Jul 12 2021
12 July On 12 July 1956, Hiroo Mochizuki, the son of Yoseikan founder Minoru Mochizuki, arrived in France to conduct a number of Karate courses. Born in 1936 Hiroo Mochizuki began his martial arts training in the eclectic Yoseikan system of his father, Minoru, who had studied under the two great Budo masters, Morihei Ueshiba …
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May 10 2021
10 May On 10 May 1957, the founder of Shotokan Karate, Gichin Funakoshi, was laid to rest at the Zen Sho-ji temple in Kakiu. He was cremated and his ashes laid alongside those of his wife. Funakoshi had died on 26 April, in a Tokyo hospital, surrounded by his close family and his student Shigeru …
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Apr 05 2021
5 April On April 5, 1870 founder of Motobu Ryu, Chōki Motobu, was born in Okinawa. Motobu was the third son of a noble family. As the third son, he was not allowed to learn the family martial art of Motobu Udundi. This meant he trained under various Okinawan masters such as Anko Itosu, and Sokon Matsumura. A …
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Mar 29 2021
29 March On 29 March 1965, the JKA World Tour commenced at Hanada Airport, Tokyo. The touring party consisted of Taiji Kase, 6th Dan, who had started training in 1944 at the original Shoto-Kan under Yoshitaka Funakoshi. Hirokazu Kanazawa, 5th Dan, was the next member of the party. He was the first All Japan JKA …
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Mar 01 2021
1 March On 1 March 1962, the British Karate Federation (BKF) issued a club affiliation certificate to the Liverpool Karate Club. The club, formed in 1959 under Fred Giles, would eventually come to be known as the Red Triangle Shotokan Karate Club. Initially, club members received instruction from Vernon Bell, Terry Wingrove and Tetsuji Murakami. However, …
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Feb 01 2021
1 February On 1 February 1960, Michael Manning became the first British Karate Federation (BKF) student to grade to 1st kyu. Manning was one of Vernon Bell‘s original Karate students. He was nineteen when he started training with Bell in Jiujitsu in 1956. Manning was described as having a withered right arm. By the time …
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Jan 25 2021
25 January On 25 January 2000, Kyokushin Karate legend, Hiroki Kurosawa made his kickboxing debut in the K-1 Kickboxing promotion. K-1 was the brainchild of Kazuyoshi Ishii and was designed to promote the best stand-up martial artists. In his debut, Kurosawa faced American Maecus Ruiz, who he knocked out in just 56 seconds. 26 January …
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Jan 18 2021
20 January On 20 January 1909 Gōju-ryu legend, Gōgen Yamaguchi, was born. Nicknamed the Cat, he was famed for his feline-like speed and prowess.Yamaguchi was a direct student of Gōju-ryu Karate founder, Chojun Miyagi. He began training with him in 1929. On 20 January 1938 Cyril Cummins, a pioneer of Shotokan in Central England, was …
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Jan 04 2021
6 January 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 …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-4-january-10-january/
Dec 14 2020
14 December On 14 December 1963, the First European Karate competition was held at the Pierre Coubertin Stadium, Paris, France. France, Belgium, and Britain were the only countries that participated in the triangular team tournament. The British team were representatives of Vernon Bell’s British Karate Federation (BKF). The team consisted of Brian Hammond, Andy Sherry, …
Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-14-december-20-december/
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