to the philosophy and traditional values of karate as being promoted by the Traditional Karate-do Federation International (TKFI) under the leadership of Soke Del Saito. He then contacted the group and eventually became a member of this group working in Saito-Ha Shito- Ryu style.
Amir is currently a Nanadan and the president of the Saito-Ha Shito-Ryu TKFI Karate Federation in Iran, the Middle East and Asia.
Some of Amir Mahdavi's titles and achievements are as follows:
- President of karate group of the Khomeini-Shahr, Iran (population around 300,000) for a period of 17 years
- Life time member of World Okinawa Seishinryoku Karate Do Federation
- Member of the World Sokeship Council Seishinryoku Kai • March 2012
- The Grand Master Technical achievement in Black Belt Nanadan from Okinawa International Karate Federation
- Certificate of Referee Class B Jendo Arnis from Asian Federation
- PHD degree in Physical Education • Management major from the Tehran University
Shihan Amir Mahdavi
President of the Saito-Ha Shito-Ryu TKFI Karate Federation in Iran, the Middle East and Asia.