Category: On this day

This week in history (23 April – 29 April)

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 …

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This week in history (16 April – 22 April)

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 …

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This week in history (9 April – 15 April)

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 …

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This week in history (2 April – 8 April)

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 …

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This week in history (26 March – 1 April)

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. …

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This week in history (19 March – 25 March)

On 20 March 1928 Gichin Funakoshi gave a Karate display, with fifteen of his students, at the Sainei-kan Training Hall located within the Imperial Palace grounds.The demonstration was given after an invitation by the Imperial Household. ******************************************** On 20 March 1955 The Japan Karate Association (JKA) was founded. Masatoshi Nakayama was appointed the Chief Instructor of the JKA …

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On this day….(July 12)

On this day, 12 July 1956, Hiroo Mochizuki, the son of Yoseikan founder, Minoru Mochizuki arrived in France to conduct a number of Karate courses. Born in 1936, Hiroo Mochizuki began his martial arts training in the eclectic Yoseikan system of his father, Minoru, who had studied under the three great Budo masters, Gichin Funakoshi, …

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On this day….(July 9)

On this day, 9 July 1943, Chief Instructor of the KUGB, Andy Sherry, was born. Sherry is one of the highest ranked Shotokan practitioners in the United Kingdom, having been one of the first people awarded a JKA 1st Dan in Britain, in 1966, by Keinosuke Enoeda.  

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On this day….(July 5)

On this day, 5 July 1957, the first photographs of karateka training in Britain, appear in the Romford Recorder. The photographs were part of an article, “Forbidden Sport Tuagh Here – Japanese Fights Often Ended in Death”, which was a followup to an article written on the 21 June. The two photographs were taken at 12 …

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On this day….(July 4)

On this day, 4 July 1935, Keinosuke Enoeda, a founding member of the Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB), was born in Fukuoka, Japan, to a family of samurai lineage. Enoeda began his martial arts training in Judo aged 7. He eventually reached reached the grade of 2nd Dan. He entered Takushoku University, aged 19, because …

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