On this day….(February 1)

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 he graded, Manning had been training for four years. He was an active member of the BKF, often teaching the beginners classes.

Unfortunately, Manning had his leg broken by Tetsuji Murakami during a hard training session. After this incident, Manning gave up Karate.

On 1 February 1981 American Shotokan legend, Osamu Ozawa, opened his new dojo in Las Vegas. Earlier that year he had organised the 1st Traditional Karate Tournament to publicise the opening of the new dojo. The event held at the Maxim Hotel and Casino would go on to become one of the biggest and prestigious traditional martial arts tournaments in the world.