This week in history…(1 January – 7 January)

1 January

On 1 January 1913, Genshin Hironishi was born in Kyoto, Japan.

Also known as Motonobu Hironishi, he was considered one of Gichin Funakoshi’s favourite students. Together with Shigeru Egami, he was an assistant to Yoshitaka Funakoshi. He was one of the main instructors at the Shoto Kan, Gichin Funakoshi‘a purpose-built dojo.

On 1 January 1968, the UKKW (United Kingdom Karate-Do Wado-Kai) was established. It became the governing body of Wado-Ryu Karate in the UK. Tatsuo Suzuki became the Chief Instructor of the UKKW.

On 1 January 1993 Cameron Quinn‘s book, “Instructors Handbook” was published. The book is a guide for instructors on how to improve their teaching skills and get the best out of every class they teach.

On 1 January 1994, the Sho Rei Shobu Kan changed its name to the Sho Rei Shobu Kan Budo organization. The organization aimed to expand to include other martial arts with a similar philosophy.

On 1 January 2018, Leo Lipinski died in London following a long illness.

One of the highest-ranked non-Japanese JKF (Japan Karate Federation) Gojukai, Leo Lipinski was known for his exceptional kumite. Never afraid to express his views, he was a firm believer in hard work over talent.

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).

Randall began his training in 1964 under BKF instructors Jimmy Neal and Terry Wingrove. He also trained with Tetsuji Murakami and Hiroo Mochizuki.

On 6 January 1989 Fumio Demura suffered a heart attack while filming a fight scene on the TV show O’Hara. He had been pushing himself fairly hard. He was running his successful dojo, while at the same time building a successful career as an actor/stuntman.