Mar 07 2017
On this day, 7 March 1956, the earliest known letter was written from Henri Plee to Vernon Bell. This letter was a response to an earlier letter written by Bell to the Fédération Française de Karaté on 21st February 1956. It is thought that Bell had inquired about being graded by the Fédération Française de Karaté. In his letter Plee …
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Mar 06 2017
On this day, 6 March 1921, Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan karate, led a karate demonstration in front of Crown Prince Hirohito. The demonstration was performed at the Great Hall of Shuri Castle, in Okinawa. Crown Prince Hirohito had visited Okinawa while en-route to a visit to Europe. The ship’s captain, Captain Norikazu Kanna, …
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Mar 04 2017
On this day, 4 March 1952, David Frederick Hazard, a well-respected Shotokan karate practitioner, was born in Bow, London. Dave Hazard began his karate training aged sixteen at the KUGB affiliated Blackfriars Karate Club, under the instruction of Keinosuke Enoeda. Like most martial artists who had started training at the time, Hazard had begun his …
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Mar 03 2017
On this day, 3 March 1946, British Shotokan instructor, Robert Rhodes, was born in Leeds, England. Rhodes began his training aged twenty, at the Leeds Shotokan Karate Club (Leeds SKC), under the instruction of Ronnie Wade. As a green belt Rhodes started competing at the Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB) National Championships where he …
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Mar 02 2017
On this day, 2 March 1960, Gichin Funkoshi’s eldest son, Yoshihide, died aged 71. Yoshihide Funakoshi is not as well known as his more talented younger brother Yoshitaka(Gigo). Little is known about his karate ability. In his youth Yoshihide had trained under Master Yasutsune Itosu alongside his father. Master Funikoshi and his eldest son had a …
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Mar 01 2017
On this day, 1 March 1962, the British Karate Federation (BKF) issued a club affiliation certificate to the Liverpool Karate Club. The club, formed in 1959 under Fred Giles, would eventually come to be known as the Red Triangle Shotokan Karate Club. Initially club members received instruction from Vernon Bell, Terry Wingrove and Tetsuji Murakami. However, …
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Feb 27 2017
On this day, 27 February 1948, Terence (Terry) O’Neill, one of the best karateka ever produced in Britain, was born in Liverpool, England. O’Neill began his karate training in 1963 when as a sixteen year old he lied about his age, on his application to join the British Karate Federation (BKF). Under Keinosuke Enoeda and the …
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Feb 24 2017
On this day, 24 February 1941, Shotokan master, Masahiko Tanaka, was born in Tokyo, Japan. Known for his great skill in kumite, Tanaka, a long time member of the JKA, won the 1st and 2nd IAKF World Karate Championships held in Los Angeles and Bremen. He also won the JKA All-Japan Individual kumite on two occasions. …
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Feb 23 2017
On this day, 23 February 1966, Edward Whitcher and Robert Williams of the British Karate Federation’s London dojo are graded to 1st kyu by Hirokazu Kanazawa. They were the first students in Britain to be graded to 1st kyu by the Japan Karate Association.
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Feb 22 2017
On this day, 22 February 1964, Hiroo Mochizuki, representing Yoseikan Karate, arrived in the UK for a three day visit. He was invited by the British Karate Federation (BKF) to conduct lessons at their London and York dojos. He also conducted a grading at the York dojo.
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