Apr 05 2021
5 April On April 5, 1870 founder of Motobu Ryu, Chōki Motobu, was born in Okinawa. Motobu was the third son of a noble family. As the third son, he was not allowed to learn the family martial art of Motobu Udundi. This meant he trained under various Okinawan masters such as Anko Itosu, and Sokon Matsumura. A …
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Mar 08 2021
8 March On 8 March 1945, Roger Hall a founding member of the English Shotokan Karate Association (ESKA), was born. Hall had originally started learning Wado-ryu but switched to Shotokan Karate in 1966. He received his 1st Dan in from Hirokazu Kanazawa in 1972. In 1974 he received his 2nd Dan from Shiro Asano and …
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Feb 01 2021
1 February 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 …
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Nov 02 2020
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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Oct 19 2020
20 October On 20 October 1972, Kyokushin legend, Howard Collins competed in the 4th All Japan Open Karate Tournament. He made it to the final where he lost to Miyuki Miura. On 20 October 1982, martial arts historian, Donald Frederick “Donn” Draeger died from cancer at the Veteran’s Hospital located in Milwaukee. He was buried …
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Sep 07 2020
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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Aug 09 2020
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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Aug 02 2020
….probably the finest Shotokan practitioner this country has ever produced. Clive Layton (“Shotokan Dawn Vol 2) Described as “Embodying the spirit of Karate-do”, Eddie Whitcher started training at the dawn of Karate in the United Kingdom. He was the first British subject to earn the grade of 3rd Dan from the Japanese Karate Association (JKA) at …
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May 18 2020
18 May On 18 May 1966, Wayne Otto, a multiple World Champion, was born in Hackney, London. Otto is one of the most successful fighters to come out of Britain. He has appeared in the Guinness Book of Records as having won the most Karate championship medals for a male competitor. Nicknamed the “Black Shark” …
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Apr 20 2020
20 April On 20 April 1960, Luis Maria Sanz was born in Vallodolid, Spain. He has been described as “the last link between traditional and competitive Karate“. Luis Maria Sanz holds a notable place in competitive Karate, being the first non-Japanese man and the first Shotokan karateka to become WKF World champion in 1992. On …
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