Tag: Gichin Funakoshi

This week in history (12 October – 18 October)

12 October On 12 October 1939, American Shotokan pioneer, James Field was born in Sandy Bay, Jamaica. He and his family emigrated to the United States. James Field was one of the first four Americans certified to teach Shotokan Karate in the United States. A technical martial artist, he was also a successful competitor. On …

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This week in history (28 Sep – 4 Oct)

28 September On 28 September 1897, Shinkin Gima was born in Shuri, Okinawa. Growing up he studied Karate under both Yasutsune Itosu and Kentsu Yabu before attending university in Tokyo. In 1922 he met and began training with Gichin Funakoshi. He was Funakoshi’s first black belt and would eventually reach the rank of 10th Dan. …

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Norman Robinson

A legend of South African Shotokan Karate, Norman Robinson, alongside Stan Schmidt, was responsible for introducing Shotokan into South Africa. Known as a ferocious fighter, JKA great, Masahiko Tanaka, once referred to him as ‘a monster‘. Norman Robinson was born on 17 September 1936 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was the youngest of eight children …

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This week in history (31 Aug – 6 Sep)

1 September On 1 September 1923 the plates to Gichin Funakoshi’s book “Ryukyu Kempo: Tode” were destroyed in the Great Kanto earthquake. The earthquake that hit the Japanese island of Honshu in 1923 was one of the most destructive ever recorded and resulted in a tsunami. The cities of Tokyo and Yokohama and the prefectures …

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Hirokazu Kanazawa

The most important points of my teaching are breathing, movement and timing. But breathing is first…. the first thing we do in this world is to breathe and, you know, even today, 90% of people do not know how to breathe correctly. If the breathing is wrong, your body will go wrong – your mind …

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Kenneth Funakoshi

Politics is the worst thing that can happen to Karate at the upper level. The students don’t care about what’s happening in the political way. They just like to train hard and compete, but because the ‘higher-ups’ have their political views or differences they tend to put a lot of restrictions on what the students …

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Hiroo Mochizuki

It is not my role to give advice, but if I had to do it I would say that is good to try to broaden your vision on a technical and mental level. Break the shell, do not remain partitioned. Watching only is useless. Hiroo Mochizuki Hiroo Mochizuki was the first Japanese instructor to teach …

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Tsutomu Ohshima

….at least my black belts know that what they are learning is not for the ego, or just for street use or for competition, but for their own soul and their own life. Tsutomu Ohshima Known for his serious, penetrating gaze, Tsutomu Ohshima was a direct student of Karate founder, Gichin Funakoshi. He was one …

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Malcolm Dorfman

One’s formative years, one’s experiences throughout the years, both good and bad, influence one’s approach to life as the years go by. My life has been such that I believe that karate enhances one’s spirituality and while not detracting from the physical side, improves me as a person, facilitates the ease in the way I …

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Tetsuji Murakami

My aim, and everybody’s aim in Karate, must be the same, perfection. But it cannot be reached. I will be an old man, and I will still want to learn some more about Karate. I will still want to make some movement better. Karate never ends if a man takes it seriously. Tetsuji Murakami Tetsuji …

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