Tag: KUGB

On this day….(May 13)

On this day, 13 May 1933, Charles Naylor, a former Vice-Chairman of the Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB), was born in Hubli, South West India. Naylor left school aged 14 and for a time worked as a cabin boy. He eventually arrived in Liverpool, England in 1948, aged 15. After achieving a Higher National …

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On this day….(March 4)

On this day, 4 March 1952, David Frederick Hazard, a well-respected Shotokan karate practitioner, was born in Bow, London. Dave Hazard began his karate training aged sixteen at the KUGB affiliated Blackfriars Karate Club, under the instruction of Keinosuke Enoeda. Like most martial artists who had started training at the time, Hazard had begun his …

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On this day….(March 3)

On this day, 3 March 1946, British Shotokan instructor, Robert Rhodes, was born in Leeds, England. Rhodes began his training aged twenty, at the Leeds Shotokan Karate Club (Leeds SKC), under the instruction of Ronnie Wade. As a green belt Rhodes started competing at the Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB) National Championships where he …

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On this day….(February 27)

On this day, 27 February 1948, Terence (Terry) O’Neill, one of the best karateka ever produced in Britain, was born in Liverpool, England. O’Neill began his karate training in 1963 when as a sixteen year old he lied about his age, on his application to join the British Karate Federation (BKF). Under Keinosuke Enoeda and the …

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On this day….(February 21)

On this day, 21 February 1956, the earliest known letter is written by Vernon Bell to Henri Plee. It is believed that Bell wrote to the Fédération Française de Karaté on becoming affiliated with them. On this day, 21 February 1995, Stephen Cattle died following an epileptic fit. He was only forty-seven. Until his untimely death Cattle …

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On this day….(February 17)

On this day, 17 February 1947, Nicholas Adamou was born. Adamou began his karate training, alongside his older brother Chris, in 1964 British Karate Federation’s London dojo. When Hirokazu Kanazawa began teaching JKA Shotakan for the BKF in 1965, Adamou and his brother become devoted students of Kanazawa. Following the split from the the BKF, …

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On this day….(January 20)

On this day, 20 January 1938, a pioneer of Shotokan in Central England, Cyril Cummins was born. Cummins began his karate training in 1964  at the Kyu-Shin-Kan School of Judo Ltd, Located in Birmingham. His initial instructors were Jonny Brown, Tommy Ryan and Les Hart. They had learnt their karate mainly from Hidetaka Nishiyama‘s book, …

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Vernon Bell

12 Maybush Road, Hornchurch, Essex, holds a very special place in British Karate history. It was at this address, in his parents garden, that in 1956 Vernon Bell held the first Karate class in the UK. Over the years, Bell’s name has been largely forgotten in favour of other notable instructors such as Hirokazu Kanazawa, …

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