Tag: Vernon Bell

This week in history (21 October – 27 October)

25 October On 21 October 1941 Edward Arthur Whitcher he was born in Dagenham, Essex. Whitcher started training at the  dawn of Karate in the United Kingdom. He was the first British subject to be promoted to 3rd Dan from the Japanese Karate Association (JKA), at their Tokyo headquarters in 1971. ******************************************** On 25 October 2013 …

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This week in history (7 October – 13 October)

8 October On 8 October 1953 Gōju-ryu founder Chōjun Miyagi died, aged only sixty-five. Born on the island of Okinawa, Miyagi had begun his training in 1902 under Kanryo Higaonna. By 1915 Miyagi had become one of Higaonna’s top students. Miyagi’s Karate style of Gōju-ryu was introduced to Japan in 1928 via the Kyōto Imperial …

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This week in history (2 September – 8 September)

4 September On 4 September 1931 Kenneth Funakoshi, a distant relative of Shotokan Karate founder, Gichin Funakoshi, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Hirokazu Kanazawa, 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 …

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This week in history (12 August – 18 August)

14 August On 14 August 1934 the founder of American Goju-ryu Karate, Peter George Urban, was born in Jersey City, USA. Serving in the US Navy Urban was stationed in Yokohama, Japan. In 1953 he began studying Karate as a student of Richard Kim. In 1954 he was transferred to Tokyo, where he was introduced …

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This week in history (15 July – 21 July)

18 July On 18 July 1959 Tetsuji Murakami made his first ever visit to England to teach for the British Karate Federation (BKF). He also conducted a number gradings at 12 Maybush Road, Hornchurch, Essex.  ******************************************** On 18 July 1963 Vernon Bell received a letter from his German counterpart, Jurgen Seydel, informing him that Tetsuji …

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This week in history (1 July – 7 July)

2 July On 2 July 2013 Shoei Miyazato, a Kobayashi Shorin-ryu master and early student of Katsuya Miyahira (the successor to Chosin Chibana), died aged 85 years. Although born in Okinawa, Miyazato attended elementary and high school in Osaka, Japan. As it was during the 2nd World War he had to undergo mandatory training in …

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This week in history (24 June – 30 June)

25 June On 25 June 1959 the first written correspondence between Vernon Bell and head of Yoseikan Karate, Minoru Mochizuki took place. Mochizuki had first come to France in the early 1950s to conduct a number of training sessions in Judo and Aikido. All correspondence between Mochizuki and Bell had previously gone through Henri Plee. …

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This week in history (3 June – 9 June)

3 June On 3 June 1922 the earliest known Japanese newspaper article on Karate was published in the Tokyo  Nichinichi  Shinbun. The title of the article was “The Mystical Martial Art – Karate: (Chinese Fist) from Ryukyu (Okinawa Prefecture). Wonderful Technique to Defend from an Opponent with Bare Hands. Kodokan to Study“.  ******************************************** On 3 …

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This week in history (6 May – 12 May)

6 May On 6 May 1960 Frank Brennan was born. Brennan has arguably been described as one of the most technically gifted karate-ka of his generation. As a competitor, he was equally comfortable in kata or kumite. Totally respected by his opponents, JKA great, Masahiko Tanaka, once said that part of the Japanese team’s training …

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This week in history (29 April – 5 May)

30 April On 30 April 1957 the British Karate Federation (BKF) held its very first grading. Two students, Trevor Guilfoyle and Gerald Tucker, were graded to 6th Kyu. The grading took place on the lawn of 12 Maybush Road, Hornchurch, Essex. The grading was conducted by Vernon Bell. 1 May On 1 May 1949 the …

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