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).
Kyokushin (極真) is a style of karate originating in Japan. It is a full-contact style of stand-up fighting and is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline, and hard training.
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.
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.
Akio Minakami is a ninth Dan Karate practitioner of Hayashi-Ha Shitoryu-Kai, president of the United States Hayashi-ha Shitoryu-Kai, and a former professional martial arts competitor.
The Shotokan of England Karate Union (SEKU), founded in 1982 is a federation of Shotokan karate clubs in southern England, with about thirty clubs from Helston in Cornwall to Bromley in Greater London. The federation is led by Mick Dewey, 8th dan, who was a student of the late Keinosuke Enoeda.
Howard Collins is a Welsh master of Kyokushin karate based in Sweden. He holds the rank of 8th dan (2015) and the title of Shihan. Collins learned directly from Masutatsu Oyama, founder of Kyokushin karate, and was a prominent competitor in world karate tournaments through the 1970s. He has been teaching his martial art since the 1960s, and has written several books on karate.
Rafael Mahir Aghayev (Azerbaijani: Rafael Ağayev; born March 4, 1985, in Sumgait, Azerbaijan is an Azerbaijani karateka. He won the silver medal in the men's kumite 75 kg division at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He is a five-time world champion, and eleven-time European champion in his discipline. Aghayev is currently signed by Karate Combat and is the reigning welterweight champion in the promotion with a record of 5-0.
Paul Noel Starling is an Australian martial artist renowned as a Gōjū-ryū Karate master. He was the most senior Caucasian student of Gōjū-ryū Gogen Yamaguchi, and is a world Vice President of the International Karate do Goju Kai Association (IKGA)
Atsuko Wakai is a Japanese practitioner of karate who has won many international and Japanese national competitions in kata (patterns), including unprecedented numbers of consecutive titles in World Karate Federation (WKF) and All Japan Karatedo championships. She holds the rank of 6th dan black belt from the Japan Karatedo Federation (JKF), training in Seigokan Goju-ryu karate.
Hideo Ochi is a Japanese master of karate. He is ranked 9th Dan, and is a former Japan Karate Association (JKA) World Champion in kumite (sparring) and kata (patterns). He was also coach of the German national team and Chief Instructor for JKA Europe. In 1997, he received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Seiji Nishimura, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan) he is a Japanese karateka. He has a 7th.Dan black belt in Wadō-ryū karate and is the national trainer of the Japan Karatedo Federation (JKF).
Victor John-Charles is a British karateka. He has an 8th Dan black belt in karate and is the winner of multiple individual and team medals at the World Championship, World Games and European Karate Championships. Vic Charles came 3rd in 1983 television competition Superstars. Vic Charles was awarded an MBE for Services to karate in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 1989. This was the first time the sport of karate had been acknowledged in such a fashion. On retiring from competitive karate in 1990 Vic continued as Chief Instructor of British Sport Karate Association (B.S.K.A.) the Association he established in 1985. The Association dominated English karate competitions and won 2 European Club Team titles. The Association counted 3 World and European Champions as members Mervyn Etienne, Mike Sailsman, and Willie Thomas. Vic was appointed English National Coach in 1996 and became Technical Manager of the Performance Plan in 1997 until 1999. He was a member of the board of Karate England until 1999.
Billy Higgins is a British karateka and former kumite competitor. He holds an 8th-degree black belt from the KUGB, was a winner of multiple European championships, and a gold medalist in men's kumite with the British team at the 1975 World Karate Championships in Long Beach, California.
Dominique Valera is a French kickboxer and karateka, based in Lyon. He has a 9th Dan black belt in karate and is the winner of multiple European Karate Championships. Since retiring from competitive karate Dominique Valera has starred in French movies such as Let Sleeping Cops Lie.
The 1976 European Karate Championships were held in Tehran from 5–7 May 1976 and were the 11th championship in the series. The event was organized by the European Karate Union.
Junior Lefevre is a Belgian-Croatian karateka. He has a 6th Dan black belt in karate and is the winner of multiple World Karate Championships and European Karate Championships medals, representing both Croatia and Belgium at tournaments. He is also chairman of C.I.K.A world.
Guusje van Mourik she is a Dutch karateka, judoka and boxer. She has a 4th Dan black belt in karate, and is the winner of multiple World Karate Championships, and is in The Guinness Book of Records for winning the most karate medals. She was four times world champion, six times European champion and twenty five times national champion in this discipline in the class 60+ kilograms. Also, she was once Taiko world champion and won several medals at the Dutch Judo National Championships. Guusje first found success she achieved in 1974 by winning a silver medal in judo. In 1982 she became Dutch and world champion karate. In 1987, Gussje was given Order of Orange-Nassau. In 1989 she made her debut as a boxer. In 1992 she became head coach of the women's karate team. Since retiring from competitive karate Guus is now a dental technician.
John Fonseca is a former American karateka most known for being the first karate athlete in the world to win repeat gold medals at the Pan American Games, first American to medal at the Karate World Championships in almost 16 years (kumite), and first American to win the Paris Open in more than 30 years.
Dastonbek Otabolaev is an Uzbekistani karateka. He won the gold medal in the men's 75 kg event at the 2021 World Karate Championships held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He is the first ever Uzbek and Central Asian Karate World Champion. He is Master of sport international level and Black belt 4-dan. He is Captain national karate team of Uzbekistan. and He won the bronze medal first time history of Uzbekistan Karate at the 2022 World Games
