Tag: Vernon Bell

This week in history (9 March – 15 March)

10 March On 10 March 1945, the Shotokan dojo was destroyed during the bombing raid of Tokyo by American B29 bombers, during World War II. The bombing raid had started the previous evening. An estimated 1665 tons of bombs were dropped on Tokyo. Much of Tokyo was destroyed, with an estimate 100000 people losing their …

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This week in history (2 March – 8 March)

2 March On 2 March 1955, Henri Plee was a founding member of the Federation Francais de Karate et Boxe Libre. He became the Federation’s first General Secretary. On 2 March 1960, Gichin Funakoshi’s eldest son, Yoshihide, died aged 71. Yoshihide Funakoshi is not as well known as his more talented younger brother Yoshitaka (Gigo). …

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This week in history (24 February – 1 March)

24 February On 24 February 1941, Shotokan master, Masahiko Tanaka, was born in Tokyo, Japan. Known for his great skill in kumite, Tanaka, a long-time member of the JKA, won the 1st and 2nd IAKF World Karate Championships held in Los Angeles and Bremen. He also won the JKA All-Japan Individual kumite on two occasions. On …

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This week in history (17 February – 23 February)

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

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This week in history (3 February – 9 February)

4 February On 4 February 1949, Michael Nursey, a founding member of the English Shotokan Karate Association (ESKA) was born. Nursey started training in Karate when he was eighteen, under Keinosuke Enoeda and John Van Weenen. After achieving his 4th Kyu Nursey continued his training with Hirokazu Kanazawa, Shiro Asano and Michael Randall. Nursey gained …

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This week in history (27 January – 2 February)

27 January 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 …

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This week in history (20 January – 26 January)

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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This week in history (16 December – 22 December)

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 …

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This week in history (9 December – 15 December)

10 December On 10 December 1933 Shotokan master Takayuki Mikami was born in Nigata Prefecture Japan. He was the first professional Karate instructor to be sent by the JKA to teach Karate full-time in another country. Mikami arrived in Tokyo in 1952  to study Japanese Literature at Hosei University. Being a farm boy in a …

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This week in history (11 November – 17 November)

11 November On 11 November 1934 Colin Williams was born. Williams a Shotokan practitioner, started his training during the early days of Karate in the United Kingdom, in the 1950s. In the 1980s he founded the Bukonkai Karate International (BKI) association. He was the association’s Chief Instructor. In 1998 he founded the Malta Bukonkai Karate …

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