Born in England in 1963, Richard Amos sensei began karate at age 10. Occasionally teaching from as young as 15 he was invited onto the KUGB Junior Karate Team at 18. By the age of 23 he had competed in England and Europe gaining many Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in numerous championships.

After a two-year sojourn in New York, he went to Japan to train at the headquarters of the Japan Karate Association and stayed 10 years. During that time he completed the 3-year instructor's program of the JKA (only the 2nd Westerner ever to do so in its 50-year history), placed second or third in the All-Japan Championships several times (no non-Japanese had ever reached the semi-finals before), taught many classes each week over a 6-year period in the headquarters of the JKA (another first) and opened his own school in the heart of Tokyo.

In 2000 Amos sensei moved to New York again, this time as an established professional karate instructor with an international reputation. He is currently the chief instructor of the World Traditional Karate Organization heading its instructor program and teaches everyday at the headquarters dojo on 63rd Street and 3rd Avenue in Manhattan.

Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture , Japan in 1964, Eiji Maeda sensei began karate at the age of 11 with Yoshihiko Kawamura of the Japan Karate Association.

In 1983 he left for Tokyo in order to train more seriously at the JKA headquarters in Ebisu and passed shodan in 1984, nidan the following year and sandan in 1989.

In 1991 he became kenshusei under the instruction of Asai sensei, Abe sensei and Yahara sensei among others and two years later was appointed the Chief Instructor of Nihon University in Ochanomizu, Tokyo.

Maeda sensei has traveled extensively to teach, giving seminars in India, Nepal, New Caledonia, Germany, Poland and Dubai.

In 1999 he became the first godan in the Japan Shotokan Karate Association and continues to assist Abe Keigo sensei at various seminars.

Maeda sensei first visited New York in 2002, teaching and officiating at the WTKO Nth Atlantic Championships and accepted a position as Assistant to the Chief Instructor at the WTKO Honbu Dojo in April 2007.