Bruce Kanegai is a third generation Japanese American who
grew up in Los Angeles. During the 1960's, he received the Boy Scout rank
of Eagle Scout and the rank of Black Belt from the Shotokan Karate School.
Kanegai received his Bachelor of Arts degree from California State
University, Northridge. He also received his teaching credentials for the
State of California.
For the past 34 years, Kanegai has been teaching art at Simi Valley High
School, where he has taught over 10,000 students. He had been awarded
"Teacher of the Year" from The International Rotary Club, The
Bravo Award from the Los Angeles Music Center, The Amgen Corporation, The
Pasadena Art Center College of Design and the Otis/Parsons Art School.
Kanegai is a fifth-degree black belt in karate and has taught more than
7,000 students over about 40 years. In 1967, he was a member of the first
US karate team to visit Japan. In 2000, Kanegai was promoted to the
highest ranking black belt in the Shotokan Karate of America. In 2004, he
was a judge at Shotokan's 40th Anniversary celebration in France. Kanegai
is currently in the process of finishing a book on the 50-year history of
the Shotokan Karate of America.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Kanegai was a top backpacking
instructor for Moorpark Community College, the Yosemite Institute and many
private organizations. Some of his backpacking highlights include hiking
the entire state of Oregon and, in 1980, setting a new record of running
the 220-mile John Muir Trail from Mount Whitney to Yosemite National Park.
From 1978-1992, Kanegai was a POST (Police Officer Survival Training)
Instructor in California. Under the Downey-Roth System, Kanegai assisted
in teaching police instructors arrest and control techniques, weapon
retention and the side-handle baton.
Kanegai is a member of the California Art Educators Association and
Shotokan Karate of America. His hobbies include photography, drawing,
hiking, golfing and skiing. He has had several close brushes with death,
including being bitten by a large rattlesnake while golfing three years
ago.
Kanegai currently lives in Simi Valley, California, with his wife of 27
years, Nancy. They have two children, Alexander and Danielle, and one dog,
Chako. His birth date is December 17, 1947.
Bruce Kanegai -
Favorites
Colors
Blue
Scents
Barbequed
steak
Flowers
Rose
Board
Games
Risk,
Scrabble
Video
Games
No
favorite
Sports
to Play
Karate
Sports
Teams
Los
Angeles Dodgers, Angels, Lakers, UCLA
Outdoor
Activities
Hiking,
photography, gardening
TV
Shows
SURVIVOR,
ESPN, sports
Movies
Seven
Samurai, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings
Actors
Robert
De Niro, Keanu Reeves, Tom Hanks
Actresses
Diane
Keaton, Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster
Music
Classical
to heavy metal
Magazines
National
Geographic, Sports Illustrated, Southwest Art
