Castoro-hanshi began training in the martial arts in Rome, Italy on 20 June 1958. Castoro-hanshi's first teacher was Ken Otani-sensei at the National Police Academy, during which time Castoro-hanshi was able to train extensively in jujutsu and control and restraint tactics. Castoro-hanshi himself became a trainer of police forces, in Gorizia in the north-east of Italy for example, teaching these same skills along with some rather unconventional weaponery, such as a combination gun and batton. Castoro-hanshi believes teachers themselves can learn a lot from teaching others. Although Castoro-hanshi does not emphasise any particular technique, he likes to focus on application and expects the impact to be the same, irrespective of one's age and size. As a member of the IBA, Castoro-hanshi has attended many of its events and has trained with Daniel Blanchet-hanshi, of whom Castoro-hanshi thinks very highly. Castoro-hanshi is now the Senior Director for Kodo Butoku Renmei in Italy, and hopes to provide an opportunity for Italians and Sicilians to have greater awareness of and access to learning from the West and from Japan.