Tag: BKF

This week in history (16 November – 22 November)

16 November On 16 November 1928 Mitsusuke Harada was born in Dalian, China, then a part of the Japanese Empire. Harada began his training in 1945, under Genshin Hironishi (a senior student of Gichin Funakoshi), at the original Shotokan dojo in Zoshigaya, Tokyo. He also had the opportunity to be taught by Yoshitaka Funakoshi. In …

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This week in history (2 November – 8 November)

3 November On 3 November 1954, Mitsusuke Harada was awarded the rank of 5th Dan, presented to him by Gichin Funakoshi. Harada started his Karate training in November 1943, under Genshin Hironishi, a student of Funakoshi. Harada received his 1st Dan in 1951. He started teaching Karate for the Physical Education department at Waseda University …

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This week in history (5 October – 11 October)

5 October On 5 October 1955 Guusje van Mourik, one of the most successful kumite competitors, was born in the Central Netherlands town of Zeist. Her early exposure to the martial arts was through the sport of Judo. She would eventually receive the grade of 2nd Dan. She competed in the Dutch Championships and won …

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This week in history (7 Sep – 13 Sep)

7 September On 7 September 1959 the first British Karate Federation (BKF) Summer Course was held. It was a six-day course held at the Ippon Judo Club, located in the basement of the Imperial Private Hotel, Scarborough, Yorkshire. The course was conducted by Vernon Bell and was limited to twenty students. It was open to …

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Hirokazu Kanazawa

The most important points of my teaching are breathing, movement and timing. But breathing is first…. the first thing we do in this world is to breathe and, you know, even today, 90% of people do not know how to breathe correctly. If the breathing is wrong, your body will go wrong – your mind …

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This week in history (10 Aug – 16 Aug)

14 August On 14 August 1934 the founder of American Goju-ryu Karate, Peter George Urban, was born in Jersey City, USA. Serving in the US Navy he was stationed in Yokohama, Japan. In 1953 he began studying Karate as a student of Richard Kim. In 1954 he was transferred to Tokyo. There he was introduced …

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Tetsuji Murakami

My aim, and everybody’s aim in Karate, must be the same, perfection. But it cannot be reached. I will be an old man, and I will still want to learn some more about Karate. I will still want to make some movement better. Karate never ends if a man takes it seriously. Tetsuji Murakami Tetsuji …

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Keinosuke Enoeda

Now we have ‘Sport Karate‘ which I understand is to help maintain the interest in Karate. Traditional Karate-do is a ‘martial art’ which requires both physical and mental training for the whole mind and body. There are many benefits which can be gained with practice, by both young and old throughout your whole life. If …

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Moments in history: The JKA tour of 1965

For many people around the world, the Japan Karate Association (JKA) are synonymous with Shotokan Karate. The technical excellence of their instructors are well respected, regardless of the style of Karate practised. Masters like Nakayama, Nishiyama, Okazaki, Kanazawa and Enoeda, to name a few, are held as the pinnacle of Shotokan Karate. Gichin Funakoshi introduced …

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Hiroshi Shirai

Breathing is very important in karate. You should first start with breathing exercise very slowly. Inhale 30 seconds exhale 30 seconds. After you inhale slowly and exhale fast, inhale fast, exhale slowly, and the opposite way around. You also can go to the forest, to a quiet place, close your eyes, and just breath slowly …

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