May 14 2018
On 15 May 1947 Steve 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 rank of 2nd Dan. He …
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May 07 2018
On 8 May 1941, Terence ‘Terry’ Stanley Victor Wingrove, an early practitioner of Karate in Britain, was born in London. Wingrove started practicing Judo and Jujitsu in 1957 under Vernon Bell, who later invited him to take part in a Karate lesson with the British Karate Federation (BKF) in 1959. He was eighteen at the time. …
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Apr 30 2018
On 30 April 1957 the British Karate Federation (BKF) held its very first grading in Britain, on the lawn at 12 Maybush Road, Hornchurch. Two students, Trevor Guilfoyle and Gerald Tucker were both graded to 6th kyu. On 3 May 1931, Shotokan master and legend, Hirokazu Kanazawa, was born in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Kanazawa, a student of …
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Apr 16 2018
On 20 April 1966 Edward Whitcher becomes the first British student to be graded to black belt by Hirokazu Kanazawa under the JKA. He has been described as the finest Shotokan karate-ka produced by Britain. He started his Karate training with the British Karate Federation in 1963. Whitcher was a founding member of the Karate Union of …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-16-april-22-april/
Apr 02 2018
On April 4, 1947 Mikio Yahara, one of the most dynamic fighters to come out of the JKA, was born in Ehime Prefecture. Yahara is a firm believer in a budo approach to Karate. In 2000 he broke away from the JKA to form his own organisation, Karatenomichi World Federation (KWF). The organisation is built on the …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-2-april-8-april/
Feb 26 2018
On 27 February 1948 Terence (Terry) O’Neill, one of the best karateka ever produced in Britain, was born in Liverpool, England. O’Neill began his Karate training in 1963 when as a sixteen year old he lied about his age on his application to join the British Karate Federation (BKF). Under Keinosuke Enoeda and the JKA, he earned …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-26-february-4-march/
Feb 19 2018
On 20 February 1986 Kata World Champion Rika Usami was born in Tokyo, Japan. A student of Karate master Yoshimi Inoue, Usami won the 2012 WKF World Championship Kata final held in Paris, France. She is known for her grace, strength and speed that mesmerize fans in equal measures. On 21 February 1956 the earliest known letter was written …
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Feb 12 2018
On 17 February 1947 Nicholas Adamou was born. Adamou began his Karate training, alongside his older brother Chris, in 1964 at the British Karate Federation’s (BKF) London dojo. When the JKA’s Hirokazu Kanazawa began teaching Shotokan for the BKF in 1965. Adamou and his brother become devoted students of Kanazawa alongside Eddie Whitcher, Michael Randall, Mike Peachey, Will …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-12-february-18-february/
Feb 05 2018
On 5 February 1964 Vernon Bell received his 1st Dan from the Japan Karate Association’s (JKA), following the British Karate Federation (BKF) formally agreeing to become the JKA’s agents in Britain. This was an honorary grade, as Bell never took a grading examination. On 9 February 1929 Shotokan master Taiji Kase was born in Chiba, Japan. Kase …
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Jan 22 2018
On 22 January 1964 the British Karate Federation (BKF) formally accepted the Japan Karate Association’s (JKA) invitation to become their agents in Great Britain, in response to a letter dated 19 December 1963. In the letter, written by Vernon Bell to Masatomo Takagi, the BKF agreed to the following terms with the JKA: The payment of …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-22-january-28-january/
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