Howard Collins

Last updated

Howard Collins
Born1949 (age 74–75)
Mountain Ash, Wales, United Kingdom
Residence Gothenburg, Sweden
Style Kyokushin Karate
Teacher(s) Masutatsu Oyama
Rank8th dan karate
SpouseNone
Website www.shihancollins.com

Howard Collins (born 1949) is a Welsh master of Kyokushin karate based in Sweden. [1] He holds the rank of 8th dan (2015) and the title of Shihan . [1] 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.

Contents

Early life

Collins was born in 1949 [2] in Mountain Ash, Wales, around 20 miles from Cardiff. [1] His father died when he was eight years old. [1] As a schoolboy, Collins played rugby and trained in athletics. [1] He began training in Kyokushin karate at the age of 15, at the Cardiff School of Budo. [1] It was around this time that he first read about Masutatsu Oyama and decided that he would eventually travel to Japan to train. [1]

In 1967, Collins decided to join the London Metropolitan Police—but only three weeks after he had set off on this endeavour, his mother died. [1] He worked in London for two years before joining the merchant navy, with the aim of working his way to Japan. [1] Collins was 21 when he eventually left for Japan. [1]

Karate career

In 1971, Collins arrived in Japan and, at the rank of 3rd kyu , began training at the Kyokushin honbu dojo (headquarters training hall) under Oyama. [1] On 22 October 1972, he competed in the 4th Open Karate Tournament in Tokyo, and came second after Miyuki Miura. [3] According to Collins, he completed the 100-man kumite two years after beginning training in Japan, [1] but a Scottish source reports 1 December 1972 as the date. [4] In any case, he became the first person to complete the test compulsorily in one day. [4] [5] Collins later recalled: "At the start it was easy my condition was excellent as I had been training every day for two years. Slowly though I was becoming tired the referee would ask me if I wanted to give up (I can not print my reply). I thought what can they do, kill me. Three and a half hours later it was all over." [1]

In 1973, Collins returned to the United Kingdom and began teaching in British and other European dojo. [1] He was listed at 6' 5" (196 cm) in height and 198 lb. (90 kg) in weight in that year. [6] In September 1973, Collins was ranked 3rd dan. [7] In November 1975, he competed in Kyokushin's 1st World Tournament, but was defeated by Toshikazu Satō on a judge's decision, following several extensions and a rematch. [8] Following an invitation from Attila Meszaros, Collins emigrated to Sweden in 1977. [1] He competed in Kyokushin's 2nd World Tournament, in November 1979, and came fifth. [9]

In 1980, Collins was ranked 4th dan. [10] Oyama promoted him to the rank of 7th dan in 1993. During the World Tournament in Japan October/November 2015 or rather during the seminar afterwards, he got 8th dan. [1] Collins has written several books, including: The Kyokushinkai Knockdown karate book (1980), The Absolute Karate: Applications of Kyokushin (1995), [11] The Shodan (2003), and The Gateway (2004). Currently, he is the head of the Gothenburg Kyokushin dojo in Sweden. [2]

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hideyuki Ashihara</span> Japanese karateka

Hideyuki Ashihara was a Japanese master of karate who founded Ashihara karate in 1980 with the emphasis on Sabaki. He is often attributed as one of the originators of the tai sabaki method. He was known for his weapon skills including shuriken and tonfa.

Katsuaki Satō is the founder and director of Satojuku Karate, also known as Odo karate. The Satojuku honbu (headquarters) is located in Tachikawa, Japan.

Miyuki Miura is a prominent Japanese master of karate, first practising Shotokan, then Kyokushin, then World Ōyama, and now operating independently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Arneil</span> Martial artist (1934–2021)

Steve Arneil was a South African-British master of Kyokushin karate. He learned directly from Masutatsu Oyama and was a senior instructor in Oyama's International Karate Organization (IKO) until 1991, when he resigned from the IKO. Arneil was the founder and President of the International Federation of Karate (IFK), held the rank of 10th dan, and held the title Hanshi. He and his wife settled in the United Kingdom in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mas Oyama</span> Zainichi Korean karateka (1923–1994)

Masutatsu Ōyama, more commonly known as Mas Oyama, was a Zainichi Korean karate master who founded Kyokushin Karate, considered the first and most influential style of full contact karate.

The 100-man kumite is an extreme test of physical and mental endurance in Kyokushin karate. Kumite is a form of sparring, one of the three main sections of karate training, and involves simulated combat against an opponent. The 100-man kumite consists of 100 rounds of kumite, each between one-and-a-half and two minutes in length. Normally, the karate practitioner undergoing the test will have to face similarly or higher-ranked opponents, and may face the same opponent more than once in the course of the test. Each opponent faced will be fresh and not fatigued or injured. Each of the rounds are done under test conditions, where either of the fighters are allowed to deliver knock out blows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loek Hollander</span> Dutch martial artist (1938–2020)

Loek Hollander was a prominent Dutch karate practitioner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akira Masuda</span> Japanese karateka

Akira Masuda is a Japanese Kyokushin kaikan karateka. In March 1991 he completed the 100 man kumite supervised by Mas Oyama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shokei Matsui</span> Zainichi Korean MMA fighter (born 1963)

Shokei Matsui, also known by his Korean name of Moon Jang-gyu, is a South Korean martial artist in Japan. He is the master of Kyokushin karate and current Kancho (Director) of the International Karate Organization Kyokushin-kaikan, faction of the International Karate Organization (IKO) founded by Mas Oyama (1923–1994).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hajime Kazumi</span> Karate instructor

Hajime Kazumi (born December 14, 1971) is a Japanese karateka. Born in Kanagawa prefecture, Kazumi is a karate fighter who played an active part in the full-contact karate tournaments hosted by Kyokushinkaikan from the early 1990s to the early 2000s.

Terutomo Yamazaki is a Japanese karateka from the Kyokushin Kaikan (極真会館) and professional lightweight kickboxer. He is the founder of Gyakushin-Kai (逆真会館) and a Director of Karate in Japan. He presides over the International Budo Karate Organization Gyakushin-Kai from the headquarters of the organization (honbu) in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama, Japan. His title as head of the Gyakushin-Kai organization is “Kancho”.

Edward 'Bobby' Lowe was a prominent Chinese American master of Kyokushin karate. He was the first uchi deshi of Masutatsu Oyama, founder of Kyokushin karate, and established the first Kyokushin school outside Japan. Lowe held the title of shihan and was the Senior Instructor and an International Committee Chairman of the International Karate Organization founded by Oyama.

Chong Seh Jam a.k.a Peter Chong, PBM is the pioneer of Kyokushin karate in Singapore and a former Assistant Superintendent of Police in the Volunteer Special Constabulary (VSC) of Singapore.

Yoshiji Soeno is a Japanese karateka and a retired professional welterweight kickboxer.

Hatsuo Royama also known by his Korean name of Noh Cho Woong is a master of Kyokushin Karate and was current Kancho (Director) of the Kyokushin-kan International Organization Honbu, one faction of the International Karate Organization (IKO) founded by Mas Oyama (1923–1994) until April 2022.

Shigeru Oyama was a karate practitioner and instructor who operated a dojo in New York for half a century. He taught Kyokushin karate for many years before forming his own organization World Oyama Karate in 1985. He was hand-picked by Mas Oyama, karate master and founder of Kyokushin karate, to spread his contact style of karate in the United States and was sent to New York City to teach in 1966. S. Oyama is acknowledged as one of the first Kyokushin stylists to successfully complete the 100-man kumite. Oyama has taught many students, including Willie Williams and Frank Clark. Of the many Japanese Kyokushin karateka who sought training under S. Oyama, Joko Ninomiya chose to stay in America to also teach, and he became branch chief for Kyokushin in Denver, CO in 1976.

World Karate Championship in Weight Categories is the second largest competition in Kyokushin Karate. This tournament is arranged by several kyokushin organisations and usually held every fourth year in between World Tournaments which do not have any weight classes.

Seiji Isobe is Japanese Karate instructor residing in Brazil. He is a member of the IKO1 's international committee and is the General Manager of the South American Regional Federation. He holds a rank of 8th Dan Black in Kyokushin Karate.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Shihan Howard Collins: Kyokushin Karate Archived 2014-02-18 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 4 March 2010.
  2. 1 2 Göteborgs Karate Kai: Shihan Collins Archived 2010-03-30 at the Wayback Machine (in Swedish) Retrieved on 10 March 2010.
  3. ↑ Keaveney, L. (2009): Sosai Masutatsu Oyama 1923–1994 Archived 13 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 19 March 2010.
  4. 1 2 Kyokushin Karate Scotland: History – 100 Man Kumite (2010). Retrieved on 12 March 2010.
  5. ↑ Yussof, S. (2005): 100 Man Kumite Retrieved on 12 March 2010.
  6. ↑ Anonymous (1973): "Top ten Japanese Karatemen." Black Belt, 11(11):36–39.
  7. ↑ Bufton, G. (c. 2008): Shihan Gary Bufton Archived 8 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 18 March 2010.
  8. ↑ Adams, A. (1976): "Only the strong survived." Black Belt, 14(6):51–54, 75.
  9. ↑ European Karate Organisation Kyokushinkai-kan: Sosai Masutatsu Oyama World Tournaments Archived 2010-03-25 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 19 March 2010.
  10. ↑ Kyokushin Bulgaria: History of Kyokushin in Bulgaria Archived 13 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (2009). Retrieved on 19 March 2010.
  11. ↑ Collins, H. (1995): The Absolute Karate: Applications of Kyokushin. Härryda: Howard Collins. ( ISBN   978-9-1630-3486-2)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.