Arturo Worrell | |
|---|---|
 Sensei Arturo Worrell in 2012 | |
| Born | August 4, 1950 Panama, Republic of Panama |
| Occupation | Karate Practitioner and Instructor |
| Years active | 1964–present |
Arturo Worrell (4 August 1950 in Panama) is a Panamanian Shotokan Karate practitioner, founder and Chief Officer of the Panamanian Association of Shotokan Karate, a JKA affiliated organization. His work of teaching shotokan karate has been instrumental in spreading Shotokan style both in Panama and Costa Rica.
Arturo Worrell began his interest in martial arts at the age of 12 when he began judo. He practiced judo for 10 years and obtained the brown belt. In 1964 he signed up to the Dai-Ichi-Karate-Kai (First School of Karate) with Vincent A. Cruz and continued to train both judo and karate, obtaining Cho-Dan (first black belt) in both martial arts. He was hired as an instructor to the Panamanian National Guard and opened the first permanent Shotokan Karate dojo the "Estudio de Karate Worrell Internacional" (now just "Estudio de Karate Worrell") in the mid-70's. He continued to compete in both judo and karate until 1983, when he decided to dedicate himself to Shotokan Karate alone.
In 1984, he invited Teruyuki Okazaki (9th dan ISKF) to Panama for the first time to give an open seminar.
In 1988, Worrell founded the Panamanian Association of Shotokan Karate (Asociacion Panameña de Karate Shotokan), which currently numbers 15 member dojos and is affiliated to the Japan Karate Association - World Federation, of which Worrell is regional representative.
In 2015 he was promoted to 7th Dan by the Japan Karate Association, making him the highest ranking dan recognized by the Association in Central America.
He is a member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, where he is known as Ari-Sudana Das.
Karate (空手) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts under the influence of Kung Fu, particularly Fujian White Crane. Karate is now predominantly a striking art using punching, kicking, knee strikes, elbow strikes and open-hand techniques such as knife-hands, spear-hands and palm-heel strikes. Historically, and in some modern styles, grappling, throws, joint locks, restraints and vital-point strikes are also taught. A karate practitioner is called a karateka (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 following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to martial arts:
Keigo Abe was a prominent Japanese master of Shotokan karate who founded the Japan Shotokan Karate Association in 1999 and is its Chief Instructor. He holds the rank of 9th dan in karate, is a direct student of Masatoshi Nakayama (1913–1987), and was a senior instructor in the Japan Karate Association.
Minoru Mochizuki was a Japanese martial artist who founded the dojo Yoseikan. He was a 10th dan in Aikido, 9th dan in jujutsu, 8th dan in iaido, 8th dan in judo, 8th dan in kobudo, 5th dan in kendo, 5th dan in karate, and a 5th dan in jojutsu.
Mitsusuke Harada, MBE is a prominent Japanese master of Shotokai karate who introduced this martial art to Brazil and is now based in the United Kingdom. He founded the Karate-do Shotokai (KDS) organisation in 1965 and is its president. Harada holds the rank of 5th dan, personally awarded by Gichin Funakoshi in 1956.
Gosoku-ryū (剛速流) is a style of karate which was founded by Takayuki Kubota. Gosoku stands for hard and fast, which suggests a combination of techniques both from the fast and dynamic Shōtōkan style as well as from the strength-focused Gōjū-ryū style.
Masatoshi Nakayama was an internationally famous Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He helped establish the Japan Karate Association (JKA) in 1949, and wrote many textbooks on karate, which served to popularize his martial art. For almost 40 years, until his death in 1987, Nakayama worked to spread Shotokan karate around the world. He was the first master in Shotokan history to attain the rank of 9th dan while alive, and was posthumously awarded the rank of 10th dan.
Tsutomu Ohshima is a prominent Japanese master of Shotokan karate who founded the organization Shotokan Karate of America (SKA). He is the Shihan of the SKA, and to this day holds the rank of 5th dan, which was awarded to him by Gichin Funakoshi. Ohshima’s branch of the Shotokan world has become known as “Shotokan Ohshima Karate-do.”
Takayuki Mikami is a Japanese master of Shotokan karate based in the United States of America. He holds the rank of 9th dan black belt in the art, awarded under the Japan Karate Association. In 1958, Mikami tied for first place in the All Japan Karate Championships. The following year, he became the All Japan champion in kumite (sparring) as well as kata (patterns). In 1961, Mikami won first place in kata again. He was also the first person to graduate from the Japan Karate Association's (JKA) instructor training program instituted by Gichin Funakoshi and Masatoshi Nakayama.
Hidetaka Nishiyama was a prominent Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He was an internationally recognized instructor, author, and administrator, and helped to establish the Japan Karate Association. Nishiyama was one of the last surviving students of Gichin Funakoshi, founder of Shotokan karate. He was based in the United States of America from 1961 until his death in 2008, and was a pioneer of karate in that country. He had been posthumously awarded the rank of 10th dan in karate.
Yoseikan Karate (養正館空手) or Yoseikan Ryu Karate (養正館流空手) is the name given to the variant of Shotokan Karate taught at the Yoseikan Dojo in Shizuoka, Japan, under the direction of Minoru Mochizuki.
Shotokan Karate of America is a non-profit organization whose mission is to teach traditional karate-do in the United States. It was founded by Tsutomu Ohshima, a direct student of Gichin Funakoshi, the father of Shotokan karate. Ohshima is also recognized as the founder of many other SKA-affiliated Shotokan organizations worldwide. SKA's national headquarters are located in Los Angeles.
Isao Obata was a pioneering Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He was a senior student of Gichin Funakoshi, who is widely recognized as the founder of modern karate, and was a key figure in the establishment of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) under Funakoshi in 1949. Obata also helped introduce karate to the United States of America through his demonstrations of the art to United States Air Force personnel, and through his students, most notably Tsutomu Ohshima.
Henry Plée was a French martial artist who is considered as the 'father of European and French karate'. He was one of the rare 10th dan karate masters living outside Japan, and one of the few Westerners who held this rank. At the time of his death, Plée was also the oldest and highest karate ranking Westerner alive, with more than 60 years of fighting arts, including 50 in martial arts. He was a pioneer in introducing karate to France and Europe, and has taught most of today's highest ranking karate masters in Europe.
Masami Tsuruoka, was a Japanese Canadian karate instructor and practitioner recognized as "The Father of Canadian Karate" by Black Belt Magazine. Although mainly responsible for establishing the Chito-ryu style in Canada, Tsuruoka is also known as founder of his own karate style known as Tsuruoka Ryu.
Yoshukai karate is a branch discipline of the Japanese/Okinawan martial art, Karate–dō, or "Way of the Empty Hand." The three kanji that make up the word Yoshukai literally translated mean "Training Hall of Continued Improvement." However, the standardized English translation is "Striving for Excellence." Yoshukai Karate has been featured in Black Belt Magazine.
Norman Robinson is a South African master of Shotokan karate. He and Stan Schmidt were the first practitioners of Shotokan karate in South Africa and they instigated the establishment of the South African branch of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) in 1965 and popularized the art across the country. In 1970 he was one of the first westerners to be invited into the JKA's famous Instructor Class in the Tokyo Honbu dojo, the invitation having been offered by Masatoshi Nakayama himself. Latterly, he established Japan Karate Shotokai South Africa, having remained loyal to Tetsuhiko Asai after Asai established Japan Karate Shotokai. Norman Robinson is also a distinguished student of Judo, holding a 7th dan in that art, and is also known for his acting roles in several martial arts films.
Stan Schmidt was a South African master of Shotokan karate. Along with others, such as Norman Robinson, he was an early practitioner of Shotokan karate in South Africa and his establishment of the South African branch of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) in 1965 after training in Japan, along with his subsequent promotion of the art in South Africa, earned him the appellation of 'The Father of South African Karate'. In 1963, he was one of the first westerners to be invited into the JKA's famous Instructor Class in the Tokyo Honbu dojo and he was later one of four non-Japanese karateka to sit on the JKA's international Shihankai. He was also the first non-Japanese karateka to attain 7th dan from the JKA and also the first to attain 8th dan. Today, he is the highest ranking non-Japanese karate master of that organization. He is also known for his acting roles in several martial arts films of the 1970s and 1980s.
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