Category: Traditional

Shigeru Egami

Shigeru Egami has been described as fearsome and possessing both physical and psychological strength. Although not commonly recognized in the West, Egami is considered Gichin Funakoshi’s one student who most closely followed his Principles, especially in the belief that Karate was not just a physical pursuit. Egami was born on the 7th of December 1912 …

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Charles Mack

Although his name may not be instantly recognisable, Charles Mack is a true pioneer of martial arts in Britain. A leading exponent and authority on Japanese arts, he holds black belts in Judo, Karate, and Aikido. He was the first British subject to be awarded his 1st Dan in Karate by the Japan Karate Association …

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Hidetaka Nishiyama

Martial arts philosophy is not based on victory or fighting, but rather on finding a way to avoid violence through having the ability to defend yourself if needed. In Karate, through self-defence techniques we develop the awareness and sensitivity to the person facing us, we learn to feel the danger and go around it. Hidetaka …

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Steve Cattle

I do Karate for my own personal improvement and I am prepared to accept that I have to suffer in one direction in order to improve in another. Steve Cattle Those who knew and trained with Steve Cattle described him as one of the best karatekas to come out of the UK. Standing 5ft 6in …

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Teruyuki Okazaki

Karate-do is Budo and Budo is not a sport. The real meaning of Budo is to go into life more deeply and improve physical and spiritual qualities through hard training. The essence or concept of sport is to get away with the toils of life and have some fun. Teruyuki Okazaki Teruyuki Okazaki, described by …

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Steve Arneil

I look back to the way I trained.  Many of the things we did were plain stupid.  We didn’t know any better, you know if you could stretch your legs a certain way they were forced by someone helping you – there would be tear marks from stretching.  Nowadays there are proper ways of training …

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Masatoshi Nakayama

Sport develops the contestants in a straight line. That is they train hard in the physical techniques until they become strong, and then they compete. As they compete, they become stronger and stronger, and some become champions. But after a certain number of years, the body begins to decline, and the contestant can no longer …

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Vernon Bell

12 Maybush Road, Hornchurch, Essex, holds a very special place in British Karate history. It was at this address, in his parents garden, that in 1956 Vernon Bell held the first Karate class in the UK. Over the years, Bell’s name has been largely forgotten in favour of other notable instructors such as Hirokazu Kanazawa, …

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Tsuguo Sakumoto

In Ryuei-ryu we attack and receive simultaneously. Moreover, we use a lot of ashi-sabaki in order to move quickly. Tsuguo Sakumoto Tsuguo Sakumoto is unmistakable with his clean-shaven head and his intense gaze. He is a three-time WKF World Champion in kata and when watching him one cannot fail to be mesmerised by his power, …

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