Oct 04 2021
4 October On 4 October 1924, Motokuni Sugiura, a former Chief Instructor of the JKA, was born in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Sugiura earned his 1st Dan aged only 20. At university, he had been taught by Gichin Funakoshi and his son Yoshitaka. After he graduated in 1944 he joined the Tsuchiura Navy Flying Corps, serving …
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May 24 2021
24 May On 24 May 1923, Henri Plee was born in the French city of Arras. Considered the “Father of European Karate”, Plee is a true pioneer. He studied many martial arts with some of the world’s top masters. He held a 10th Dan in Karate, a 5th Dan in Judo, a 3rd Dan in …
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Apr 26 2021
26 April On 26 April 1957, Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan Karate, died in a Tokyo hospital, aged 88. His family and close student Shigeru Egami were at his bedside. On 26 April 1965, a touring party from the JKA gave their third authorized demonstration in Britain. The party consisted of Taiji Kase, Hirokazu …
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Feb 25 2021
You are always going to make mistakes in life, but you always have to look at and face up to them. When you stop doing it, then your weaknesses are exposed. Don’t look for affirmation from somewhere else, because that means that you have no self-belief inside yourself… and in that case, no amount of …
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Nov 02 2020
3 November On 3 November 1954, Mitsusuke Harada was awarded the rank of 5th Dan, presented to him by Gichin Funakoshi. Harada started his Karate training in November 1943, under Genshin Hironishi, a student of Funakoshi. Harada received his 1st Dan in 1951. He started teaching Karate for the Physical Education department at Waseda University …
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Oct 12 2020
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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Oct 05 2020
5 October On 5 October 1955 Guusje van Mourik, one of the most successful kumite competitors, was born in the Central Netherlands town of Zeist. Her early exposure to the martial arts was through the sport of Judo. She would eventually receive the grade of 2nd Dan. She competed in the Dutch Championships and won …
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Aug 16 2020
The Exponent of today’s modern Budo gropes about in a maze of classical traditions that he does not understand, and thus, the cleverest of his kind declare that the classical disciplines must be freed from feudal Japanese and raised to great heights of rational efficiency so as to yield wealth, prestige, and practical use. Donn …
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Aug 09 2020
I am a student of Karate. In my teaching, I only tell others who study of things I have learned. I believe that karate is an ever learning process and I find that the more I learn of the art the more ignorant of its vast potential I become. Isao Obata Although Isao Obata dedicated …
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Aug 07 2020
I have learned a lot from other systems, but I did so to enhance my Karate skills. No single system has the whole truth, so there is always room for growth. By the same token, you can’t learn it all, so your experiments must be selective. Caylor Adkins Described as “the true embodiment of a …
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