Andy Sherry | |
---|---|
Born | Liverpool | 9 July 1943
Nationality | British |
Style | Shotokan Karate |
Trainer | Keinosuke Enoeda, Hirokazu Kanazawa |
Rank | 9th Dan |
Occupation | Former Chairman & Chief Instructor of the KUGB |
Notable club(s) | Liverpool Red Triangle |
Andy Sherry (born 9 July 1943) was one of the most senior British practitioners of karate and the retired chief instructor of the KUGB. [1] Andy Sherry, was unanimously convicted at Liverpool Crown Court of five criminal offences of a sexual nature relating to two victims.
Andy Sherry was born in Liverpool. As a young man he showed interest in martial arts. After initially training in judo and jujutsu, he soon took an interest in karate, starting his study of the art in 1959. In 1966, Sherry became the first person to pass a grading in the UK for a black belt in Shotokan karate, [2] [3] having trained with JKA instructor Keinosuke Enoeda. He graded alongside his Red Triangle clubmate Joseph Chialton on 10 February 1966, with Jack Green earning his blackbelt later that year. [4] Sherry, alongside Jack Green and Eddie Whitcher were also the first to be graded 2nd Dan in the United Kingdom, gaining their grade in 1967 at Crystal Palace. [4]
In 1966, Sherry won the first British all-styles championship, beating competitors from all of Britain's karate styles. [5] He went on, in 1968, to become European champion in kumite, an achievement he repeated in a number of subsequent years. [5] Andy dominated the early KUGB karate championships, winning the kata competition for the first four years running (1967–1970) and the kumite in 1968 and 1970. [5]
On the competition circuit, Andy Sherry was well known for using a yori-ashi gyaku-tsuki (lunging rear-hand punch) as his "trademark" manoeuvre, leading many competitors of the time to joke that he only knew one technique.
Retiring from competition in 1977, Sherry continued to coach the KUGB international competition squad until his retirement. He previously ran his own karate club, the Liverpool Red Triangle. Sherry earned 9th dan (9th level black belt) making him Britain's highest ranking Shotokan karate practitioner in February 2013. [5] He adjudicated many gradings throughout the year in many karate clubs registered under the KUGB.
In 2022, Sherry was charged with gross indecency with a child and inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency against a boy in the 1980s. The 79-year-old also faces a count of sexual assault on a boy in 2012. [6] Sherry was released on unconditional bail ahead of a further case management hearing on 13 March, 2023. [6]
An initial trial date was set for 4 September, 2023, with the case expected to last up to three weeks. [7] His trial began on 4 March, 2024. [8]
Sherry was unanimously convicted and found to be guilty of all five counts by a jury on 22 March, 2024. Sherry has been granted bail to await sentencing on 1 May, 2024. [9]
Karate (空手), also karate-do, is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts under the influence of Chinese martial arts. While modern karate is primarily a striking art that uses punches and kicks, traditional karate also employs throwing and joint locking techniques. A karate practitioner is called a karate-ka (空手家).
Shotokan is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" through a series of public demonstrations, and by promoting the development of university karate clubs, including those at Keio, Waseda, Hitotsubashi (Shodai), Takushoku, Chuo, Gakushuin, and Hosei.
The Karate Union of Great Britain, or KUGB, is an association of Shotokan Karate clubs and Karateka operating across Great Britain, with some oversea affiliations. The 1960s saw a growth in the popularity of Karate, and the KUGB was founded in 1966 to be a democratic, not-for-profit organisation, and was the first single style organisation within the UK. Many other British Shotokan Karate organisations have since formed after splitting from the KUGB. The KUGB is currently affiliated to the European Shotokan Karate Association (ESKA) and the World Shotokan Karate Association (WSKA).
Hirokazu Kanazawa was a Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He was the Chief instructor and President of the Shotokan Karate-Do International Federation, an organisation he founded after he left the Japan Karate Association (JKA). Kanazawa was ranked 10th dan in Shotokan Karate.
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JKA England (JKAE) is the official Japan Karate Association (JKA) organisation for Shotokan karate in England and Wales.
Keinosuke Enoeda was a Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He was a former Chief Instructor of the Karate Union of Great Britain. Enoeda was ranked 8th dan in Shotokan karate, and was widely renowned as a formidable karateka. Following his death, Enoeda was posthumously awarded the rank of 9th dan.
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