This week in history (18 November – 24 November)

18 November On 18 November 2004 the 17th World Karate Championships were held at the Monterrey Arena, Monterrey, Mexico. Goju-ryu practitioner Atsuko Wakai from Japan, won her fourth consecutive Word individual kata title. She is one of the most successful tournament competitors, having also won titles at the World Games, Asian Games and All-Japan Karate-do …

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This week in history (11 November – 17 November)

11 November On 11 November 1934 Colin Williams was born. Williams a Shotokan practitioner, started his training during the early days of Karate in the United Kingdom, in the 1950s. In the 1980s he founded the Bukonkai Karate International (BKI) association. He was the association’s Chief Instructor. In 1998 he founded the Malta Bukonkai Karate …

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This week in history (4 November – 10 November)

5 November On 5 November 1961 a Karate exhibition was held at the Honolulu Civic Auditorium, sponsored by the Hawaii Karate Congress. Several top Japanese martial artists, including  Goju-Ryu’s Kanki Izumikawa and Shotokan’s Hidetaka Nishiyama and Hirokazu Kanazawa, displayed their skills to an attentive crowd. ******************************************** On 5 November 1963 Masters Masatoshi Nakayama, Hiroshi Shoji, …

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This week in history (28 October – 3 November)

28 October On 28 October 1939 Keigo Abe was born in Iyoshi, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. A direct student of Masatoshi Nakayama, Abe graduated from the JKA Instructors Program in 1965. He was a long-serving instructor at the Japan Karate Association’s Hombu. After the JKA split in 1990 he became Technical Director of the JKA (Matsuno …

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Musings: Continuous improvement through a positive self-image

Kaizen is a Japanese word meaning ‘continuous improvement‘. This should be the goal of all karateka. However, what prevents many of us from achieving kaizen is a lack of a positive self-image. Karate by Jesse has a great post on controlling one’s self-image. In the post Jesse states: “To change your performance, you must change …

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This week in history (21 October – 27 October)

25 October On 21 October 1941 Edward Arthur Whitcher he was born in Dagenham, Essex. Whitcher started training at the  dawn of Karate in the United Kingdom. He was the first British subject to be promoted to 3rd Dan from the Japanese Karate Association (JKA), at their Tokyo headquarters in 1971. ******************************************** On 25 October 2013 …

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Dan Ivan

Little did I know at that time in my life that destiny might have charted my course.  Despite my hostile surroundings, I was at the right place at the right time and on the precipice of a new life. Dan Ivan At times, Dan Ivan’s life has read like a work of fiction. His exploits …

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Moments in history: The 1990 World Shotokan Championships

In 1972 at the WUKO World Championships, the Japanese team, containing many members of the JKA walked out of the tournament. They were unhappy at some of the officiating against their competitors. As a result of the walkout, Japanese officials and competitors were sanctioned by the World Union of Karatedo Organisations (WUKO) and the Federation …

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This week in history (14 October – 20 October)

17 October On 17 October 1974 Doug James ran his very first beginner’s class at the Harrarby Community Center. The name of his club was the Cumbria School of Karate. This club would eventually become the headquarters (Hombu) of his association, the British Karate-Do Chojinkai Association (BKCA). The BKCA comprises of clubs in Cumbria, North …

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This week in history (7 October – 13 October)

8 October On 8 October 1953 Gōju-ryu founder Chōjun Miyagi died, aged only sixty-five. Born on the island of Okinawa, Miyagi had begun his training in 1902 under Kanryo Higaonna. By 1915 Miyagi had become one of Higaonna’s top students. Miyagi’s Karate style of Gōju-ryu was introduced to Japan in 1928 via the Kyōto Imperial …

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