Patrick Donkor

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This week in history (15 October – 21 October)

17 October On 17 October 1974 Karate instructor Doug James ran his very first beginner’s class at the Harrarby Community Center. The name of his club was the Cumbria School of Karate. This club would eventually become the headquarters (Hombu) of his association, the British Karate-Do Chojinkai Association (BKCA). The BKCA comprises of clubs in Cumbria, North …

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This week in history (8 October – 14 October)

8 October On 8 October 1953 Gōju-ryu founder Chōjun Miyagi died, aged only sixty-five. Born on the island of Okinawa, Miyagi had begun his training in 1902 under Master Kanryo Higaonna. By 1915 Miyagi had become one of Higaonna’s top students. Miyagi’s Karate style of Gōju-ryu was introduced to Japan in 1928 via the Kyōto …

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This week in history (1 October – 7 October)

4 October On 4 October 1924 Motokuni Sugiura, a former Chief Instructor of the JKA, was born in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Sugiura earned his 1st Dan aged only 20. At university he had been taught by Gichin Funakoshi and his son Yoshitaka. After he graduated in 1944 he joined the Tsuchiura Navy Flying Corps, serving …

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This week in history (24 September – 30 September)

27 September On 27 September 1946 Yoshimi Inoue, a student of Teruo Hayashi, was born in the small coastal village of Tottori, Japan. For many, Yoshimi Inoue’s name will be associated with the many great kata champions he coached, that included Mie Nakayama, Atsuko Wakai, Ryoko Abe, Rika Usami and Antonio Diaz. However, Inoue was more …

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This week in history (17 September – 23 September)

On 17 September 2008 the 7th Annual Koyo Camp took place in Ottawa, Canada. The week long camp was sponsered by the CJKF and hosted by the Ottawa JKA. Masahiko Tanaka was the instructor sent over by JKA headquaters to take the course. On 20 September 2007 the 6th Annual Koyo Camp took place in …

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This week in history (10 September – 16 September)

10 September On 10 September 1965 Charles Mack became the first British subject awarded a 2nd Dan in Shotokan Karate from the Japan Karate Association (JKA). Masatoshi Nakayama awarded him his grade at the JKA’s headquarters in Tokyo. Mack had previously been awarded his 1st Dan by Nakayama three years earlier, becoming the first British subject awarded …

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This week in history (03 September- 09 September)

4 September On 4 September 1931 Kenneth Funakoshi, a distant relative of Shotokan Karate founder, Gichin Funakoshi, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Hirokazu Kanazawa, a former Grand Champion in Japan, had arrived in Hawaii in 1960 to represent the Japan Karate Association (JKA) as Chief Instructor at the behest of Masatoshi Nakayama. Funakoshi who was in his early twenties began …

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This week in history (27 August – 02 September)

29 August On 29 August 1934 Steve Arneil, a pioneer of British Kyokushin Karate, was born in the mining city of Krugersdorp, South Africa. Arneil began training with the founder of Kyokushin Karate, Mas Oyama, around 1961. In 1965 Oyama asked Arneil to attempt the One Hundred Man Kumite Challenge. The challenge devised by Oyama, was designed to test if a karate-ka had the necessary endurance and character to fight one …

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This week in history (20 August – 26 August)

On 26 August 1941 Karate instructor and humanitarian, John Van Weenen, was born in Enfield, just outside London. He was the second of six children. In 1964 Van Weenen, along with his brothers Jeff and Garry emigrated to Australia settling in Adelaide. He and his brother Jeff began Karate training under Moss Hollis, who originally …

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