On this day….(June 7)

On this day, 7 June 1935, Shotokan master and former technical director of the Japan Karate Association (JKA), Tetsuhiko Asai was born in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. As a boy Asai had trained in Sumo, Judo and Kendo. He became interested in Karate after seeing a karate-ka defeat a boxer in a fight.  Upon entering Takushoku …

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On this day….(June 3)

On this day, 3 June 1922, the earliest known Japanese newspaper article on Karate was published in the Tokyo Nichinichi Shinbun. The title of the article was “The Mystical Martial Art – Karate: (Chinese Fist) from Ryukyu (Okinawa Prefecture). Wonderful Technique to Defend from an Opponent with Bare Hands. Kodokan to Study“. On this day, …

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On this day….(June 2)

On this day, 2 June 1922, Gichin Funakoshi gave a Karate demonstration in front of the Poplar Club in Tabata, Tokyo. Funakoshi had arrived in Japan earlier in 1922 at the request of the Japanese Ministry of Education to give a demonstration of Okinawan Karate at the First National Athletic Exhibition, held a the Kishi …

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On this day….(June 1)

On this day, 1 June 1892, the founder of Wado-ryu Karate, Hironori Ōtsuka, was born. Although Ōtsuka was an early student of Gichin Funakoshi, he had previously studied Shindo Yoshin Ryu Jujutsu for many years. After training in Shotokan Karate for around ten years, Ōtsuka left to form his own style of Wado-ryu in 1939. Wado-ryu is …

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On this day….(May 31)

On this day, 31 May 1993, the former Chief Instructor for the JKA in Belgium, Satoshi Miyazaki died. In 1956 Miyazaki enrolled at Takushoku University to study economics, having been persuaded by Masatoshi Nakayama to do so. He joined the university’s famed Shotokan Karate school as a white belt, studying under Nakayama. Nakayama would be …

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On this day….(May 29)

On this day, May 29, 1964, JKA instructor Tatsuya Naka, was born. Naka started Wado-ryu Karate under the guidance of  at the age of thirteen school and attended the famous Takushoku University where he began learning Shotokan Karate. After graduating from university he entered the JKA Instructors Course, graduating in 1989. Known for his in …

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On this day….(May 15)

On this day, 15 May 1947, Stephen John Cattle was born. Until his untimely death, aged only forty-seven, he was one of the longest practicing Shotokan practitioners in Britain. He was also a keen historian of karate. Nicknamed ‘Stumpy’ as he was only 5ft 6in, Cattle began training in judo in 1961, eventually reaching the …

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On this day….(May 13)

On this day, 13 May 1933, Charles Naylor, a former Vice-Chairman of the Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB), was born in Hubli, South West India. Naylor left school aged 14 and for a time worked as a cabin boy. He eventually arrived in Liverpool, England in 1948, aged 15. After achieving a Higher National …

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On this day….(May 10)

On this day, 10 May 1957, the founder of Shotokan karate, Gichin Funakoshi, was laid to rest at the Zen Sho-ji temple in Kakiu. He was cremated and his ashes laid alongside those if his wife. Funakoshi had died on 26 April, in a Tokyo hospital, surrounded by his close family and his student Shigeru …

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On this day….(May 9)

On this day, 9 May 1970, the 4th KUGB National Championships took place in Crystal Palace, London. Andrew Sherry became Grand Champion for the second time, having previously won the the title in 1968. Sherry performed his favorite kata, Empi, in winning the kata title. The Liverpool Red Triangle Team continued their dominance of the …

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