Tag: Dominique Valera

Moments in history: The 1975 WUKO World Karate Championships

In 1975 the 2nd edition of the WUKO World Karate Championships took place in Long Beach, California. Over two hundred participants from thirty-five countries took part in the event held at the Queen Mary Hyatt hotel. There were only two events in the tournament, the men’s team kumite and the men’s individual event. The team …

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Peter Spanton

I think it’s a shame that tournament seems to have taken over and we’ve lost a lot of our tradition. Peter Spanton A pioneer of British Wado-ryu Karate, Peter Spanton is one of the first generation of British karateka. He was one of the first Englishman to be graded to black belt in Wado-ryu by …

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Walter Seaton

Remember: it’s through basic techniques that we learn how best to use our weight and speed, that’s why basics are the most fundamental part of Karate practice. Walter Seaton A true pioneer of Karate in the United Kingdom, Walter Seaton was one of the first instructors to teach Karate to women at his Middlesbrough dojo. …

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Dan Ivan

Little did I know at that time in my life that destiny might have charted my course.  Despite my hostile surroundings, I was at the right place at the right time and on the precipice of a new life. Dan Ivan At times, Dan Ivan’s life has read like a work of fiction. His exploits …

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This week in history (17 June – 23 June)

17 June On 17 June 1938 the former Chief Instructor of the JKA in Belgium, Satoshi Miyazaki, was born in Sagai, Japan. In 1956 Miyazaki enrolled at Takushoku University to study economics, having been persuaded by Masatoshi Nakayama to do so. He joined the university’s famed Shotokan Karate school as a white belt, studying under …

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Hidetaka Nishiyama

Martial arts philosophy is not based on victory or fighting, but rather on finding a way to avoid violence through having the ability to defend yourself if needed. In Karate, through self-defence techniques we develop the awareness and sensitivity to the person facing us, we learn to feel the danger and go around it. Hidetaka …

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Cover Star: Dominique Valera

Arguably Europe’s best known Karate competitor of the 1960s and 1970s, Dominique Valera, a true legend of European Karate, dominated the tournament scene of the era. Fighting as a heavyweight he was a multiple French and European champion. Held in high regard, Black Belt Magazine named him one of Europe’s top ten fighters on numerous occasions. …

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Eugene Codrington

In the 1980s Britain was a dominant force in European and World Karate. In the +80 kg (heavyweight) division they have been blessed with some great fighters, such as Geoff Thompson, Vic Charles and Jerome Atkinson. It could be argued that the prototype for all of these fighters was Eugene Codrington. Codrington was one of …

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Dominique Valera

… Contact is the one and only thing that can establish the truth in a combat sport! This does not mean that we have to go back to the Survival Games of old. Mastery is when you touch with control without hurting. Dominique Valera Arguably Europe’s best-known Karate competitor of the 1960s and 1970s, Dominique Valera, a …

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