Lachezar Nenov,  6th Dan

President and Chief Instructor of JKS Bulgaria

Club: Shiseikan Karate Club (Sofia and Varna)

Born on May 13, 1972.

In 1994, he graduated from the "V. Levski" National Sports Academy with a Master’s degree and a qualification as a Karate-do Coach.

He holds a 6th Dan rank and an international instructor license from the International Japanese Karate Association (IJKA).

Since 1995, he has been a student of the IJKA Chief Instructor, Sadashige Kato Sensei (9th Dan).

Major sporting achievements:

1997 – Japan Karate Association World Cup under the patronage of Tetsuhiko Asai Shihan (Lucerne, Switzerland): Bronze medal – Men's Kumite.

1994 – 2nd place in Kata at the "Mak Shotokan" international tournament (Ohrid, Macedonia) under the patronage of Teiji Kase Sensei (9th Dan).

2004 – IJKA European Championship in Cyprus: Bronze medal in Kumite.

2004 – Awarded an honorary badge and certificate by the President of Shotokan Karate-do United Nations (SKDUN) for special achievements and contributions to the development and promotion of Shotokan Karate-do.

Experience: 1991–1994 – Instructor at Karate Club "Ippon".

1993–1994 – Coach at the "Municipal Center for Work with Children – Mladost".

1994–1998 – Karate coach at the Central Army Sports School and head coach of CSKA Martial Arts.

Since 1995 Lachezar Nenov is the Technical Director for Bulgaria of the JKA (transformed by Asai Sensei into the JKS and IJKA in 2000) and works under the guidance of Shihan Sadashige Kato (9th Dan), the Chief Instructor of the IJKA.

From 1998 until its dissolution, Sensei Nenov served as a board member of the Bulgarian Traditional Karate Federation and as coach of its national Kata team.

Since 1992, Mr. Nenov has regularly attended international seminars and trained under many distinguished karate masters, including: Teiji Kase (9th Dan), Tetsuhiko Asai (9th Dan), Hidetaka Nishiyama (9th Dan), Hirokazu Kanazawa (9th Dan), M. Ueki, Keinosuke Enoeda, Hiroshi Shirai, Masahiko Tanaka, Sadashige Kato, Bruno Koller, Toru Yamaguchi, M. Kawazoe, T. Imura, Sadamu Uryu, Iwaizumi, Toru Arai, Dr. Slave Pashoski, T. Imamura, Mirche Opeloski, Doi Yoshiatsu, Manabu Murakami, Takashi Yamaguchi, T. Namiki, T. Okuyama, Yasuyoshi Saito, T. Naka, and many others.

2000–present: Founder and President of Karate Club "Shiseikan."

2004–present: Country Director for Bulgaria for Shotokan Karate-Do of United Nations (SKDUN).

In 2005, following a recommendation by Sadashige Kato Sensei regarding the reorganization of IJKA-Bulgaria, Lachezar Nenov founded the Bulgarian Federation Karate-Do (BFK). In 2011, this federation merged with the WSKF and JKA branches and was renamed the Bulgarian Federation Shotokan Karate-Do (BFSK). Throughout this period, he has served as Vice President and Chief Instructor of the organization, which unites Shotokan clubs across Bulgaria.

– 2008–2009: Adjunct Lecturer in Karate-Do at the National Sports Academy.

2007–2018: Chairman of the Youth Technical Committee of SKDUN (Shotokan Karate-Do of United Nations).

2009–present: Captain of the International Instructor Course (Kenshusei) of the IJKA (International Japan Karate Association).

2009–present: Member of the IJKA Shihan-kai.

2011–present: Member of the Board of Directors of SKDUN (Shotokan Karate-Do of United Nations).

2013: Completed the IJKA International Instructor Course (Kenshusei), qualifying as an "IJKA International Instructor," and successfully passed the 6th Dan examination before Sadashige Kato Sensei, the Chief Instructor of the IJKA.

2018–present – ​​Member of the SKDUN Technical Committee (Head of the Asai-ryu Division)

2020–2025 – International Director of the Technical Committee of the International Japan Karate-do Association (IJKA)

In January 2026, he officially resigned as Technical Director of the IJKA and withdrew his membership from the organization.

In 2026, another 12 clubs left the IJKA and founded JKS Bulgaria, with Latchezar Nenov serving as president and chief instructor.