Tag: Japan Karate Association

On this day….(January 27)

On 27 January 1934, Raymond Fuller, one of the students present at the founding of the Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB), was born. Fuller started his Karate training in January of 1964 at Vernon Bell‘s Horseshoe pub dojo, located in London. At the time the British Karate Federation (BKF) were affiliated with Yoseikan Karate. …

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On this day….(January 22)

On 22 January 1961, Hirokazu Kanazawa was sent to Hawaii by the JKA, to become their Chief Instructor in Hawaii. He held this position for two years. Introducing the new art of Shotokan Karate to Hawaii was not without its problems. Kanazawa faced challenges from other instructors of other Karate styles and martial arts. They …

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On this day….(January 6)

On 6 January 1967, Michael Randall gained his 1st Dan from Hirokazu Kanazawa. He was one of the first men in Britain to gain the rank of 1st Dan from the Japan Karate Association (JKA). At the time of writing Randall is one of a handful of people currently training to have trained under the …

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Andy Sherry

Andy Sherry can arguably be called a pioneer of Shotokan Karate in the United Kingdom. He is currently ranked as a 9th Dan, with over fifty years of training in the style of Shotokan. His passion and dedication epitomize all that is good in Karate. Andrew William Sherry was born on 9 July 1943 in …

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Stan Schmidt

I learned that you can achieve more by remaining calm, and keeping your emotions stable, than by trying too hard to overpower an opponent. I found that correct utilisation of energy was very necessary. Stan Schmidt Stan Schmidt can be considered a trailblazer when it comes to Karate. With over fifty years of training in …

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Taiji Kase

Competition is only one part of Karate, the other is self-defence. Budo helps to develop the personality of people who practise Karate-Do. Budo Karate is so big that you can develop in many directions. Many people do competition, but people should keep it more traditional, otherwise, it’s like boxing or something like this. If people …

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This week in history (4 September – 10 September)

4 September On 4 September 1931, Kenneth Funakoshi, a distant relative of Gichin Funakoshi, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Hirokazu Kanazawa, who was a former Grand Champion in Japan, had arrived in Hawaii in 1960 to represent the Japan Karate Association (JKA) as Chief Instructor, at the behest of Masatoshi Nakayama. Funakoshi, who was in …

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On this day….(February 23)

On this day, 23 February 1966, Edward Whitcher and Robert Williams of the British Karate Federation’s London dojo are graded to 1st kyu by Hirokazu Kanazawa. They were the first students in Britain to be graded to 1st kyu by the Japan Karate Association.

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Masatoshi Nakayama

Sport develops the contestants in a straight line. That is they train hard in the physical techniques until they become strong, and then they compete. As they compete, they become stronger and stronger, and some become champions. But after a certain number of years, the body begins to decline, and the contestant can no longer …

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