Patrick Donkor

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This week in history (16 October – 22 October)

17 October On 17 October 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 Lancashire and …

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This Week in history (9 October -15 October)

10 October On this day, 10 October 1928, Shotokan Karate master, Hidetaka Nishiyama was born. Nishiyama attended famed university, Takushoku, studying economics. In 1949 he was named the captain of the karate team, after joining earlier that year. In the early 1950s, Nishiyama was part of a group, including Masatoshi Nakayama and Isao Obata, selected …

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This week in history (2 October – 8 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 university he had been taught be 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 (25 September – 1 October)

28 September On 28 September 1897, Shinkin Gima was born in Shuri, Okinawa. On Okinawa he studied under both Yasutsune Itosu and Kentsu Yabu before attending university in Tokyo. In 1922 he met and began training with Gichin Funakoshi. He was Funakoshi’s first black belt and would eventually reach the rank of 10th Dan.

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This week in history (11 September – 17 September)

11 September On 11 September 1934 Colin Williams, the founder of the Bukonkai Karate International (BKI) association, was born. He started training in the early days of Karate in the United Kingdom. On 11 September 1970 Michael Randall, Christopher Adamou and Nicholas Adamou graded to 2nd Dan under Hirokazu Kanazawa. All three men had started their Karate …

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This week in history (4 September – 10 September)

4 September On 4 September 1931, Kenneth Funakoshi, a distant relative of Gichin Funakoshi, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Hirokazu Kanazawa, who was 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 …

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This week in history (28 August – 3 September)

30 August On 30 August 1931, Shotokan Karate master, Hiroshi Shōji, was born in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Appearing in volume 4 of Masatoshi Nakayama‘s Best Karate series, he was known for his sharp quick movements and exceptional tai-sabaki. At the first JKA All-Japan Karate Championships in 1957, Shoji became the first All-Japan Kata Champion. He was …

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This week in history (21 August – 27 August)

August 26 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 …

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Frank Brennan

Karate is about many things but, first and foremost, it is about training. Frank Brennan Frank Brennan can arguably be described as one of the most technically gifted karatekas of his generation. He is one of the few competitors to be equally comfortable in kata or kumite, excelling in both disciplines. As a competitor, he …

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This week in history (14 August – 20 August)

August 14 On 14 August 1934 the founder of American Goju-ryu Karate, Peter George Urban, was born in Jersey City, USA. Serving in the US Navy, he was stationed in Yokohama, Japan and in 1953 began studying Karate as a student of Richard Kim. In 1954 he was transferred to Tokyo. There he was introduced …

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