May 14 2018
On 15 May 1947 Steve Cattle was born. Until his untimely death, aged only forty-seven, he was one of the longest practicing Shotokan practitioners in Britain. He was also a keen historian of Karate. Nicknamed ‘Stumpy’ as he was only 5ft 6in, Cattle began training in Judo in 1961, eventually reaching the rank of 2nd Dan. He …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-14-may-20-may/
May 07 2018
On 8 May 1941, Terence ‘Terry’ Stanley Victor Wingrove, an early practitioner of Karate in Britain, was born in London. Wingrove started practicing Judo and Jujitsu in 1957 under Vernon Bell, who later invited him to take part in a Karate lesson with the British Karate Federation (BKF) in 1959. He was eighteen at the time. …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-7-may-13-may/
Apr 30 2018
On 30 April 1957 the British Karate Federation (BKF) held its very first grading in Britain, on the lawn at 12 Maybush Road, Hornchurch. Two students, Trevor Guilfoyle and Gerald Tucker were both graded to 6th kyu. On 3 May 1931, Shotokan master and legend, Hirokazu Kanazawa, was born in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Kanazawa, a student of …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-30-april-6-may/
Apr 27 2018
An honoree of the Combat Magazine’s Hall of fame, Unel Wellington is a founding member of the Welsh Karate Association. As a fighter and mentor he has managed to navigate the path between the colliding worlds of modern and traditional Karate. Below are some of the magazine covers to feature this innovative instructor. March 1989 …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/cover-star-unel-wellington/
Apr 25 2018
Chuck Merriman is a true pioneer of American Karate. He began his Karate journey in 1962 under Chris DeBaise, one of the first Goju-ryu instructors in the United States. He later started training with Peter Urban, another pioneer early of Goju-ryu Karate in the United States. Over the years, as an instructor and coach, Merriman …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/cover-star-chuck-merriman/
Apr 23 2018
On 24 April 1965 the second authorized demonstration given by the JKA in Britain took place at the Hornsey Town Hall, London. The event was organised by Vernon Bell. The JKA party were led by Taiji Kase, who had trained at the original Shotokan dojo; and also contained Hirokazu Kanazawa, Keinosuke Enoeda and Hiroshi Shirai, who were …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-23-april-29-april/
Apr 16 2018
On 20 April 1966 Edward Whitcher becomes the first British student to be graded to black belt by Hirokazu Kanazawa under the JKA. He has been described as the finest Shotokan karate-ka produced by Britain. He started his Karate training with the British Karate Federation in 1963. Whitcher was a founding member of the Karate Union of …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-16-april-22-april/
Apr 09 2018
On April 11, 1907, Minoru Mochizuki, the founder of the Yoseikan dojo, was born in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Mochizuki was one of the few men to have been a direct student of the three great Budo masters, Jigoro Kano, Morihei Uesiba and Gichin Funakoshi. An accomplished martial artist, Mochizuki held a 10th Dan in Aikido; a …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-9-april-15-april/
Apr 02 2018
On April 4, 1947 Mikio Yahara, one of the most dynamic fighters to come out of the JKA, was born in Ehime Prefecture. Yahara is a firm believer in a budo approach to Karate. In 2000 he broke away from the JKA to form his own organisation, Karatenomichi World Federation (KWF). The organisation is built on the …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-2-april-8-april/
Mar 26 2018
On March 26 1915 Ankō Itosu died. Itosu, who was a direct student of Sokon Matsumura, was responsible for the introduction of Tode as a form of physical education into the elementary school system of Okinawa in 1901. Itosu had a number of notable students including Gichin Funakoshi, Kenwa Mabuni, Chosin Chibana and Kentsu Yabu. …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-26-march-1-april/
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