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.
Wadō-ryū (和道流) is one of the four major karate styles and was founded by Hironori Otsuka (1892-1982). The style itself places emphasis on not only striking, but tai sabaki, joint locks and throws. It has its origins within Tomari-te karate, but was also influenced by Shito-Ryu and Shotokan; however, its main influence comes from JuJitsu, which explains the emphasis on concepts such as tai sabaki, noru and nagashi sabaki.
Shitō-ryū (糸東流) is a form of karate that was founded in 1934 by Kenwa Mabuni. A synthesis of various different Okinawan schools of martial arts, the Shitō-ryū is primarily practiced in Osaka. Due to both controversies in Kenwa Mabuni's line of succession and Mabuni's extensive efforts to popularize the martial art form in Japan, there exist many successor karate schools that claim Shitō-ryū as an influence.
Takushoku University is a private university in Japan. It was founded in 1900 by Duke Taro Katsura (1848–1913). It is in Tokyo and has two campuses: the main campus in the Bunkyō district and a satellite campus in Hachiōji city. Takushoku University has five faculties: Commerce, Political Science and Economics, Foreign Languages, International Studies, and Engineering.
Hironori Ōtsuka was a Japanese master of karate who created the Wadō-ryū style of karate. He was the first Grand Master of Wadō-ryū karate, and received high awards within Japan for his contributions to karate.
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.
Steve Arneil was a prominent 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 holds the title Hanshi. He and his wife settled in the United Kingdom in 1965.
David 'Ticky' Donovan OBE is a British karate competitor and coach. He was the coach and manager of both the British and English national karate teams, from 1977 until he retired from that role in 2008. During his tenure as coach, Britain won numerous European and World championship team gold medals. It was for his achievements as a coach that he was awarded the O.B.E. in 1991. Ticky Donovan currently holds a 10th Dan black belt. He is based in Loughton, Essex.
The Japan Karate Federation (JKF), a.k.a. Japan Karatedo Federation, is a national governing body of sport karate in Japan. The JKF is officially affiliated with the Japan Olympic Association (JOC), World Karate Federation (WKF), Japan Sports Association (JSA) and Japanese Budō Association (JBA). The styles recognized by the JKF are Wadō-ryū, Shotokan, Shito-ryu and Goju-ryu. The headquarters is located in Tokyo, Japan.
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.
Chōshin Chibana was an Okinawan martial artist who developed Shorin-ryū karate based on what he had learned from Ankō Itosu. He was the last of the pre-World War karate masters, also called the "Last Warrior of Shuri" He was the first to establish a Japanese ryu name for an Okinawan karate style, calling Itosu's karate "Shorin-Ryu" in 1928.
Taiji Kase was a Japanese master of Shotokan karate who was one of the earliest masters responsible for introducing this martial art into Europe. He taught his style of karate, Shotokan Ryu Kase Ha, in France from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. In his later years, he travelled across the world teaching karate, but Paris remained his home. Kase held the rank of 9th dan in karate.
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.
Dave Kershaw is a Shotokan karateka from Grimsby, Lincolnshire. He was an international competitor, representing Great Britain at European and World Championships between 1982 and 1998, and was British Kata Champion for a record six consecutive years, from 1987 to 1992. He was a senior SKI (GB) Instructor and Examiner up until 2011, when he formed his own organisation: Konjaku Shin International.
Malcolm Phipps is an English martial artist. He is an 9th Dan Hanshi in Shotokan Karate and is the chief instructor internationally to Seishinkai Shotokan Karate International (SSKI). He started training in karate in the early seventies with a local JKA club, then with Shotokan Karate International (SKI) with Hirokazu Kanazawa. He then moved on to the Amateur Shotokan Karate Association (ASKA), eventually leaving to form his own association, Seishinkai Shotokan Karate, in 1984 and finally turning international in 1995 to the group as it is today, SSKI, with clubs in England, the US, Kazakhstan and India. He was an advisory board member of the World Traditional Karate Organisation from 2003–2013.
Juan Eduardo Castro dos Santos, also known by the nickname of Kensei (拳生), is an Uruguayan karate grandmaster and Sōke ("Founder") of the style Okinawa-ken Ryū. He was a student, among others, of Georges London, Michihisa Itaya, Sulakshna-Bai, Jintatsu Higa, Seigi Nakamura and Shōshin Nagamine. He also practices Shodō and Sumi-e.
