Tag: Gogen Yamaguchi

This week in history (26 July – 1 August)

27 July On 27 July 1923 the founder of Kyokushin Karate, Matsutatsu (Mas) Oyama was born in Japanese occupied Korea. Born Choi Yeong-eui, he spent most of his life in Japan. He was a student of Gichin Funakoshi and later Gogen Yamaguchi. On 27 July 1985, the Karate Championships were held as part of the …

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This week in history (17 May – 23 May)

17 May On 17 May 1969, Keinosuke Enoeda married Reiko Hayashi. Charles Naylor, who would become a stalwart of the KUGB was his best man. The newlyweds settled in Kingston Surrey. 18 May On 18 May 1966, Wayne Otto, a multiple European and World Champion, was born in Hackney, London. Otto is one of the …

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This week in history (5 April – 11 April)

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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Peter Chong

…. Focus on your training, do the best you can do, never think you are better than anybody else, we are all born equal and it is up to each of us to make the best of it. If you want to be the best in the world, give it all you have…. Peter Chong …

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Toru Arakawa

There are so many different cultures and ideas, how can one say a Frenchman follow along with an American and do things exactly the same way. If I have to give advice, it would be to Japanese teachers living abroad – I hope they don’t try to teach the same way in which they teach …

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Tak Kubota

I don’t train so that I can go to a tournament and do a show. I do it because I want to train my body so I will be prepared for any confrontation. That’s the philosophy of my style. You can hit me anywhere you want and it will probably hurt you more than it …

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This week in history (18 January – 24 January)

20 January On 20 January 1909 Gōju-ryu legend, Gōgen Yamaguchi, was born. Nicknamed the Cat, he was famed for his feline-like speed and prowess.Yamaguchi was a direct student of Gōju-ryu Karate founder, Chojun Miyagi. He began training with him in 1929. On 20 January 1938 Cyril Cummins, a pioneer of Shotokan in Central England, was …

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This week in history (16 November – 22 November)

16 November On 16 November 1928 Mitsusuke Harada was born in Dalian, China, then a part of the Japanese Empire. Harada began his training in 1945, under Genshin Hironishi (a senior student of Gichin Funakoshi), at the original Shotokan dojo in Zoshigaya, Tokyo. He also had the opportunity to be taught by Yoshitaka Funakoshi. In …

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Manzo Iwata

One of Shito-ryu founder, Kenwa Mabuni’s top students, Manzo Iwata was a phenomenal martial artist, who was a long time member of the Federation of All Japan Karate-do Organisation (FAJKO). A well-respected Shito-ryu master, he was known for his superb technical ability. Manzo Iwata was born on 9 February 1924, in Tokyo, Japan. He was …

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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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