Jan 20 2020
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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Dec 09 2019
10 December On 10 December 1933 Shotokan master Takayuki Mikami was born in Nigata Prefecture Japan. He was the first professional Karate instructor to be sent by the JKA to teach Karate full-time in another country. Mikami arrived in Tokyo in 1952 to study Japanese Literature at Hosei University. Being a farm boy in a …
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Nov 18 2019
18 November On 18 November 2004 the 17th World Karate Championships were held at the Monterrey Arena, Monterrey, Mexico. Goju-ryu practitioner Atsuko Wakai from Japan, won her fourth consecutive Word individual kata title. She is one of the most successful tournament competitors, having also won titles at the World Games, Asian Games and All-Japan Karate-do …
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Oct 28 2019
28 October On 28 October 1939 Keigo Abe was born in Iyoshi, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. A direct student of Masatoshi Nakayama, Abe graduated from the JKA Instructors Program in 1965. He was a long-serving instructor at the Japan Karate Association’s Hombu. After the JKA split in 1990 he became Technical Director of the JKA (Matsuno …
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Oct 21 2019
25 October On 21 October 1941 Edward Arthur Whitcher he was born in Dagenham, Essex. Whitcher started training at the dawn of Karate in the United Kingdom. He was the first British subject to be promoted to 3rd Dan from the Japanese Karate Association (JKA), at their Tokyo headquarters in 1971. ******************************************** On 25 October 2013 …
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Oct 07 2019
8 October On 8 October 1953 Gōju-ryu founder Chōjun Miyagi died, aged only sixty-five. Born on the island of Okinawa, Miyagi had begun his training in 1902 under Kanryo Higaonna. By 1915 Miyagi had become one of Higaonna’s top students. Miyagi’s Karate style of Gōju-ryu was introduced to Japan in 1928 via the Kyōto Imperial …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-7-october-13-october/
Aug 19 2019
19 August On 19 August 2017 Henri Plee, the Father of European Karate, died in Paris, France. Held a 10th Dan in Karate, a 5th Dan in Judo, a 3rd Dan in Aikido and a 1st Dan in Kendo, it can be argued that no one has done more to promote Karate in Europe than …
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Jul 29 2019
30 July On 30 July 1949 KUGB stalwart, Robert Poynton, was born. A member of the famed Liverpool Red Triangle Karate Club, he started training in 1965 aged 15. He was awarded his 1st Dan by Keinosuke Enoeda in 1968. A top competitor in the 1970s, he successfully transitioned into an administrative role in the …
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Jul 08 2019
9 July On 9 July 1943 Chief Instructor of the KUGB, Andy Sherry, was born. Sherry is one of the highest ranked Shotokan practitioners in the United Kingdom, having been one of the first people awarded a JKA 1st Dan in Britain in 1966 by Keinosuke Enoeda. Now a 9th Dan and one of the …
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Jun 24 2019
25 June On 25 June 1959 the first written correspondence between Vernon Bell and head of Yoseikan Karate, Minoru Mochizuki took place. Mochizuki had first come to France in the early 1950s to conduct a number of training sessions in Judo and Aikido. All correspondence between Mochizuki and Bell had previously gone through Henri Plee. …
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