Jan 27 2020
27 January On 27 January 1934, Raymond Fuller, one of the students present at the founding of the Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB), was born. Fuller started his Karate training in January of 1964 at Vernon Bell‘s Horseshoe pub dojo, located in London. At the time the British Karate Federation (BKF) were affiliated with …
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Jan 20 2020
20 January On 20 January 1909 Gōju-ryu legend, Gōgen Yamaguchi, was born. Nicknamed the Cat, he was famed for his feline-like speed and prowess.Yamaguchi was a direct student of Gōju-ryu Karate founder, Chojun Miyagi. He began training with him in 1929. On 20 January 1938 Cyril Cummins, a pioneer of Shotokan in Central England, was …
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Jan 13 2020
15 January On 15 January 1963 Akiyoshi (Shokei) Matsui was born in Chiba, Japan. Of Korean heritage, he was named Moon Jang-gyu. Considered by some to be a “Kyokushin Karate genius”, Shokei Matsui was the youngest man to become Kyokushin World Champion. A tough competitor, he won 50 out of 56 fights. He is also …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-13-january-19-january/
Jan 06 2020
6 January On 6 January 1967, Michael Randall gained his 1st Dan from Hirokazu Kanazawa. He was one of the first men in Britain to gain the rank of 1st Dan from the Japan Karate Association (JKA). At the time of writing Randall is one of a handful of people currently training to have trained …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-6-january-12-january/
Dec 30 2019
30 December On 30 December 1960, former SKIF European and World Champion, Aidan Trimble was born in Nottingham, England. He was a long-time member of Hirokazu Kanazawa’s Shotokan Karate International Federation (SKIF), eventually leaving to form is own association, The Federation of Shotokan Karate. Until injury curtailed his competitive career in 1983, Trimble was a top …
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Dec 23 2019
23 December On 23 December 1911 Kenko Nakaima was born. He was the grandson of Norisato Nakaima, founder of the Okinawan family karate style, Ryuei-Ryu. Kenko Nakaima, the third headmaster of the style, is credited with opening it to non-family members. One of his top students was Tsuguo Sakumoto, a three-time WKF Kata World Champion. …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-23-december-29-december/
Dec 16 2019
19 December On 19 December 1963 Vernon Bell received a letter from Masatomo Takagi, the General Manager of the Japan Karate Association (JKA), requesting that the British Karate Federation officially act as the authorized representative of the JKA in Britain. Earlier that year Bell had received a letter from Takagi indicating that Tetsuji Murakami (Yoseikan …
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Dec 09 2019
10 December On 10 December 1933 Shotokan master Takayuki Mikami was born in Nigata Prefecture Japan. He was the first professional Karate instructor to be sent by the JKA to teach Karate full-time in another country. Mikami arrived in Tokyo in 1952 to study Japanese Literature at Hosei University. Being a farm boy in a …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-9-december-15-december/
Dec 02 2019
3 December On 3 December 1941, Shoshin Nagamine gave a public Karate demonstration to members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Force and an assortment of dignitaries, including the Police Chief Cabinet secretary and his deputy, plus members of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (Martial Arts section). Born 15 July 1907 in Naha, Okinawa, Nagamine is the founder …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-2-december-8-december/
Nov 25 2019
25 November On 25 November 1948 the founder of the Okinawan Karate style Uechi-ryu, Kanbun Uechi, died aged 71. Born into a family of farmers, in 1897 Uechi fled his native Okinawa to avoid conscription into the Japanese army. He travelled to Fuzhou (Fuchou) in the Fukien Province of China. Looking to learn martial arts, …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-25-november-1-december/
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