Feb 01 2022
On 1 February 1960, Michael Manning became the first British Karate Federation (BKF) student to grade to 1st kyu. Manning was one of Vernon Bell‘s original Karate students. He was nineteen when he started training with Bell in Jiujitsu in 1956. Manning was described as having a withered right arm. By the time he graded, …
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Jan 27 2022
On 27 January 1934, Raymond Fuller, one of the students present at the founding of the Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB), was born. Fuller started his Karate training in January of 1964 at Vernon Bell‘s Horseshoe pub dojo, located in London. At the time the British Karate Federation (BKF) were affiliated with Yoseikan Karate. …
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Jan 22 2022
On 22 January 1961, Hirokazu Kanazawa was sent to Hawaii by the JKA, to become their Chief Instructor in Hawaii. He held this position for two years. Introducing the new art of Shotokan Karate to Hawaii was not without its problems. Kanazawa faced challenges from other instructors of other Karate styles and martial arts. They …
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Aug 05 2020
Andy Sherry can arguably be called a pioneer of Shotokan Karate in the United Kingdom. He is currently ranked as a 9th Dan, with over fifty years of training in the style of Shotokan. His passion and dedication epitomize all that is good in Karate. Andrew William Sherry was born on 9 July 1943 in …
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Jul 28 2020
The way I judge people’s Karate and standard; the first thing I would look for is their ‘footwork‘, which obviously ties in with their ‘stances’. If their footwork and their stances are good, then I feel that they have been well taught and trained. Good stances and footwork produce good Karate, in my opinion. Frank Cope …
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Sep 11 2017
11 September On 11 September 1934 Colin Williams, the founder of the Bukonkai Karate International (BKI) association, was born. He started training in the early days of Karate in the United Kingdom. On 11 September 1970 Michael Randall, Christopher Adamou and Nicholas Adamou graded to 2nd Dan under Hirokazu Kanazawa. All three men had started their Karate …
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Sep 04 2017
4 September On 4 September 1931, Kenneth Funakoshi, a distant relative of Gichin Funakoshi, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Hirokazu Kanazawa, who was a former Grand Champion in Japan, had arrived in Hawaii in 1960 to represent the Japan Karate Association (JKA) as Chief Instructor, at the behest of Masatoshi Nakayama. Funakoshi, who was in …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-4-september-10-september/
Aug 14 2017
August 14 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 and in 1953 began studying Karate as a student of Richard Kim. In 1954 he was transferred to Tokyo. There he was introduced …
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Jul 20 2017
I do Karate for my own personal improvement and I am prepared to accept that I have to suffer in one direction in order to improve in another. Steve Cattle Those who knew and trained with Steve Cattle described him as one of the best karatekas to come out of the UK. Standing 5ft 6in …
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Jun 26 2017
On this day, 26 June 1965, Hirokazu Kanazawa took his first teaching trip to The British Karate Federation’s Dundee dojo. He is there for a week. The Dundee dojo was located at the Dundee United Sporting Club in Coupers Alley, Wellgate. It was run by William McGuire who became a BKF in February 1965.
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/on-this-day-jun-26/
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