Cover Star: Terry O’Neill

Terry O’Neill is an icon of British Karate. A stalwart of the Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB) he has been practisng Shotokan Karate since the 1960s. As a member of the Red Lion Karate team, the KUGB National Squad and the All-Styles British Karate team, he has won numerous titles in kata and kumite. …

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Cover Star: Fumio Demura

Fumio Demura is a legend and pioneer of Karate in  the United States. He introduced the America to his form of Shito-ryu Karate and Kobudo. Apart form his martial arts he has also appeared in a number of films as an actor and stuntman. Below are a number of magazines featuring this recognizable martial artist. …

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This Week in history (18 December – 24 December)

19 December On 19 December 1963 Vernon Bell received a letter from Masatomo Takagi, the general Manager of the Japan Karate Association (JKA), requesting that the British Karate Federation officially act as the authorized representative of the JKA in Britain. Earlier that year Bell had received a letter from Takagi indicating that Tetsuji Murakami (Yoseikan Karate), who …

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This Week in history (11 December – 17 December)

12 December On 12 December 1965 Hirokazu Kanazawa held his first grading at the British Karate Federation’s Nottingham dojo. The British Karate Federation had arranged with the Japan Karate Association (JKA) for Kanazawa to reside in the United Kingdom for a year, teaching Shotokan karate. 13 December On 13 December 1947 Tsuguo Sakumoto was born in the Okinawan …

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This Week in history (4 December – 10 December)

4 December On 4 December 1965, The Japan Karate Association (JKA) moved their headquarters from Yotsuya, to Koraku, in the Bunkyo-ku district of Tokyo. Yotsuya, located in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, had been the JKA’s headquarters since 1955. The author C. W. Nicol described what it was like training at the Yotsuya hombu in his book, Moving …

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This Week in history (27 November – 3 December)

27 November On 27 November 1980 the 5th World Championships began at the Palacio de Deportes, Madrid, Spain, and finished on 30 November. Japan topped the medal table, winning 11 medals (4 golds, 5 silvers and 2 bronzes) ahead of  hosts Spain (3 golds, 1 silver and 7 bronzes) and France (1 gold, 1 silver and 2 …

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Cover Star: Wayne Otto

Wayne Otto is one of the most successful tournament fighters to have come out of Britain. He has appeared in the Guinness Book of Records as having won the most Karate championship medals for a male competitor. Over the years he has featured on the cover of a number of martial arts publications. Below are just …

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This Week in history (20 November – 26 November)

21 November On 21 November 1982 the 6th World Championships commenced in Taipei, Taiwan, finishing on 25 November. Japan continued their dominance of world Karate by topping the medal table with six golds, two silvers and four bronzes. Mie Nakayama began her dominance of the women’s individual kata event by winning the first of her three individual titles. At …

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This Week in history (13 November – 19 November)

13 November On 13 November 1943 David ‘Ticky’ Donovan was born, in Loughton, England. He is a highly respected former competitor, coach and founder of the Ishinryu style of karate. Originally a boxer, Donovan got started in Karate in 1965 when he and a friend attended a class run by Tatsuo Suzuki, a practitioner of Wado-Ryu. He …

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This Week in history (6 November – 12 November)

6 November On 6 November 1964, Pathe Pictorial released a color film showing Vernon Bell’s British Karate Federation (BKF) students training at the Kentish Town dojo. The film lasting three minutes, was shown in cinemas across Britain. Eddie Whitcher can be seen in the film. At the time he was a blue belt. 7 November On  7 November 2008, …

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