Feb 18 2019
20 February 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 mesmerise in equal measures. 21 February On 21 February …
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Feb 04 2019
4 February On 4 February 1949, Michael Nursey, a founding member of the English Shotokan Karate Association (ESKA) was born. Nursey started training in Karate when he was eighteen, under Keinosuke Enoeda and John Van Weenen. After achieving his 4th Kyu Nursey continued his training with Hirokazu Kanazawa, Shiro Asano and Michael Randall. Nursey gained is 1st Dan in …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-4-feb-10-feb/
Nov 05 2018
5 November On 5 November 1961 a Karate exhibition was held at the Honolulu Civic Auditorium, sponsored by the Hawaii Karate Congress. Several top Japanese martial artists, including Goju-Ryu’s Kanki Izumikawa and Shotokan’s Hidetaka Nishiyama and Hirokazu Kanazawa, displayed their skills to an attentive crowd. ******************************************** On 5 November 1963 Masters Masatoshi Nakayama, Hiroshi Shoji, Keinosuke Enoeda, Toru Iwaizumi and Katsuya Kisaka arrived to teach Shotokan Karate in Indonesia. …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-5-november-11-november/
Oct 15 2018
17 October On 17 October 1974 Karate instructor Doug James ran his very first beginner’s class at the Harrarby Community Center. The name of his club was the Cumbria School of Karate. This club would eventually become the headquarters (Hombu) of his association, the British Karate-Do Chojinkai Association (BKCA). The BKCA comprises of clubs in Cumbria, North …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-15-october-21-october/
Sep 10 2018
10 September On 10 September 1965 Charles Mack became the first British subject awarded a 2nd Dan in Shotokan Karate from the Japan Karate Association (JKA). Masatoshi Nakayama awarded him his grade at the JKA’s headquarters in Tokyo. Mack had previously been awarded his 1st Dan by Nakayama three years earlier, becoming the first British subject awarded …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-10-september-16-september/
Aug 20 2018
On 26 August 1941 Karate instructor and humanitarian, John Van Weenen, was born in Enfield, just outside London. He was the second of six children. In 1964 Van Weenen, along with his brothers Jeff and Garry emigrated to Australia settling in Adelaide. He and his brother Jeff began Karate training under Moss Hollis, who originally …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-20-august-26-august/
May 21 2018
On 23 May 1952 the founder of the Shito-ryu style of Karate, Kenwa Mabuni, died aged 63. Mabuni trained under two of Okinawa’s greatest masters, Anko Itosu and Kanryo Higaonna. His style of Karate combined the linear techniques of Itosu with the circular movements of Higaonna. In the 1920s Mabuni frequently traveled to Osaka, Japan where …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-21-may-27-may/
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/
Mar 05 2018
On 6 March 1921 Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan Karate, led a Karate demonstration in front of Crown Prince Hirohito. The demonstration was performed at the Great Hall of Shuri Castle, in Okinawa. Crown Prince Hirohito had visited Okinawa while en-route to a visit to Europe. The ship’s captain Norikazu Kanna, was an Okinawan by …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-5-march-11-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 …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-19-february-25-february/
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