Tag: Stan Schmidt

This week in history…(10 April – 16 April)

11 April On 11 April 1907, Minoru Mochizuki, founder of the Yoseikan dojo, was born in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Mochizuki was one of the few men to have been a direct student of the three great Budo masters, Jigaro Kano, Morihei Ueshiba and Gichin Funakoshi. An accomplished martial artist, Mochizuki held a 10th Dan in …

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This week in history…(27 March – 1 April)

28 March On 28 March 2009, Jacques Legree helped organise the 23rd Martial Arts Festival at Paris Bercy. The festival, an annual event, had 18,000 spectators in attendance. The event was organised by Karate Bushido Magazine. This year it was held in conjunction with a small Kyokushin tournament. 29 March On 29 March 1965, the …

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This week in history…(13 February – 19 February)

13 February Between 13-14 February 2016, the International Federation of Physical Education (FIEP) organised the 2nd FIEP Asia Conference on Physical Education. The event was held at Kogakuin University, Tokyo, Japan. Hiromi Hishiki gave a talk titled “Karate Globalisation – An Experiment with Children in Education”. 14 February On 14 February 2015 South African Shotokan …

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James Rousseau

Alongside Stan Schmidt, Len Barnes, and Hugh Thomas, James Rousseau, was a pioneer of Karate in South Africa. He is largely responsible for establishing Okinawan Goju-Ryu in Europe. A very good teacher, he has been described as making simple things interesting and difficult things seem easy. James McGill Rousseau was born on 4 July 1944 …

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Bakkies Laubscher

You can’t have good Karate without good character. No matter what it looks like on the inside, the flaws will show. Bakkies Laubscher With over six decades in martial arts, Bakkies Laubscher is one of Morio Higaonna’s most senior students. A firm believer in the constant drilling of basic techniques, he has become a renowned …

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This week in history…(24 October – 30 October)

24 October On 24 October 1996, the High Court of Tokyo upheld an earlier decision regarding Mas Oyama’s last will. On 31 March 1995 Judge Atsushi Watanabe of the Tokyo Court of Family Affairs ruled that Oyama’s verbal will was invalid as it had not been signed by him, only by the witnesses. His family …

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This week in history…(3 October – 9 October)

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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This week in history…(12 September – 18 September)

12 September On 12 September 1961, Molly Samuel, a multiple European and World Champion, was born in Paddington, West London. Samuel was Britain’s first individual female World Karate Federation (WKF) World Champion. She was a pioneer of women’s competitive Karate, paving the way for many of Britain’s future world champions. Her major honours include: World …

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On this day….(February 14)

On 14 February 2015, South African Shotokan Karate pioneer, Stan Schmidt, was awarded the rank of 8th Dan by the JKA. He was the first non-Japanese to be promoted to this rank by the JKA.

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This week in history (25 October – 31 October)

25 October On 25 October 1936 several Karate masters gathered for a special meeting in Naha, Okinawa. While not attended by Gichin Funakoshi, this meeting was attended by Chomo Hanashiro, Chotoku Kyan, Choki Motobu, Chojun Miyagi, Choshin Chibana, Juhatsu Kyoda, Shinpan Gusukuma, Genwa Nakasone, and others. Funakoshi would attend subsequent meetings. Chomo Hanashiro had first …

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