Dec 18 2017
19 December On 19 December 1963 Vernon Bell received a letter from Masatomo Takagi, the general Manager of the Japan Karate Association (JKA), requesting that the British Karate Federation officially act as the authorized representative of the JKA in Britain. Earlier that year Bell had received a letter from Takagi indicating that Tetsuji Murakami (Yoseikan Karate), who …
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Dec 11 2017
12 December On 12 December 1965 Hirokazu Kanazawa held his first grading at the British Karate Federation’s Nottingham dojo. The British Karate Federation had arranged with the Japan Karate Association (JKA) for Kanazawa to reside in the United Kingdom for a year, teaching Shotokan karate. 13 December On 13 December 1947 Tsuguo Sakumoto was born in the Okinawan …
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Dec 04 2017
4 December On 4 December 1965, The Japan Karate Association (JKA) moved their headquarters from Yotsuya, to Koraku, in the Bunkyo-ku district of Tokyo. Yotsuya, located in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, had been the JKA’s headquarters since 1955. The author C. W. Nicol described what it was like training at the Yotsuya hombu in his book, Moving …
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Nov 13 2017
13 November On 13 November 1943 David ‘Ticky’ Donovan was born, in Loughton, England. He is a highly respected former competitor, coach and founder of the Ishinryu style of karate. Originally a boxer, Donovan got started in Karate in 1965 when he and a friend attended a class run by Tatsuo Suzuki, a practitioner of Wado-Ryu. He …
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Nov 06 2017
6 November On 6 November 1964, Pathe Pictorial released a color film showing Vernon Bell’s British Karate Federation (BKF) students training at the Kentish Town dojo. The film lasting three minutes, was shown in cinemas across Britain. Eddie Whitcher can be seen in the film. At the time he was a blue belt. 7 November On 7 November 2008, …
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Oct 23 2017
26 October On 26 October 1957 the Federation Internationale De Karate (FIK) was formed at the headquarters of the French Karate Federation, located at 34 rue de la Montagne Sainte Genevieve, Paris. Present at the creation of the FIK was Vladimiro Malatesti (representing Italy), Vernon Bell (representing Great Britain), Jurgen Seydel (representing Germany), Henri Plee (representing …
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Oct 09 2017
10 October On this day, 10 October 1928, Shotokan Karate master, Hidetaka Nishiyama was born. Nishiyama attended famed university, Takushoku, studying economics. In 1949 he was named the captain of the karate team, after joining earlier that year. In the early 1950s, Nishiyama was part of a group, including Masatoshi Nakayama and Isao Obata, selected …
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Oct 02 2017
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 university he had been taught be Gichin Funakoshi and his son Yoshitaka. After he graduated in 1944 he joined the Tsuchiura Navy Flying Corps, serving …
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Sep 04 2017
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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Aug 21 2017
August 26 On 26 August 1941 Karate instructor and humanitarian, John Van Weenen, was born in Enfield, just outside London. He was the second of six children. In 1964 Van Weenen, along with his brothers Jeff and Garry emigrated to Australia, settling in Adelaide. He and his brother Jeff began Karate training under Moss Hollis, who …
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