This week in history…(12 December -18 December)

12 December

On 12 December 1965 Hirokazu Kanazawa held his first grading at the BKF (British Karate Federation)’s Nottingham dojo.

The BKF had arranged with the JKA (Japan Karate Association) for Kanazawa to reside in the United Kingdom for a year, teaching Shotokan Karate.


On 12 December 2008, Henri Plee was honoured for his services to French martial arts. Jacques Delcourt presented him with the Knights Insignia of the National Order of Merit. At an event held at the offices of the European Magazine in Paris. Delcourt gave a speech detailing Plee’s life and his close links to the history of French Karate. He also read two congratulatory letters from Jacques Rogge of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and Antonio Espinos of the WKF (World Karate Federation).


13 December

On 13 December 1943 David ‘Ticky’ Donovan was born in Loughton, just outside London. As a boy, he was into many sports. However, boxing was his main passion. He would become the most successful coach of the British and English National sides.


On 13 December 1947 Tsuguo Sakumoto was born in the Okinawan village of Onna.

Sakumoto is a practitioner of Ryuei-Ryu, an Okinawan Karate style created by the Nakaima family. He is also a three-time Karate World Champion, winning in 1984 (Maastrict), 1986 (Sydney) and 1988 (Cairo). He is also a two-time winner of the World Games (1985 and 1989) and a two-time winner of the World Cup(1987 and 1989).


On 13 December 1958 Vernon Bell made mention of the JKA (Japan Karate Association) for the first time, in a letter to Henri Plee. It seems he had only recently become aware of their existence. Bell and his association, the BKF (British Karate Federation), were affiliated with Minoru Mochizuki’s Yoseikan Karate


On 13 December 1998, the 1998 K-1 Grand Prix, was held at the Tokyo Dome Andy Hug reached his third consecutive Grand Prix final. He defeated Mark Russell of England; Ray Sefo of New Zealand; and Sam Greco of Australia. In the final, he lost to Peter Aerts of The Netherlands.


14 December

On 14 December 1963 The First European Karate competition was held at the Pierre Coubertin Stadium, in Paris, France.

France, Belgium and Britain were the only countries that participated in a triangular team tournament.

The British team were representatives of Vernon Bell’s BKF (British Karate Federation). The team consisted of Brian Hammond, Andy Sherry, Ron Mills, Jimmy Neal and Terry Wingrove. Hammond was a 4th kyu, with the rest of the team being brown belts. The other teams consisted mainly of black belts.

Tournament Karate was still a relatively new sport. It could be a bloody affair, with competitors being knocked out and sometimes being carried away on stretchers. The Belgians defeated the British 2-1 but lost to the French 4-0. The French beat the British 3-1, thus winning the entire tournament.


On 14 December 1971, Hajime Kazumi was born in Kawasaki, Japan. He started practising Kyokushin Karate in 1986, under the instruction of Tsuyoshi Hiroshige.


On 14th December 1975, Keinosuke Enoeda’s second child, daughter Maya was born. Earlier that year saw the publication of his book “Shotokan Karate Free Fighting Techniques” co-authored with Charles Mack.


On 14 December 2008, Rika Usami won the first of her five All Japan Karate-do Championship titles. At the 36th All Japan Karate-do Championships held at the Budokan, Tokyo, she won first place in the Individual Kata event.


15 December

On 15 December 1958, the 2nd French National Karate Tournament was held at rue du Gabon, Paris, France.


17 December

On 17 December 2016, after many years of dedicated service to the growth of Shotokan Karate in the United States, Yutaka Yaguchi retired at the age of 84. His last training, teaching, and grading seminar took place at the Lonetree Recreation Centre, in Denver. They were 150 students in attendance, from as far afield as Africa and the Middle East.

Permanent link to this article: http://findingkarate.com/wordpress/this-week-in-history-12-december-18-december/

3 comments

    • John on December 12, 2022 at 10:22 pm
    • Reply

    Never forget i did a summer course week in 1975 and had to takevabout 4 nig bottles of water as the Japanese drove us so hard Enoeda,Kanazawa, Kawasoe etc .some of the guys actually passed out .At one of the short breaks I was guzzling a big drink when Ticky Donovan looked at me as though he was about to collapse with thirst .I offered him a bottle of water which he gulped down with relief.

    • Abdul Aziz on December 13, 2022 at 12:27 pm
    • Reply

    Sensei Shihan Kanazawa was a true legend.
    He will be fondly remembered and respected by all Martial Artists for generations to come.

      • John on December 13, 2022 at 5:17 pm
      • Reply

      Yes agree .I did 2 one week courses under him and other top sensies in the mid 70s.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.