Apr 30 2018
On 30 April 1957 the British Karate Federation (BKF) held its very first grading in Britain, on the lawn at 12 Maybush Road, Hornchurch. Two students, Trevor Guilfoyle and Gerald Tucker were both graded to 6th kyu. On 3 May 1931, Shotokan master and legend, Hirokazu Kanazawa, was born in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Kanazawa, a student of …
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Apr 23 2018
On 24 April 1965 the second authorized demonstration given by the JKA in Britain took place at the Hornsey Town Hall, London. The event was organised by Vernon Bell. The JKA party were led by Taiji Kase, who had trained at the original Shotokan dojo; and also contained Hirokazu Kanazawa, Keinosuke Enoeda and Hiroshi Shirai, who were …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-23-april-29-april/
Apr 09 2018
On April 11, 1907, Minoru Mochizuki, the founder of the Yoseikan dojo, was born in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Mochizuki was one of the few men to have been a direct student of the three great Budo masters, Jigoro Kano, Morihei Uesiba and Gichin Funakoshi. An accomplished martial artist, Mochizuki held a 10th Dan in Aikido; a …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-9-april-15-april/
Mar 26 2018
On March 26 1915 Ankō Itosu died. Itosu, who was a direct student of Sokon Matsumura, was responsible for the introduction of Tode as a form of physical education into the elementary school system of Okinawa in 1901. Itosu had a number of notable students including Gichin Funakoshi, Kenwa Mabuni, Chosin Chibana and Kentsu Yabu. …
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Mar 21 2018
Considered one of the best ever Shotokan practitioners, Taiji Kase trained under some of the greatest Shotokan master. This included Gichin Funakoshi, Yoshitaka Funakoshi, Shigeru Egami, Genshin Hironishi and Masatoshi Nakayama. It was Kase that led the JKA delegation, including Hirokazu Kanazawa, Keinosuke Enoeda and Hiroshi Shirai, that gave a series of demonstrations introducing the …
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Mar 19 2018
On 20 March 1928 Gichin Funakoshi gave a Karate display, with fifteen of his students, at the Sainei-kan Training Hall located within the Imperial Palace grounds.The demonstration was given after an invitation by the Imperial Household. ******************************************** On 20 March 1955 The Japan Karate Association (JKA) was founded. Masatoshi Nakayama was appointed the Chief Instructor of the JKA …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-19-march-25-march/
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/
Mar 04 2018
Osamu Ozawa is a legendary Shotokan master. In 1944 he was promoted to black belt by Shotokan founder, Gichin Funakoshi. Having moved to the United States in the 1960s, Ozawa hosted the first Traditional Karate Tournament in Las Vegas. This initial tournament only had thirty competitors. It would go on to become one of the …
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Feb 26 2018
On 27 February 1948 Terence (Terry) O’Neill, one of the best karateka ever produced in Britain, was born in Liverpool, England. O’Neill began his Karate training in 1963 when as a sixteen year old he lied about his age on his application to join the British Karate Federation (BKF). Under Keinosuke Enoeda and the JKA, he earned …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-26-february-4-march/
Feb 18 2018
Famed for his intense stare Shotokan master, Tsutomu Ohshima, is one of the last living masters to have trained with Gichin Funakoshi. A graduate of Waseda University, he trained with the legendary Shigeru Egami at the university’s Karate club. In 1957 he founded the first university Karate club in the USA at the California Institute …
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