Jan 15 2024
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 …
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Jan 08 2024
8 January On 8 January 1933, a pioneer of Goju-Ryu Karate in America, Chuck Merriman was born in Waterford, Connecticut. For many years Chuck Merriman has been one of the most recognisable faces in Karate. This American Karate pioneer has been featured on the cover of many martial arts publications. He has been instrumental in …
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Jan 01 2024
1 January On 1 January 1913, Genshin Hironishi was born in Kyoto, Japan. Also known as Motonobu Hironishi, he was considered one of Gichin Funakoshi’s favourite students. Together with Shigeru Egami, he was an assistant to Yoshitaka Funakoshi. He was one of the main instructors at the Shoto Kan, Gichin Funakoshi‘a purpose-built dojo. On 1 …
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Dec 25 2023
25 December On 25 December 1938, Goju-ryu Karate master, Morio Higaonna was born in Naha, Okinawa. Higaonna began his Karate journey by first studying Shorin-Ryu Karate. He later changed to Goju-Ryu Karate, studying under Eiichi Miyazato, a senior student of Goju-Ryu founder Chojun Miyagi. His main instructor was Anichi Miyagi, another direct student of Chojun Miyagi. …
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Dec 18 2023
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 11 2023
11 December On 11 December 1985, former World Champion, Douglas Santos Brose, was born in the Brazilian town of Cruz Alta. On 11 December 2011, the Leeds Shotokan Karate Club presented Bob Rhodes with an award to commemorate his fifty years in Karate. 12 December On 12 December 1965, Hirokazu Kanazawa held his first grading …
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Dec 04 2023
4 December On 4 December 1965, the Japan Karate Association (JKA) moved their headquarters from Yotsuya to Koraku, in the Bunkyo-ku district of Tokyo. Yotsuya, located in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, had been the JKA’s headquarters since 1955. The author C. W. Nicol described what it was like training at the Yotsuya Hombu in his book, Moving Zen: Karate as …
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Nov 27 2023
27 November On 27 November 1932, Toru Arakawa, a former Technical Director of the Japan Karate Federation, was born in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Wado-Ryu founder, Hironori Ohtsuka sent Tatsuo Suzuki, together with Arakawa and Hajime Takashima, on a 2-month tour to Europe and the United States, to demonstrate Wado-Ryu Karate. On 27 November 1980, the 5th World …
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Nov 20 2023
20 November On 20 November 2004, William Oliver died in his dojo. One of the most dynamic Kyokushin Karate practitioners of his generation, Oliver was known for his lightning-fast Kicks. At 5ft 4in, he always had to fight much larger opponents, but always held his own. 21 November Between 21-25 November 1982, the 6th World …
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Nov 13 2023
13 November On 13 November 1943, David ‘Ticky’ Donovan was born, in Loughton, England. He is a highly respected former competitor, coach and founder of the Ishinryu style of Karate. Originally a boxer, Donovan got started in Karate in 1965 when he and a friend attended a class run by Tatsuo Suzuki, a practitioner of …
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