On this day….(July 4)

On this day, 4 July 1935, Keinosuke Enoeda, a founding member of the Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB), was born in Fukuoka, Japan, to a family of samurai lineage.

Enoeda began his martial arts training in Judo aged 7. He eventually reached reached the grade of 2nd Dan. He entered Takushoku University, aged 19, because of its strong Karate club. Enoeda was awarded the rank of 1st Dan in 1955, aged 21. He later captained the university’s famed Karate Club.

Graduating from Takushoku University with a degree in Economics, Enoeda eventually entered the JKA’s Instructor program in 1959, under the instruction of Masatoshi Nakayama and Hidetaka Nishiyama.  In 1963 he became the JKA All-Japan Karate kumite champion.

Following a brief stay in Hawaii, Enoeda was invited to the UK to assist Hirokazu Kanazawa in developing Karate in Britain. He mainly taught in Liverpool. When Kanazawa returned to Japan, Enoeda eventually became the chief instructor of the KUGB.