Category: Yoseikan

Hiroo Mochizuki

It is not my role to give advice, but if I had to do it I would say that is good to try to broaden your vision on a technical and mental level. Break the shell, do not remain partitioned. Watching only is useless. Hiroo Mochizuki Hiroo Mochizuki was the first Japanese instructor to teach …

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Tetsuji Murakami

My aim, and everybody’s aim in Karate, must be the same, perfection. But it cannot be reached. I will be an old man, and I will still want to learn some more about Karate. I will still want to make some movement better. Karate never ends if a man takes it seriously. Tetsuji Murakami Tetsuji …

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Minoru Mochizuki

Minoru Mochizuki is, without doubt, one of the most respected and influential masters of his generation. He founded the influential Yoseikan school of Budo, which contains elements of Aikido, Kenjutsu, Karate, Judo and Jujitsu. He trained with two of the greats of Japanese Budo, Jigaro Kano and Morihei Ueshiba. His son Hiroo would go on …

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Eddie Whitcher

….probably the finest Shotokan practitioner this country has ever produced. Clive Layton (“Shotokan Dawn Vol 2) Described as “Embodying the spirit of Karate-do”, Eddie Whitcher started training at the dawn of Karate in the United Kingdom. He was the first British subject to earn the grade of 3rd Dan from the Japanese Karate Association (JKA) at …

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Pauline Laville-Bindra

All I wanted to do was to compete against the men. Pauline Laville-Bindra Pauline Laville-Bindra is a true pioneer in the world of Karate. She was the first woman in Britain to earn a JKA (Japan Karate Association) black belt in Karate and went on to train for over forty years, eventually reaching the rank …

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Jim Alcheik

It is arguable that the name Jim Alcheik is not as revered as it should be in martial arts circles. Alcheik was a true pioneer of martial arts in Europe, being one of the first Europeans to train in Japan. He was proficient in Aikido, Kendo, Karate and Judo. Vernon Bell, the father of British Karate, described …

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Walter Seaton

Remember: it’s through basic techniques that we learn how best to use our weight and speed, that’s why basics are the most fundamental part of Karate practice. Walter Seaton A true pioneer of Karate in the United Kingdom, Walter Seaton was one of the first instructors to teach Karate to women at his Middlesbrough dojo. …

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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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