Branch Master Katsuya Hirayama

Jun-Hanshi 7th Dan

Birthdate: March 21, 1956
Birthplace: Tsushima, Japan

Hirayama Sensei's passion for Shorinji Kempo began when he started practicing in high school. In hopes of sharing that passion with others, he moved to the United States in 1984 where he founded the Golden Gate Branch. Upon settling in San Jose, the capitol of Silicon Valley, the branch was appropriately renamed "Silicon Valley Branch." In 1992, the children's class was established and continues to thrive to this day.

Todd Windley

Sei-Kenshi 4th Dan

Birthdate: August 2, 1969
Birthplace: Pocatello, Idaho

Todd was raised in Utah, and lived almost 4 years in Japan. After working for Panasonic for many years in Silicon Valley, he now owns his own graphic and web design firm. He is married with one son and lives in Menlo Park, CA.

Ryuta Saka

Sei-Kenshi 4th Dan

Birthdate: October 11, 1983
Birthplace: Chino in Nagano, Japan

Ryuta immigrated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1993 with his family from Japan due to the transfer of his father's job. Upon attending the University of California Santa Cruz, he founded the UC Santa Cruz Shorinji Kempo Club in 2003. Since then, he has contributed to a tremendous amount of recruitment of kenshis who regularly attend practice at both the UC campus and the Nichiren Buddhist Temple with the rest of the Silicon Valley Branch members.
He and his brother Yuki Saka who represented the U.S. for their level at the 2001 Shorinji Kempo World Tournament in Paris, became the first "international" pair ever to win first place, putting an end to a continuous streak of wins by those representing the Shorinji Kempo-founding country of Japan. As an assistant instructor, Ryuta constantly challenges fellow kenshis to do difficult exercises such as the short squats when put to be in charge of leading warm-up exercises.