Jan 30 2023
31 January On 31 January 1999 Keigo Abe resigned from the Matsuno faction of the JKA. Masatoshi Nakayama, the Chief Instructor of the JKA, died in 1987. Tokyo businessman, Nobuyuki Nakahara became the Chairman of the JKA. A number of instructors, led by Tetsuhiko Asai, disagreed with the decision. This led to a split in …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-30-january-5-february/
Jan 23 2023
23 January On 23 January 1949, Henri Plee was graded to his Judo 1st Dan under Mikinosuke Kawaishi. Plee became the 16th Judoka to attain this rank in France. On 23 January 1973, Nicholas Pettas was born on the island of Mykonos, Greece. Sometimes known as the ‘Blue-eyed Samurai‘, Nicholas Pettas was one of Mas …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-23-january-29-january/
Jan 16 2023
19 January Between 19 – 20 January 2012, the 3rd Japan Cup Karatedo Championships was co-hosted in Burma by the Japanese Embassy and the Myanmar Karatedo Federation. The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry supported them. The event was held at the Aung San Indoor Stadium in Yangon. During the opening ceremony, Fujikiyo Omura gave …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-16-january-22-january/
Jan 02 2023
6 January On 6 January 1967, Michael Randall gained his 1st Dan from Hirokazu Kanazawa. He was one of the first men in Britain to gain the rank of 1st Dan from the Japan Karate Association (JKA). At the time of writing Randall is one of a handful of people currently training to have trained …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-2-january-8-january/
Dec 19 2022
19 December On 19 December 1963 Vernon Bell received a letter from Masatomo Takagi, the General Manager of the JKA (Japan Karate Association), requesting that the BKF (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 …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-19-december-25-december/
Dec 12 2022
12 December On 12 December 1965 Hirokazu Kanazawa held his first grading at the BKF (British Karate Federation)’s Nottingham dojo. The BKF had arranged with the JKA (Japan Karate Association) for Kanazawa to reside in the United Kingdom for a year, teaching Shotokan Karate. On 12 December 2008, Henri Plee was honoured for his services …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-12-december-18-december/
Nov 14 2022
14 November On 14 November 1889 Shito-Ryu Karate founder, Kenwa Mabuni, was born in Okinawa. Mabuni was one of the first Okinawan masters to teach his style of Karate on the Japanese mainland, eventually settling in Osaka in 1929. He initially trained under Yasutsune Itosu learning Shuri te, He later trained under Kanryo Higaonna learning …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-14-november-20-november/
Oct 03 2022
4 October On 4 October 1924, Motokuni Sugiura, a former Chief Instructor of the JKA, was born in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Sugiura earned his 1st Dan aged only 20. At university, he had been taught by Gichin Funakoshi and his son Yoshitaka. After he graduated in 1944 he joined the Tsuchiura Navy Flying Corps, serving …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-3-october-9-october/
Sep 09 2022
Once said to have the fastest hands in Karate, Steve Muhammad is a nine-time World Champion. A pioneer of tournament Karate, he made it acceptable for black people to compete in tournaments at a time when favouritism and racism existed in many tournaments. Steve Muhammad was born Steve Sanders on 2 July 1939 in Indianola, …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/steve-muhammad/
Sep 05 2022
6 September On 6 September 2016 Walter Seaton, one of the first Wado-Ryu black belts in the UK, died aged 80 years. Seaton was born in Middlesbrough and was one of the first instructors to teach Karate to women at his dojo. A family man, Seaton and his wife Eva had six children, twenty-two grandchildren, …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-5-september-11-september/
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