This Week in history (9 October -15 October)

10 October

On this day, 10 October 1928, Shotokan Karate master, Hidetaka Nishiyama was born.

Nishiyama attended famed university, Takushoku, studying economics. In 1949 he was named the captain of the karate team, after joining earlier that year.

In the early 1950s, Nishiyama was part of a group, including Masatoshi Nakayama and Isao Obata, selected to teach military personnel from the Strategic Air Command (SAC). By 1960 he had been promoted to 5th Dan and was becoming an important member of the Japan Karate Association (JKA).

In the 1960s Nishiyama moved to the United States. He went on to form the All American Karate Federation (AAKF). He was also a founding member of the Pan American Karate Union and the International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF).

He died in 2008 following a long battle with cancer.

On this day, 10 October 1957, a photograph was taken of Vernon Bell performing tameshiwari (the art of breaking objects), and was published in an unkown newspaper. The article, under the heading ‘Secret “Sportsmen” Train to Kill’ was written by journalist Dez Marwood. In the article a photograph shows Bell breaking a thin piece of wood balanced between two chairs. The technique he used was a downward shtuo (knife-hand strike).