May 2021 archive

This week in history (31 May – 6 Jun)

31 May On 31 May 1993, the former Chief Instructor for the JKA in Belgium, Satoshi Miyazaki died. Miyazaki eventually became a member of the Takushoku Karate team that included Shiro Asano, Hideo Ochi, Kazumi Tabata, and Katsuya Kisaka. The team was very successful, winning the All-Japan University Championships. On completing his degree, Miyazaki was …

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Pascal Lecourt

I have no objections to sportive Karate as such. I think it can go together very well with Karate as a way of life. It is just a shame that most of the competition people are only interested in winning and earning. It often lacks brotherhood as we experience here during Karate training sessions. There …

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Koji Takamatsu

One of Wado-Ryu founder’s, Hironori Ohtsuka’s original students, Koji Takamatsu was a pioneer of Wado-Ryu Karate in Brazil. Koji Takamatsu was born in Kakogawa, Japan on 21 December 1930. Takamatsu began practicing Wado-Ryu Karate in 1948, when he attended the University of Agriculture, in Tokyo. He was a student of Ohtsuka at the University’s Karate …

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This week in history (24 May – 30 May)

24 May On 24 May 1923, Henri Plee was born in the French city of Arras. Considered the “Father of European Karate”, Plee is a true pioneer. He studied many martial arts with some of the world’s top masters. He held a 10th Dan in Karate, a 5th Dan in Judo, a 3rd Dan in …

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Jim Collins

Kata is very important especially for someone like me who is coaching full-time. I have to be able to offer my students everything. I started to concentrate on my kata to help me teach it and I thoroughly enjoy it and I believe it plays a very important part in your training. Jim Collins The …

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Doug Perry

Karate is a fighting art. You must train with deep seriousness from the first day. Each punch, block, or kick must be delivered with the power of the entire body in unison. No matter how much time you devote to training – months or years – if your training consists of no more than moving …

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Yasunori Ogura

Seek perfection of character. Everything else follows on from that. Yasunori Ogura A stalwart of the JKA, Yasunori Ogura is known for his attention to detail. He is a former kumite and kata champion, who is a senior instructor at the JKA Hombu. Yasunori Ogura was born on 21 January 1958, in Hokkaido, Japan. Growing …

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This week in history (17 May – 23 May)

17 May On 17 May 1969, Keinosuke Enoeda married Reiko Hayashi. Charles Naylor, who would become a stalwart of the KUGB was his best man. The newlyweds settled in Kingston Surrey. 18 May On 18 May 1966, Wayne Otto, a multiple European and World Champion, was born in Hackney, London. Otto is one of the …

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Yoshiji Soeno

Known as the ‘Tiger of Josai‘, Yoshiji Soeno was one of Mas Oyama’s early Kyokushin students. The character, Ryu, from the Street Fighter game, is said to have been based on him. Yoshiji Soeno was born in Tokorozawa, Japan, on 29 September 1947. He was descended from an ancient samurai family on both his father …

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Koichi Sugimura

As your body gets weaker you have got two choices: to accept or to change your philosophy of life. Koichi Sugimura A pioneer of Shotokan Karate in Switzerland, Koichi Sugimura was an advocate of traditional Karate practice, especially through the teachings of Gichin Funakoshi. Koichi Sugimura, the youngest of four children, was born in South …

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