[1] He became the national coach of Denmark in 1975 and in 1978 returned to Japan, where he currently manages the international affairs of the JKA.

He studied agriculture and veterinary medicine at Nihon University.

After graduating he chose karate as his way of life and continued studying at the Japan Karate Association (JKA) honbu dojo (headquarters training hall) in Tokyo under Masatoshi Nakayama, then the JKA's Chief Instructor.

Nakayama, former Chief instructor of the JKA wrote ‘There are very few competitors who can use both hands and feet with as much skill as Masahiko Tanaka’.

[2] Tanaka, is author of the famous ‘Perfecting Kumite’ textbook and also featured in M. Nakayama's ‘Best Karate’ series.