Category: This week in history

This week in history (8 March – 16 March)

8 March On 8 March 1945, Roger Hall a founding member of the English Shotokan Karate Association (ESKA), was born. Hall had originally started learning Wado-ryu but switched to Shotokan Karate in 1966. He received his 1st Dan in from Hirokazu Kanazawa in 1972. In 1974 he received his 2nd Dan from Shiro Asano and …

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This week in history (1 March – 7 March)

1 March On 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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This week in history (22 Feb – 28 Feb)

22 February On 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. 23 February On 23 February 1966, Edward Whitcher and Robert …

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This week in history February (15 Feb – 21 Feb)

16 February On 16 February 2019, Yoshizo Machida was promoted by the JKA. JKA Brazil announced that the JKA Instructor Committee had recommended that he be promoted to 8th Dan. This was mainly due to his work of developing Shotokan Karate in Brazil. 17 February On 17 February 1947, Nicholas Adamou was born. He began …

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This week in history (8 Feb – 14 Feb)

8 February On 8 February 1985, Kyoshi Yamazaki’s daughter, Mina, was born in California. In November 2012, Mina Yamazaki represented the United States at the 21st World Karate Championships, held in Paris, France. She had started learning Karate from her father, at the age of three. 9 February On 9 February 1929 Shotokan master Taiji …

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This week in history (1 Feb – 7 Feb)

1 February On 1 February 1960, Michael Manning became the first British Karate Federation (BKF) student to grade to 1st kyu. Manning was one of Vernon Bell‘s original Karate students. He was nineteen when he started training with Bell in Jiujitsu in 1956. Manning was described as having a withered right arm. By the time …

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This week in history (25 January – 31 January)

25 January On 25 January 2000, Kyokushin Karate legend, Hiroki Kurosawa made his kickboxing debut in the K-1 Kickboxing promotion. K-1 was the brainchild of Kazuyoshi Ishii and was designed to promote the best stand-up martial artists. In his debut, Kurosawa faced American Maecus Ruiz, who he knocked out in just 56 seconds. 26 January …

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This week in history (18 January – 24 January)

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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This week in history (11 January – 17 January)

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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This week in history (4 January – 10 January)

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 …

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