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JUDO The first known meeting of Kodokan judo and any American occurred in 1879, when President U.S
Grant was in Japan on a state visit and observed a demonstration of judo techniques by 19-year-old Jigoro Kano. The official
date given for the start of kodokan judo is 1882, and most likely Kano did not explain his Kodokan Judo then but may have
lectured on his study of jujutsu. In any case, President Grant was exposed to the judo master at a very fertile and productive
period in pre-Kodokan judo's history.
The next contact came in 1889, when Kano lectured on the educational values
of judo before a group of foreign dignitaries. There were several Americans present but this contact had no discernible result.
The first American to study seriously at the Kodokan was Prof. Ladd from Yale University. Ladd came to the Kodokan
sometime during 1889, ten years after Kano's demonstration for President Grant. Ladd studied nage (throwing), katame (mat
work), atemi-waza (striking techniques), and koshiki-no-kata (self-defense forms). By 1908, the Kodokan had a total of 13
American members studying in Japan. During 1919 Prof. John Dewey of Columbia University went to the Kodokan to observe a demonstration.
Dewey discussed Kodokan judo with Kano and may have been instrumental in the beginning of a pioneering judo program at Columbia
University.
Yoshiaki Yamashita, then 6th dan, was the first person to teach judo in the U.S. He arrived in 1902 at
the invitation of Mr. Graham Hill, director of the Great Northern Railroad. Hill contacted a Mr. Fujiya, who contacted Mr.
Shibata, who was a student of Prof. Yamashita, concerning Yamashita's coming to the U.S. to teach his children judo. After
Yamashita arrived, the Hill family decided that judo was much too dangerous for their children.
Mr. Hill arranged
for judo demonstrations in New York and Chicago. Healso tried to arrange for Harvard University to hire Yamashita as a judo
teacher.
At the same time, Sen. Lee's wife and Mrs. Wadsworth started taking judo lessons from Yamashita. They had
the sixth floor of a building covered with tatami mats. The women mostly practiced nage-no-kata. These few women started the
first judo class in the country. A men's judo group made up from various embassies in the area appeared. Thus judo traveled
in prominent circles in its embryonic stage in America.
For lack of wider participation this judo mission died out
with Yamashita's return to Japan in 1907. Mrs. Wadsworth was a fine horsewoman and went to the same country club as did President
Theodore Roosevelt. She mentioned to the president that Yamashita was teaching judo and that Roosevelt might be interested
in the art. Yamashita was subsequently invited to Washington to give a demonstration at the White House. There was a contest
with a wrestler by the name of John Graft, who was the coach at the U.S. Naval Academy and who was teaching President Roosevelt
wrestling. Although Yamashita threw him time after time, Graft continued to get up. Finally, Yamashita decided that he would
do mat work with Graft, since there seemed to be no end to the match. In the mat work, Yamashita got an arm lock on Graft,
but the wrestler would not give up. Yamashita kept up the pressure until Graft groaned as his arm came close to breaking.
President Roosevelt was impressed and took judo lessons. After leaving office, he kept mats in his home. Roosevelt studied
judo for about a year, earning a brown belt in the process. Through the help of the president, Yamashita taught judo at the
Naval academy. In 1935, Yamashita was promoted to 10th dan, the first person to hold that rank. He died later that year.
Pacific
Northwest In 1903, one year after Yamashita's arrival in America, Shumeshiro Tomita journeyed to the U.S. He was the first
person to sign the rolls of the Kodokan; he was instrumental in establishing judo in the U.S. as well as in Japan. Tomita
stayed in the U.S. for seven years and taught judo at Princeton and Columbia Universities. After the arrival of Tomita and
Yamashita, many judo instructors came to America. Among the very first were Miada Kousen, Sataki Nobushitam, and Ito Takugoro.
Judo in the U.S. f irst flourished on the West Coast because of its large Japanese population.
Judo in the Pacific
Northwest dates back to the beginning of the century, when judo was practiced in small, scattered clubs. The first dojo was
opened in the Seattle area by a judoka named Kano in 1903, but this club closed after only a few months. Prof. Takugoro Ito,
then 4th dan, arrived in America in 1907 and opened the Seattle Dojo.
Ito, like many other early judoka, was a wrestler.
He held challenge matches, in which he was unbeatable. After several years he left the Seattle area, traveling to South America.
Eisei Media, Akitoro Ono, Satake, and Matsuura traveled with him, touring South America as professional wrestlers, and returned
to San Francisco in 1914. (Eisei Media stayed in Brazil and the Brazillian government gave him a quarter-million acres near
the Amazon for his wrestling feats.)
In the 1920s, there were two dojos in the state of Washington, the Seattle Dojo
and the Tacoma Dojo, operated mainly by yudansha of the respective communities, businessmen, farmers, and laborers. Yoshida
sensei of Tacoma, then 3rd dan, was the best judo player. He was employed as a laborer in a sawmill. The other black belts
were 1st and 2nd dans. Factions within the Seattle Dojo had difficulty working together. It is not known what the exact problem
was but, around 1930, some members of the Seattle Dojo withdrew and formed their own Tentokukan Dojo. Each club hired teachers
from Japan. Among the Seattle Dojo's teachers in the 1920s and early 1930s were senseis: Miyazawa, Shibata, Kaimon Kudo, and
Suzuki.
Before World War II, three main styles of judo were prominent in North America. The Budokan style and the
Kodokan style predominated in the U.S. In Canada the Kito-ryu was strong, especially in Vancouver, B.C. The Seattle Judo Black
Belt Association was organized around 1935 by Kumagai and Sakata senseis, tending to unite the two rival American factions.
The two instructors were also responsible for organizing the bi-annual 24-man team contests with the Nanka (southern California)
team. Southern California and the Northwest had the strongest judo groups at that time.
After World War II, the Tentokukan
Dojo was not re-activated because the former membership was spread around the country. This closed out a pioneering judo effort
on the West Coast. The Seattle Dojo owned their building and were able to continue with practice after the war.
The
Washington team competed against the Vancouver B.C. team annually, against sailors from the visiting Japanese training ships,
and occasionally with college teams from Japan. Eventually, nisei yudansha were hired when dojos were opened in Spokane, Yakima
Valley, Eatonville, and cities in Oregon and Idaho. In the late 1930s, some dojos existed in the state of Washington, and
each sponsored an annual tournament.
Judo in the Tacoma, Washington, area was started by Prof. Iwakiri, who was born
in Japan, and who came here in 1912. Iwakiri exhibited such skill that he received his 1st dan from Prof. Kano at the age
of 13. The Fife-Tacoma Dojo was originally formed as the St. Regis Dojo and was located in the St. Regis lumberyard sawdust
pit. (The dojo was later moved from the lumberyard to the corner of 17th and Market Streets). Prof. Kano made two trips to
the Fife-Tacoma dojo, in 1932 and 1938, in recognition of its outstanding achievements. In 1932 he presented the dojo a scroll
and in 1938 another was given to the yudanshakai. In the 1938 scroll Kano wrote "return to the source," and the ambiguity
of his phrase still causes debate. Most opinion holds that the statement refers to Zen training.
Rev. Yukawa was the
first yudanshakai president and served the Fife-Tacoma, Washington area from 1924 to 1925. After Rev. Yukawa, Prof. Iwakiri
served as president from 1940 to 1958.
Before World War II, there were six dojos in the state of Oregon: Shudo-Kan
Dojo, Obukan Dojo, Salem Judo Club, Milwaukee Dojo, G. T. Dojo, and the Shobukan Dojo. The Shobukan Dojo was the first, and
was organized under Mits Nikata, then a 2nd dan. Prof. Kano visited the Portland area in 1932; during this visit he took the
occasion to rename the Portland Dojo the Obukan Dojo. Some of the pioneering judo specialists in the Portland area were Mr.
Nishizim ofthe Kito-ryu; Mr. Kobayashi of the Kito-ryu; Mr. Sakano Ichiro, 3rd dan from the Kodokan; Mr. Sazaki Ojiro,2nd
den from the Kodokan; and Mr. Tomori, 2nd dan from the Kokodan.
After World War II, Buddy Ikata gathered together
some of the people who knew judo and got the Portland -Obukan Dojo going again. The Obukan was re-established in 1952. Rev.
Homma, a Buddhist priest, started judo at the YMCA and the YWCA. The Guiki Dojo started practice again in the spring of 1953
under Mr. Kato and Mr. Hamado, both 2nd dans, and Rev. Homma and Nakata, 3rd dans. March 3,1960, was the 42nd anniversary
of the Obukan Dojo.
The Los Angeles Area The story of judo in southern California begins with Prof. Ito. Prof. Yamashita
and Tomita were his contemporaries in American judo, but of the three only Ito made a lasting contribution to the development
of American judo. Wherever Ito stayed, judo took hold and flourished. In 1915 he moved to Los Angeles and established the
Rafu Dojo on the first floor of the Yamato Hall, near Jackson and San Pedro Streets. When Prof. Ito returned to Japan after
seven years in Los Angeles, the Rafu Dojo continued under the management of Prof. Seigoro Murakami, Dr. Matsutaro Nittat and
Ryuii Tatsuno .ln July 1917, there were still only two dojos in southern California.
The Nanka Judo Yudanshakai was
organized in 1928. In 1930, the Kodokan Nanka Judo Yudanshakai was formed and Yasutaro Matsuura, then 4th dan, was elected
president. Still only eight dojos and fewer than twenty black belts existed in southern California.
The Kodokan Nanka
Judo Yudanshakai was reorganized at the direction of Prof. Jigoro Kano in 1932 while he was visiting the Los Angeles Olympic
Games. The yudanshakai was renamed once more, this time the Hokubei Judo Yudanshakai or Southern California Judo Black Belt
Association of North America; its presidency to devolve permanently upon the Los Angeles Consul General of Japan. A formal
organization of judo occurred as a result of Prof. Kano's visit, and four yudanshakais, or judo black belt associations, were
formed: Southern California, Northern California, Seattle, and Hawaii.
When World War II started in Dec. 1941, there
were twenty-six dojo in southern California, with 422 black belts and about 2,000 students. The black belts were distributed
in the following manner: 6th dan-2; 5th dan-5; 4th dan-6; 3rd dan-42; 2nd dan-101; 1st dan-264; and 2 honorary black belts.
During World War II, judo continued to flourish in relocation camps such as Manzanar, Heart Mountain, Post Gila River,
and Rule Lake. Although all other judo clubs ceased operations during the war years, Seinan Dojo kept its doors open. Jack
Sirgel, then a 2nd dan, the head instructor, visited the Manzanar Relocation Camp with his students to improve their judo
techniques, even though the war was at its peak.
San Diego As the last major port of entry for the Japanese on the
west coast of the U.S., the pacific southwest failed to develop the large judo communities characteristic of northern cities.
According to oral reports, the only judo club or judo activity in the San Diego area before World War II was begun
in 1925, and continued for several years, upstairs in the Taiikuki Hall on 6th and Market Streets. The first instructor, Mikinishake
Kawaushi, taught for several years; Mizuzaki Showa, 5th dan, taught for about one year before the organization ceased activities.
The only other organized martial arts activity in the San Diego area before World War II was a kendo society located in the
Buddhist temple at 29th and Market Streets. This organization ceased activities after outbreak of the war.
Judo activity
after World War II commenced in the San Diego area in April 1946 with the opening of classes in the city YMCA by Al C. Holtmann.
From 1946-54 much prejudice against the Japanese existed. The promotion of judo in the San Diego area proved difficult during
the early post-war years. In 1952, with hostility abating, the general public expressed an interest in Japanese goods, culture,
arts, and sports. The San Diego Judo Club joined the Nanka Judo Yudanshakai (Los Angeles) in 1954, at the invitation of Mr.
Kenneth Kuniyuki. Under Nanka's jurisdiction much assistance was given the San Diego area in the way of advice, promotions,
and technical help. An open invitation to all of Nanka's tournaments was extended also to the San Diego judoka. The Sanshi
Judo Club, located in Oceanside, in 1955, taught by Sachio Matsuhara, joined Nanka in 1955 In that year Benso Tsuji, now a
7th dan, became technical director for the San Diego Judo Club. As the highest graded black belt in the area, he brought his
technical knowledge to bear on the teaching and promoting of Judo in the community.
Western United States The earliest
record of judo being taught in the Denver area is that of Dr. T. Ito. Ito had learned his judo in Hawaii and was teaching
in the early 1930s. James Fukumitsu, who had studied judo in Japan, was in the area and teaching judo to put himself through
college from 1937-40. Some of the other early area judoka were Bill Ohikuma, Don Tanabe, and Nob Ito.
During World
War II, judo activity ceased in the area. In 1944, George Kuramoto left the Amachi Relocation Center and with Fred Okimoto
started judo classes in the local gymnasium, in the 20th Street Recreation Building, during 1950. During this time Toro Takematsu,
4th dan, had moved to the Denver area and notice an announcement in the Japanese community paper. Takematsu introduced himself
to George Kuramoto and Fred Okimoto. Together, they purchased straw mats and started the original Denver Dojo, located between
19th and 20th Streets and Lawrence, the heart of the Japanese community. As the dojo developed, a larger building was rented
and renovated.
Hawaii During the era of Japanese immigration to Hawaii, in the late 1800s and the early 1900s, many
Japanese immigrants trained in the art of Kodokan judo arrived. The first judo club in Hawaii, the Shunyo-Kan, was formed
on March 17,1909, by Shigemi Teshima and Naomatsu Kaneshige. Consul-General Isami Shishido, 7th dan, joined the club in 1919
and served as chairman of the club's board of directors for many years.
The Shobu Kan judo club was founded by Yajiro
Kitayama, Nakajiro Mino, and others. Its first dojo site was the basement of the Ono Bakery on Beretania Street, followed
by several locations in Honolulu, until it was moved to its present location on Kunawai Lane in the Liliha area.
Other
clubs were subsequently established, and in 1929, three of the major judo clubs, Shunyo Kan, Shobu Kan, and Hawaii Chuugakko
(junior high school) initiated an effort to organize judo in the territory of Hawaii. The organization hoped to demonstrate
a united effort to the community and to be recognized as an instrument through which the social and cultural significance
of this martial art would be transmitted and perpetuated. Organized judo grew rapidly under the supervision of this body,
the Hawaii Judo Kyokai. In 1925, the Kodokan issued the first certificates for black belts to judoka in Hawaii. In 1927, a
judo seminar was conducted by a visiting Waseda University judo group, headed by Mr. Makino, 6th dan. By 1932, the Hawaii
Judo Association had several active clubs, and received official recognition from Prof. Kano during one of his stopovers in
Honolulu. The certificate of recognition, #76, issued by the Kodokan Judo Institute on November 15,1932, was the first such
authorization granted to a yudanshakai outside of Japan.
During 1954, the Judo Black Belt Federation started to establish
local chapters, or yudanshakais. The Rocky Mountain Regional Black Belt Association was recognized as the local governing
body.
Intermountain Area The first, post-war judo club in the Salt Lake area was formed in 1950 by Frank Nishimura
and George Akimoto. Hot Springs, Utah, had a judo club that was started in 1954 by Mr. Mimya and Mr. Okawa, both 1st dans.
Their club was active for about three years. In 1955, Mr. lchi Isogi started judo in Corinne, Utah. It was later started up
again under Mr. Yamasaki. In Ogden, Utah, judo was started in 1956 through the efforts of Mr. Masaichiro Manomoto, 4th, Ted
Sakawa, 1st, Tom Kimomoto, 1st dan, and Mr. Yonetani, 1st dan.
Frank Oryu, an old pioneer in the area, started the
first Oregon dojo. An older 4th dan by the name of Muramoto, who also worked for Oryu, helped Oryu organize judo in 1949 and
the Ontario Dojo was founded in 1950. The Ontario Dojo had a membership of about twenty black belts.
According to
a report from Mas Yamashita, judo in the Caldwell-Boise Valley area started about two years after judo in Ontario, Oregon.
Judo experienced a strong growth and was doing well when the first tournament was held in 1952.
Judo in Omaha began
during the mid-1950s. Mike Meriweather taught at the YMCA and Dr. Ashida (at 22 one of the youngest 5th-degree black belts)
taught at the University in Lincoln. Also, a number of black belts practiced judo at Offutt Air Force Base. Among the better
known military judoka were Sgt. Mann, Augie Hauso, Phil Porter, Carl Flood, and La Verne Raab. The military people did not
get involved in civilian judo until about 1958. Around 1960, Darrell Darling, Phil Porter, Paul Own, Wally Barber, who was
director of the local YMCA, and Mike Manly met at Dr. Ashida's house and decided to form a yudanshakai.They framed a constitution
and made contacts with the yudanshakai officers in Chicago and Denver to implement the project. In 1961 the yudanshakai, which
covered the greater part of six states, was formed. The first president of the Midwest Judo Association was Dr. Ashida. The
second was La Verne Raab. The third, Ike Wakadayashi, had a strong judo program established at Kansas University. The fourth
president was Dr. Loren Braught. The fifth and sixth presidents were Bill Stites and Darrell Darling respectively.
The
first commercial judo school, the Omaha Judo Academy, was opened by La Verne Raab and Carl Flood after they left the military.
Mel Bruno, who later became head of judo for SAC, taught judo at the Omaha YWCA and at the Omaha Athletic Club.
Chicago
Judo first arrived in the Chicago area in Sept. 1903, when Mr. Graham Hill arranged for a judo demonstration by Prof. Yamashita
in the cities of New York and Chicago. According to Prof. Kotani, in 1916, Heita Okabe, 4th dan; Toshitaka Yamauchi, 4th dan;
and Ken Kawabara, 4th dan were teaching judo while studying at the University of Chicago; this would be the earliest organized
judo activity in the midwest.
Mr. Harry Auspitz incorporated the first judo club in the Chicago area in 1938,the JiuJitsu
Institute. Prior to 1939, judo was practiced sporadically by members of the Japanese Consulate and other interested individuals.
The JuJitsu lnstitute became the first Kodokan Judo Club in Chicago, Whie Auspitz opened the dojo, the first instructor was
Ralph Mori, who eventually opened his own judo club in 1941. Mori named his dojo the International Judo Club. Mr. Shozo Kuwashima
came from New York in 1939 to teach at the institute; he later opened his own dojo. Also in 1941, Mr. Yasushi Tomonari came
from New York to teach at the institute. During May of that year, Mr. Masato Tamura, then a 4th dan, came to Chicago from
Fife, Washington, and also taught at the institute. With the illness of Mr. Auspitz in 1944, Mr. Tamura became the owner of
the Jiu Jitsu Institute.
The Chicago Judo Club was founded by Shozo Kuwashima in 1941. When Kuwashima moved to the
West Coast, the Chicago Judo Club was taken over by John Osako and Ruth Gardner.
After World WarII, judo in Chicago
received numbers of Japanese who were relocating in the midwest section of the country. Vince Tamura came to Chicago and helped
out at the Jiu Jitsu Institute. In 1944, Mr. Yoshitaro Sakai moved to the area, and Hiro Iwamoto arrived in 1945 as the relocation
camps closed. Hank Okamura relocated close to the Lawson YMCA in 1946 and joined the "Y." Okamura, wrestling at the YMCA,
met Kenji Okimoto; and the two men, who discovered they were both judoka, began to practice together. From this start, judo
remained at Lawson YMCA for the next twenty years.
The Chicago Judo Black Belt Association was formed during 1947
and a charter was received directly from the Kodokan. (As a recognized judo organization the yudanshakai could promote up
to 3rd-degree black belt.) At that time the Chicago Judo Black Belt Association covered the states of Wisconsin, Missouri,
Minnesota, Ohio, Indiana, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Michigan. The first constitution for Chicago, a rather informal document,
stated that John Osako would be president of the association, and the vice-president would be Mas Tamura. There was not much
more to the constitution than that. The charter members of the Chicago Judo Black Belt Association were Masato Tamura, Hank
Okamura, Hik Nagao,Yosh Sakai, Carl Shojii, Carl Kalaskai, Jack Ohashi, and Tom Watanabe.
In 1949, MasatoTannura became
the president of the yudanshakai and remained in that office for the next fourteen years. During the late 1940s the Oak Park
YMCA started under Bob Matsuoka. Some noted members of the Chicago Judo Club were Hik Nagao, Tom Watenabe, Jim Beres. John
Osako, and Art Broadbent. At the Lawson YMCA were the Benson brothers, the Fletcher brothers, Hank Okamura, and Kenji Okamoto.
The Jiu Jitsu Institute had Masato Tamura, Vince Tamura, Bob Belhatchet , Frnak Leszczynski , Bill Burk. Bill Berndt, and
Bill Kaufman. During these years, any team that represented the U.S. was mostly made up of people from the Chicago Judo Black
Belt Association. Chicago sent teams to the first two Pan-American Judo Tournaments and one of the two American representatives
to the 1st World Tournament in Japan.
Judo was intensively promoted in Chicago during the 1950s. There were a number
of self-defense demonstrations conducted for television shows. Tournaments became regular events with the Lawson YMCA providing
a central location.
Konan, or Detroit, was encouraged to break away, about 1952. This change relieved Chicago of the
responsibility for all of Michigan and some midwestern areas. Milwaukee, Wis.. and St. Louis, Mo. were starting to develop
judo groups during this time, but, unlike Chicago, these two areas did not have strong Japanese judo players to get the sport
going and give guidance to its development.
With the start of the 1950s, judo in Chicago began to develop into a citywide
sport as new dojos were opened. Bill Kaufman was discharged from the service in 1952 and came back from Japan as a 2nd-degree
black belt. Kaufman worked out at the Jiu Jitsu Institute and started his own club at the Hyde Park YMCA. Later he taught
at the University of Chicago. Mr. Hikaru Nagao was teaching judo at the Illinois Institute of Technology. In time, these two
clubs combined to form the Uptown Dojo.
In the early 1950s, some students from the original dojos began teaching at
various locations around the city, and the Oak Park YMCA was developing a good judo group also. Indiana at this time had a
judo community developing under the guidance of Mr. Bill Craig. In local tournaments there would be as many as 80 brown belts
competing at one time. National registration was adopted during this period and was run by the Chicago Yudanshakai for a few
years. In the late 1950s, Chicago had 2,800 registered members.
In 1954, Vince Tamura represented the Chicago Yudanshakai
and the U.S. in the 1st World Tournament. There were no weight divisions in early world competitions, so the matches were
rough. Tamura lasted until the semi-finals, defeating heavier and higher ranking people. His only loss was to a future world
champion.
Texas In 1957 the Second Air Force held its championship tournament in Austin. Tex., and invited Roy H.
Moore to officiate the tournament. Pop decided to stay, and, with the help of Col. Walthrop, Beverly Sheffieid, from the Austin
Recreation Department. and a young competitor, Jerry Reid, from Bergstrom Air Force Base. the Austin Judo Club opened its
doors.
With the addition of members such as Bill Nagase and Sam Numahiri in Fort Worth, Karl Geis and Rick Landers
in Houston, and Rick Mertens in Shreveport, the Southwestern U.S. Judo Association came into being. The association annexed
small areas out of several yudanshakais and covered the states of Texas, Louisiana, Arakansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. In
1959 the Southwestern U.S. Championships were held in Austin, Tex.. with over 300 competitors attending. In the late 1950s
Bill Nagase and Gail Stolzenburg competed in the National AAU Senior Judo Championships.
The sport continued to grow
and attracted several talented instructors to Texas-Ace Sukigara, 3rd dan. to Longview, and Vince Tamura, Th dan, to Dallas.
In 1961 the Southwestern U.S. Judo Yudanshakai became the Texas Judo Black Belt Association, and in 1962 the Texas Yudanshakai
was approved by the Judo Black Belt Federation as a regional association. The first officers included John Ebell. Rick Landers,
Gail Stolzenburg. Karl Geis, and Vince Tamura.
In 1964 the National Collegiate Championships were held in El Paso
with Texans Ace Sukigara. John Rowlett, Wes Maxwell. and Joe Rude among the winners. In 1971 Odessa Boys Club hosted the USJF
Junior National Championships with many trophies staying in Texas. In 1975 the High School National Championships were held
in Houston.
To keep all the clubs informed of the Judo activities in Texas and surrounding areas, the Texas Yudanshakai
has produced since 1963 a bi-monthly magazine entitled Texas Judo News.
Shufu Yudanshakai at one time had the largest
judo area in the U.S. Over the years. new, localized judo organizations grew out of the initial central organization.
James
Takemori. 5th dan, has served as rank registration chairman. secretary, and president of Shufu. He related the following information
concerning shufu's history:
In Washington before Shutu was organized there were only a handful of men in the area,
approximately ten yudansha. Among the black belts present were Kenzo Uyeno, Eich' Koiwai, M.D., Nonkey Ishiyama,Donn Draeger,
Bili Berndt, Lanny Miyamoto, and Masauki Hashimoto Mr. Hashimoto became
Shufu's first president.
There were five
yudanshakais prior to the formation of Shufu The earlier five were in Chicago, Seattle, Hawaii, Hokka, and Nanka. Donn Draeger
was an early advocate of a yudanshakai on the East Coast. His efforts resulted in the first meeting of the forming yudanshakai,
in the spring of 1953. There were some differences of opinion regarding a name for the new organization Some felt it should
be called, using Japanese terminology, East Coast. while others felt the Japanese for Capitol was more appropriate The name
Capitol finally won, thus Shufu Yudanshakai The early officers of Shutu were: Mr. Hashimoto, president: Kenzo Uyeno, vice-president;
Lanny Miyamoto. secretary -treasurer; and Donn Draeger. chairman of the board of examiners.
Shufu eventually stretched
from Maine to Florida, including the Panama Canal Zone. Those seeking examination or further study might have had to travel
two days for such an activity Takemori and Uyeno traveled a great deal during that early period: to North Carolina twice a
year for promotional tournaments; to New England twice yearly; and for Dixie states twice yearly. Early applicants for examinations
were not very knowledgeable about judo. Many of those tested had learned judo from a book, owing to the small number of instructors
on the East Coast. The candidates usually failed to pass the examinations on their first attempt The exams were designed to
develop instructors, which the large area desperately needed. Terminology was very highly stressed.
Shufu, unlike
many of the other yudanshakais, did not have a large indigenous Japanese population from which to form the basis of the organization.
Many of the judo people came from the military Often. men recently home from military service overseas. would return to the
U S. from Japan as 1st- or 2nd-degree black belts
Among the instructors in the area were Dr. Koiwai. teaching in Philadelphia
at a YMCA; Lanny Miyamoto in Baltimore; Ken Freeman and George Uchida in New York; and James Takemore, Bill Berndt. Kenzo
Uyeno. and Donn Draeger in Washington There was considerable practice of Judo at military bases as well. especially at Ft.
Benning and at Ft. Braggi in 1957, the Washington Judo club. earlier named the Pentagon Judo Club, established a dojo outside
of the Pentagon.
The level of judo awareness and numbers of practicing judokas in the various areas of Shutu increased.
It soon became practical for more localized judo organizations to exist. The first to develop a base sufficient to run its
own affairs was the Florida area. Next. New England formed its own yudanshakai. followed by the Dixie States, and Allegheny
Mountain. As long as the local judo population has sufficient numbers and knowledge to administer judo in its area, the more
efficient service of a local yudanshakai is preferred This concept has motivated the splitting of areas from Shufu's original
territory.
Intercollegiate Judo The first record of any U.S. collegiate judo participation was in the early 1930s
when Henry Stone. a young coach at the University of California, Berkeley sent a few students to participate in some tournaments
held in San Francisco.
in 1937 Emillo Bruno, a student. introduced judo as a sport to the physical education department
at San Jose State College: later the judo program was taken over by another student, Yosh Uchida Mr Uchida took the first
group of college judo competitors from San Jose to Southern California to participate in a yudanshakai tournament. the beginning
of sectional tournaments.
World War II interrupted all collegiate judo. In 1946. Yosh Uchida returned to college and
helped revive the judo program at San Jose State.Many of the students, who were World War I I veterans, had been taught strictly
self-defense in the service. Because fine technique was lacking among the judo participants, great force was used on opponents
and small competitors were easily injured.
In 1948 Henry Stone devised a weight system that he hoped would aid the
growth and development of judo. For several years, the weight system was experimented with at San Jose State in the physical
education classes and proved worthwhile. The original weight divisions were: 130, 150, 180 lbs, and unlimited. These weight
divisions were adopted by the AAU, but have since been revised several times in an effort to keep up with changes in body
size. The weight divisions adopted by the Olympic Judo Committee, and used in the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964, were 156,176,
heavyweight, and open.
Most of the early college judo participation and development was earned out on the west coast
at San Jose and U.C. Berkeley. Dual meets between the two schools were initiated in the early 1950s. In 1953, the first collegiate
judo championships were held at U.C. Berkeley, called the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Judo Championships. Also in 1953,
the first National AAU Judo Championships were held at San Jose State. Lyle Hunt, a San Jose State senior, was the first grand
champion of the National AAU Championships. Later in 1953, as a college student, Lyle represented the U.S. in several tournaments
in Europe, along with John Osoko from Chicago. Yosh Uchida, from San Jose State, was coach. This was the first U.S. representation
abroad in the sport. Judo was recognized as in intercollegiate sport at San Jose in 1954, but the growth of judo was definitely
hampered over the years by a general lack of understanding and knowledge of the sport by athletic directors and physical education
department chairmen, who have been traditionally reluctant to accept new minor sports.
In 1955 San Jose State hosted
the first International All-Star Collegiate competitors. Haruo Imamura, who won the U.S. National AAU Grand Championship in
1960, was a member of that team. The tournament was the first all-college judo participation on an international scale between
two countries, although sometime during the mid-1930s, a team from Keio University had participated in a yudanshakai tournament
in southern California.
Henry Stone, the great leader of judo, passed away suddenly in 1955 and judo floundered on
the university level. A long-smouldering feud between the NCAA and the AAU flared up in 1960, and it became impossible for
college teams to compete in AAU -sanctioned tournaments. On May 12,1962 college leaders met and organized the National Collegiate
Judo Association. In 1962 the first National Collegiate Judo Championships were held at the U.S. Air Force Academy, San Jose
State, U.C. Berkeley, University of Minnesota, Mankato State College, and the Eastern Collegiate Judo Association. Since then
many National Collegiate Judo Championships have been held at various colleges and universities across the country.
In
1967, the National Collegiate Judo Association selected Howard Fish to represent the U.S. in the University Games held in
Tokyo. George Uchida, of U.C. Berkeley, was coach and manager. The only U.S. representative, Fish won a bronze medal in both
the heavyweight and open divisions. Because of Fish's outstanding performance, the NCJA was invited to send a team to Lisbon,
Portugal, in 1968. The U.S. sent Mike Ogata, Doug Graham, Roy Sukimoto, Gary Martin, and Yosh Uchida as coach. Doug Graham
won a silver medal in the 205 lb division, and Gary Martin was a silver medallist in the 154 lb division. These two U.S. collegiate
judoists lost only to collegiate competitors from Japan.
In 1972 the University Games were held in London. Team members
included David Long, John Reed, Tom Cullen, Louis Gonzalez, Tom Masterson, and Tom Tigg. In Soo Hwang, from Yale University,
served as coach-manager. Tigg won the silver medal in the 139 lb division.
For all the University Game competition,
financial help was received from the USJF. Without this national governing body, U.S. judo would have had a far greater struggle;
and certainly, without its financial aid, competitors would never have been able to compete internationally. (YOSH UCHIDA)
The organized judo program in the U.S. Armed Forces began in the Air Force in 1950 when Gen. Curtis E. LeMay, the
commander-in-chief of the Strategic Air Command, USAF, directed the setting up of a model physical conditioning unit at Offutt
AFB, Neb. In 1951 similar conditioning units were set up at other SAC bases. Gen. LeMay appointed Emilio ("Mel") Bruno, a
former National AAU Wrestling Champion and Th-degree in judo, to direct the program. At this time, civilian judo instructors
staffed six SAC bases; the rest had physical conditioning units, but no judo instructors. In direct charge of the judo and
conditioning program for SAC was Gen. Thomas Power, later honorary chairman of the National AAU Judo Committee.
Because
of an obvious deficiency of instructors, Power sent two classes of airmen (24 men) to the Kodokan Institute in Tokyo in 1952
for several weeks training. This was the first such training for any Armed Forces group.
Air Force judo received added
impetus in 1953 when ten experts from Japan, six in judo, three in karate, and one in aikido, gave demonstrations at over
70 U.S. Air Force Bases over a three-month period. The purpose of this tour was to train judo instructors and combat crews
and to give exhibitions on and off base. Many civilian judo clubs had their first visit from high-ranking judo teachers as
a result of this tour. One of the highlights of the tour was a demonstration at the White House on July 22. The year 1953
was also marked by the first National AAU Judo tournament held at San Jose State College. A SAC team participated in these
first Nationals.
In 1954, the first SAC Judo Tournament was held at Offutt AFB the Grand Champion was Airman Morris
Curtis. Also in 1954, 26 SAC Air Police went to the Kodokan to study judo fourteen weeks. The curriculum consisted of police
tactics, aikido, karate and, of course, judo. Two SAC judoists advanced to the last few rounds in the 1954 AAU National Championships
at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco. The 12-man SAC team won 29 rounds and lost 19 but was unable to place a man. Staff Sgt. Ed
Maley, SAC, a member of the 1955 SAC Judo Team, placed in the 1955 AAU National championships-third in the 150-lb division.
The Air Research and Development Command, USAD (ARDC), also entered a team in 1955, after only a year of competition, and
A/1 C Vern Raab won an unofficial fourth place in the heavyweight division.
The year 1954 also brought a 10-man AAU-Air
Force team visit to six Japanese cities to compete in 16 contests. Five members of the team were Air Force, and the most successful
member of the team was to be heard from many times in the future. This man, Staff Sgt. George Harris, won all of his 16 contests.
Seventy men from SAC and ARDC journeyed to the Kodokan in 1955 for instruction. Under the guidance of Gen. Power,
who had taken over as ARDC Commander, the SAC-ARDC Judo Association was formed and received recognition from the Kodokan in
1956. Emilio Bruno was elected president, and the association was permitted to grant judo rank. This was the first and only
Armed Forces judo association to be so recognized by the Kodokan. SAC and ARDC sent 280 Air Policemen for four-week classes
at the Kodokan during 1956.
Again in 1956, the Air Force placed one man in the national AAU Judo Tournament at Seattle.
Returning from his successful Japanese tour, George Harris, then a 2nd dan, placed third in the heavyweight division.
In
1957, after only five years in judo, Staff Sgt. George Harris won the Grand Championship in the National AAU Judo Championships
in Hawaii. Harris was first in the heavyweight division; sweeping the division with him were A/1 C Lenwood Williams in second
place and A/2C Ed Mede, third. The Air Force also took the National 5-Man Team Championship for the first time.
Winners
of the SAC and ARDC tournaments represented the Air Force in the AAU tournaments on April 13 and 14 in Chicago. Twelve Air
Force judoists participated, with George Harris successfully defending his Grand Championship, and the Air Force team captured
the National 5-Man Team Championship for the second year in a row. Due to the great power of southern California in the lower
weight divisions, the Air Force was unable to win the overall team championship.
The SAC Judo Team, consisting of
L. Williams, E. Mede, G. Harris, J. Reid, R. Moxley, and M. O'Connor (trainer) was designated as the U.S. Pan-American Judo
Team in 1958. Team members won first and fourth in the 3rd dan category (Harris and Williams), third in the 2nd dan (Reid),
and second in the 1st dan (Mede). In the fall of 1958, George Harris and Ed Mede represented the U.S. in the 2nd World Tournament,
held in Tokyo. Harris's three wins before losing to Sone, a Japanese 5th degree, placed him in a tie for fifth place along
with the four other defeated quarter finalists. As a result of this fine record, George Harris was promoted to 4th degree
in judo, the first Armed Forces man to be so honored. (LT AGULLA GIBBS DEBRELL)
The Governance of U.S. Judo The development
of a national governing body for U.S. judo started in 1952, through the efforts of Dr. Henry A. Stone, Maj. Draeger, and others.
At that time there was no national authority to give guidance to local judo communities and insure the logical and orderly
development of judo as a sport. The Amateur Judo Association was a first attempt at establishing a national governing structure.
Dr. Stone served as the first president. Authority to grant the most coveted Kodokan judo rank was assumed by the national
organization. High ranking individuals were no longer permitted to grant promotions independently. The growth of local judo
organizations was encouraged, promotion privileges were granted to yudanshakais,
and a national communications avenue
was opened.
Until the early 1960s, judo in the U.S. had grown in a haphazard, somewhat informal fashion. Most leaders
tended to be purists, preferring the security and recognition offered by their local influence. Judo was structured strictly
on rank, and those without the proper credentials were considered outsiders. It was judo rank, that coveted mantle of recognition,
which for so many years retarded the formation of a strong, responsive national organization. As judo spread across the nation,
false claims to rank and promotions were commonplace, and the existing organization was powerless to take action. Those leaders
who had feared a national organization and popularization of judo in time became the strongest voices for change.
The
national organization was renamed the Judo Black Belt Federation. President Yosh Uchida (1960-61) delegated the task of laying
the groundwork for reorganization to Donald Pohl, a relatively unknown 1st dan from Detroit. Pohl, the executive secretary
of the Detroit Judo Club (then the nation's largest non-profit club), had effected a pilot program for a national rank system.
During the brief tenure of President Renyo Uyeno (before his untimely death at the age of 39 on June 1,1963), the
Judo Black Belt Federation launched a national rank registration procedure, which was coupled with a detailed rank identification
system. This was the basis for future financial stability of the organization. The Judo Black Belt Federation also adopted
a comprehensive constitution and by-laws, established a national communications system and published the Judo Bulletin.
Although
the early leaders of the Judo Black Belt Federation (then known as the Amateur Judo Association), had actively sought out
the Amateur Athletic Union and had been granted the right to represent U.S. judo on the international level, little attention
or significance was attached to this accommodation until early in the 1960s when amateurism and sanctions began to become
important. As the Judo Black Belt Federation expanded (18 yudanshakais in 1963) and tournaments were more widely attended,
the importance and presence of the AAU began to be noticed. The Judo Black Belt Federation and the Amateur Athletic Union
succeeded in maintaining an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual assistance during the remainder of the decade.
In
1963 the Judo Black Belt Federation joined the Amateur Athletic Union in producing the first of what were to be five joint
handbooks (two published by Phil Porter and three by Don Pohl). Sales of the books, mostly through the Federation, exceeded
100,000 copies. All proceeds were given to the Amateur Athletic Union Judo Committee to help finance its operation. When proceeds
from the sale of hand books failed to provide the necessary funding for the expanding program, the Judo Black Belt Federation
authorized grants in excess of $75,000 to the Amateur Athletic Union to help finance international competition and related
programs
In 1964 and 1966, Hiro Fujimoto of Detroit was elected president of the Federation and Dr. Eichi Kolwai of
Philadelphia, vice-president. Dr. Koiwai assumed the presidency at the 1968 election, holding office for several terms. During
the uncertain years of the 1960s the Federation changed its name to the U.S. Judo Federation, published a book of procedures,
rewrote the judo contest rules, adopted a comprehensive promotion procedure, drafted a new referees' certification procedure,
and expanded to 25 yudanshakais.
Judo soon grew to the third largest sport in the array of Amateur Athletic Union
activities. What were first considered minor contentions between the Union and the Federation soon grew to open disagreement
over philosophy, priorities, and control. Amateurism became a bone of contention. considered by many a stumbling block in
the way of development. Amateur Athletic Union advocates, on the other hand, questioned the unchallenged control of rank exercised
by the U.S. Judo Federation.
In 1969 the differences and positions that had been fought out at the meetings finally
culminated in one of the yudanshakais (the Armed Forces Judo Association) withdrawing from the U.S. Judo Federation to start
a rival national organization. The Armed Forces Judo Association adopted a name similar to that of the parent organization,
the U.S. Judo Association. The association closely aligned itself with the philosophy and position of the Amateur Athletic
Union. (DENNIS HELM)
KARATE Kung-fu arrived in the U.S. with the first Chinese immigrants in the mid-19th century,
but the growth of karate is largely owed to contact between American servicemen and Japanese experts during the post-World
War II occupation of Japan and Okinawa.
Kung-fu: the Forerunner of Karate Kung-fu was a part of the Chinese lifestyle
in the labo camps and mining towns that grew up following the gold rush of 1848. With the importation of large numbers of
Chinese laborers to work on the Central Pacific Railroad, beginning in 1863, the swelling Chinese communities isolated themselves
within their own, transplanted culture.
Conflicts over control of gambling, prostitution, and the like, arose; rival
secret societies fought each other in the notorious "Tong Wars," which lasted until the 1930s. The troops in these internecine
wars were "hatchetmen," so-called because they used meat cleavers and hatchets as weapons. They were skilled also in kung-fu,
in the art of "pin-blowing," and in hurling lethal, razor-edged coins. Hatchetmen in the U.S. handed down, from one generation
to the next, the secret and sinister practice of kung-fu, the forbearer of modern karate.
Until roughly two decades
after World War II, kung-fu was not available to non-Chinese on the U.S. mainland. The early Japanese and Okinawan communities
in the U.S. were isolated, introverted, and intensely secretive about their ethnic arts and crafts. Judo was the only exception:
Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo, encouraged its spread. According to martial arts scholar Donn F. Draeger, Kano asked that
" judo training be undertaken not only in the dojo but also outside it, and so make of its physical aspects the focus of human
endeavor for the progress and development of man." The other martial arts had no such original intention.
The first
club to practice kung-fu in organized classes with instructors from Chinese provinces was a branch of the Chinese Physical
Culture Association, founded in Honolulu in 1922. This association promoted physical culture among the Islands' Chinese communities,
but kung-fu remained unavailable to non-orientals until 1957, when Tlnn Chan Lee, at'ai-chi-ch'uan specialist, became the
first Chinese sifu to open his teaching to the general public.
In 1964 the closely-guarded doors of kung-fu finally
opened in the U.S. mainland. Ark Y.Wong of Los Angeles, born in China, broke the traditional kung-fu "color line" by accepting
students of all races at Wah Que Studio in Los Angeles's old Chinatown Also in 1964 the movie idol Bruce Lee and his one-time
partner, James Yimm Lee, began accepting non-Orientals at Lee's kwoon in Oakland, Calif. In fact, the notorious John Keehan,
a.k.a. "Count Dante," claimed to have trained there as early as 1962.
Teachers like New York's Alan Lee, Ark Y. Wong,
and T.Y. Wong popularized Shaolin. Choy-Li-Fut and t'ai-chi-ch'uan quickly became public and, soon after, the various branches
of northern and southern Shaolin kung-fu.
In northern California, sifus Kwong and Brendan Lai helped establish the
praying mantis system. Y.C. Wong promoted the hung gar and tiger crane systems; Kuo-Lien-Ying promoted t'ai-chi; George Long,
the white crane; and Lau Bun and the Luk Mo Studio, the Choy-Li-Fut. Noted scholar Wen-Shan Huang, with his protege Marshall
Ho, started the National T'ai-Chi-Ch'uan Association in the early 1960s, opening up instruction in this "soft style" of kung-fu
to Caucasians.
Throughout the U.S. kung-fu spread, especially during the Bruce Lee era, when so-called Eastern Westerns
dominated American and international movie screens. Even so, the majority of kung-fu styles and teachers still remain hidden.
Many of the first karate students were street fighters. Few of these rough types possessed, however, the discipline
necessary to remain with the art and learn it thoroughly. The small number who did found their original attitudes startlingly
transformed.
Today, karate classes are predominantly composed of business persons, professionals, skilled workers,
and students-a cross section of American society.
Karate Comes to Hawaii In Hawaii, a great cultural crossroads, karate
secured a foothold long before its emergence on the mainland. Although practiced within the Okinawan community, no wider audience
had seen karate in Hawaii until 1927, when Kentsu Yabu, a famous Okinawan master, introduced Shuri-te in a public demonstration
at the Nuuana YMCA in Honolulu.
A few "naichi" Japanese (i.e., Japanese from one of the four main islands of Hawaii)
who observed the YMCA demonstration adjudged karate a strong fighting art, possibly even stronger than their judo. Interest
in karate by non-Okinawans flourished thereafter. Yabu's open teachings also brought together interested groups of Okinawans
for practice and recreation, something the rivalries of llaha, Shuri, and Tomari had prevented on Okinawa.
In 1932
Choki Motobu, a legendary, eccentric Okinawan karate fighter, was denied entry to Hawaii when a group of Okinawan promoters
living in Hawaii tried to import him for a public match against well-known Island fighters. In 1933 Zuiho Mutsu and Kamesuke
Higaonna were allowed into Hawaii with the understanding that they would teach and lecture but not compete in the boxing ring.
Both refused to engage in public matches and prepared to depart immediately. Thomas Miyashiro, who had studied with Yabu in
1927, convinced other karate enthusiasts to approach the pair collectively and urge that they remain in Hawaii to teach their
art. They agreed and, after great initial success at the Asahi Photo Studio, the site of their original school, the two karate
masters chose a new facility for their classes, the Izumo Taishi Shinto Mission.
The club formed from these classes,
the Hawaii Karate Seinin Kai (Hawaii Young People's Karate Club), subsequently staged a public karate demonstration at the
Honolulu Civic Auditorium. A number of Caucasian spectators in attendance, mostly members of the First Methodist Church, became
interested in learning karate. Through their efforts, the first known Caucasian group in the Western world to study openly
and to sponsor karate activities was formed in 1933 Shortly thereafter, both Mutsu and Higaonna departed for Japan, where
they had been teaching previously.
In May 1934 Chinei Kinjo, editor of the Okinawan newspaper Yoen Fiho Sha, invited
grandmaster Cholun Miyagi, the founder of goju-ryu karate, to Hawaii. Miyagi lectured and taught to popularize Okinawan goju-ryu
karate-do, staying almost a year and returning to Okinawa in Feb. 1935.
The spread of kempo to the Islands is largely
owed to Dr. James Mitose, a Japanese-American born in Hawaii in 1916. At age five he was sent to Kyushu, Japan, for schooling
in his ancestral art of self-defense, called "kosho-ryu kempo," said to be based directly on Shaolin kung-fu. Mitose returned
to Hawaii in 1936. In 1942 he organized the Official Self-Defense Club at the Beretania Mission in Honolulu. This club continued
under his personal leadership until 1953, when it was assigned to Thomas Young, one of his chief students. Only five of his
students-Young, William K.S. Chow, Paul Yamaguchi, Arthur Keawe, and Edward Lowe-attained the rank of black belt. But the
kempo arts flourished in Hawaii and later on the west coast of the mainland, where three of Mitose's protégés formed clubs
of their own. In 1953, before going to the mainland, Mitose wrote What is Self-Defense, reprinted by his students in 1980.
Of Mitose's students, perhaps Chow played the most significant role in the evolution of the American martial arts.
Although he had learned kosho-ryu kempo under Mitose, Chow was the first to teach what he called kenpo (first law) karate.
From 1949 Chow trained a great number of students to the rank of blackbelt, including Adriano Emperado, Ralph Castro, Bobby
Lowe, John Leone, and Paul Pung. By far the most famous of Chow's students is Ed Parker, a leading pioneer in the American
karate movement.
Adriano "Sonny" Emperado was a co-founder in 1947 of the kajukenbo system, formed by five experts:
Walter Choo (karate), Joseph Holke (judo), Frank Ordonez (jujutsu), Emperado (kenpo), and Clarence Chang (Chinese boxing).
The name is an acronym derived from the five disciplines of its founders: ka from karate, ju from judo and jujutsu, ken from
kenpo, and bo from Chinese boxing. Today, this style is one of the most prominent in Hawaii. In 1950 Emperado founded Hawaii's
first and largest chain of karate schools, the Kajukenbo Self-Defense Institute, Inc., in which he still holds the office
of vice-president. Probably Emperado's most famous student is Al Dacascos, founder of the won hop kuen do system.
In
1954 Japan's colorful Mas Oyama visited Hawaii for a month to assist Bobby Lowe, a Chinese -American, in setting up the first
overseas branch of Oyama's kyokushinkai style.
Karate Emerges on the Mainland The first karate school on the U.S.
mainland was established by a former sailor, Robert Trias, who began teaching karate in Phoenix in 1946. In 1942, while stationed
in the Pacific, Trias trained with Tong Gee Hsing, a teacher of heing-I and Shuritode ryu, and a nephew, according to Trias,
of Okinawa's Choki Motobu. The word "karate" was not then in universal use; Shuritode ryu was a style of Okinawan shorei-ryu
karate.
Upon his discharge in 1946, Trias returned to the U.S. and established his private, 14-foot-square dojo. He
charged a low annual fee for instruction in judo or karate for two to three hours daily, seven days a week. Until the late
1970s, when John Corcoran investigated the subject, little acknowledgment was given Trias as the actual founder of karate
in America. Later, in 1948, Trias formed the United States Karate Association (USKA), the first karate organization on the
mainland.
From Mar. to Nov. 1952, Mas Oyama of Japan toured 32 states by invitation of the U.S. Professional Wrestling
Association-officials had heard of his exploits in Japan. While in the country he began his famous challenge matches with
professional wrestlers and boxers, all of whom he is said to have defeated. Oyama's exhibition bouts and demonstrations, including
the breaking of boards, bricks, and stones, received great public attention, including articles in the New York Times, which
covered his bout with a pro boxer at Madison Square Garden.
In 1951 Emilio Bruno, judo teacher, pioneer, and administrator,
had been named supervisor of judo and combative measures for the Strategic Air Command (SAC). Bruno formulated a new approach
to military combat training, integrating parts of aikido, judo, and karate into a systematic unarmed combat technique. To
implement his idea, he suggested a pilot program to Gen Curtis LeMay, then commander of the U.S. Air Force and one of Bruno's
judo students. The program had a significant effect on the subsequent propagation of karate in the U.S.With Gen. LeMay's endorsement
and SAC's sponsorship, Bruno initiated eight-week training programs for Air Force instructors at the Kodokan, judo's mecca,
in Japan. Kodokan officials contacted the Japan Karate Association (JKA) to manage the karate instruction, and that organization
selected Hidetaka Nishlyama as one of the coaches. Financially backed and supported by SAC, Bruno invited ten martial arts
instructors of judo and karate to participate in a now famous four-month 1953 tour of every SAC base in the U.S. and Cuba.
The touring group included seven judoka and three karate dignitaries: Nishiyama, Toshio Kamata, and the late
Isao Obata,
a JKA co-founder and senior disciple of Gichin Funakoshi.
The 1953 SAC tour was responsible for opening up communication
between Japan and the U.S.,accounting for the migration of dozens of Japanese karate instructors to America. It also influenced
other U.S. military branches and departments to adopt similar martial arts programs.
In 1954 the JKA established its
first, small headquarters in Tokyo, and, with the establishment of a central dojo, Nishiyama was elected chief of the JKA
instruction department. He conceived a plan to train large numbers of karate instructors and send them across the world to
establish karate. His plan, once put into operation, accounted for the migration, beginning in 1955, of many instructors who
pioneered Shotokan karate wherever they settled.Nishiyama himself assumed responsibility for furthering karate in the U.S.
In 1954 Ed Parker, black belt kenpo student of William Chow, began teaching a karate course at Brigham Young University.
Hawaiian-born Parker, who had arrived on the mainland in 1951, limited instruction to Americans attending the university His
evening classes enrolled as many as 72 students: city police, state highway patrolmen, fish and game wardens, and sheriffs'
deputies. With some of his students, Parker formed an exhibition team, and through various chambers of commerce, he and his
group performed in several Utah cities.
William Dometrich, who began his karate training in Japan in 1951, returned
in Dec. 1954, settling in Kentucky. A student of Dr. Tsuyoshi Chitose, the founder of Chito-ryu karate, Dometrich was the
first to teach this system in America. He formed the U.S. Chito-Kai in 1967.
Denver's Frank Goody, Jr., who had as
early as 1924 started judo lessons with his father, is the first instructor to have taught karate in the Rocky Mountain region.
Jack Farr, in compiling the history of martial arts in Colorado, reported that between 1945 and 1951, Goody promoted yawara
tournaments within his judo school in Denver. While Goody's background is the subject of much confusion, his contribution
to karate's growth is not. In
1957, he opened a karate school in Boulder, Colo., and is credited with teaching nearly
all the other karate pioneers in the Colorado area.
Dewey Deavers, a jujutsu and karate instructor who reportedly
traveled in China and Japan in the 1920s, surfaced around 1954 in Pittsburgh. By then he had already trained two students
to the rank of black belt: Warren Siciliano and Larry Williams. Williams in that year introduced karate to a promising student,
Glenn Premru, who in the late 1960s and early 1970s, became a noted performer and national kata champion.
Another
pioneer was Atlee Chittim of Texas. After studying tae kwon do in Korea, Chittim returned as a brown belt in 1955 and taught
his art at San Antonio College. (Interestingly, the name "tae kwon do" had only been created in April of that year.) As far
as can be determined, Chittim was the first to teach any form of karate in the southwestern U.S. outside of Arizona. And he
sponsored the entry of Jhoon Rhee to America from Korea in 1956. Rhee, a tae kwon do black belt, came to the U.S. to study
engineering at San Marco's Texas State College and began to teach his art on campus, opening a commercial club in 1958. Rhee,
known as the "Father of American Tae Kwon Do," went on to become one of the most important leaders in American karate.
In
1955 Tsutomu Ohshima, a graduate of Waseda University in Japan, organized a small karate class at the Konko Shinto Church
in Los Angeles. A disciple of Gichin Funakoshi's Shotokan style, Ohshima was the first instructor in the U.S. to teach a typically
Japanese karate system, and was the first resident karate teacher on the West Coast. In 1956 he opened the first public dojo
in Los Angeles. He also founded the Shotokan Karate of America.
The First Karate Tournament Robert Trias in 1955 conducted
the first known karate tournament in America, the 1st Arizona Karate Championships. Held at the Butler Boys Club in Phoenix,
participants were chiefly members of the Arizona Highway Patrol, Trias' own students.
Karate Comes to Hollywood By
1956 Ed Parker had moved to California where his growing student list began to include such Hollywood names as Darren McGavin,
author Joe Hyams, television executive Tom Tannenbaum, producer Blake Edwards, and the late film stars Nick Adams, Frank Lovejoy,
and Audie Murphy. Both Hyams and Tannenbaum later achieved black belts under different instructors. Each made substantial
contributions to karate, Tannenbaum in television and Hyams in print Through Parker's influence, Blake Edwards directed his
writers to add karate scenes to the screenplays for such 1960s hits as A Shot in the Dark and The Pink Panther. In those days,
filmmakers were intrigued primarily by the more spectacular aspects of the martial arts, such as board and brick breaking.
Eventually Parker taught many more celebrities, including Elvis Presley, and appeared in motion pictures and television
shows. It is difficult to determine whether Bruce Tegner or Parker was the first karate expert to work in films. It is a matter
of record, however, that Tegner attracted attention to the martial arts early by setting up fight scenes for the 1950s TV
series "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," and "The Detectives," starring Robert Taylor. He also wrote a large number of
books which had a great influence on the number of Americans that got involved in karate. As early as 1956 Stirling Silliphant
had begun writing martial arts into many of his films requiring combat action. He first did this in Five Against the House
in which Brian Keith portrayed a Korean
war veteran and karate expert. Later he wrote martial arts roles in TV series
like "Naked City" and "Route 66." Silliphant later became largely instrumental in the rise of Bruce Lee, with whom he studied
for 3 years.
Karate Pioneers In the years 1956 through 1960 the core of an American establishment came into being.
A nucleus of first-rate instructors-immigrants from the Far East and returning U.S.servicemen-opened the first schools in
assorted styles, in their respective regions. In 1957 Don Nagle returned from Okinawa, where he studied isshin-ryu under Tatsuo
Shimabuku. He opened a dojo in Jacksonville and trained such well-known black belts as Ed McGrath, Harold Long, Gary Alexander,
Ron Duncan, Donald Bohan, James Chapman, Lou Lizzotte, Ralph Chirico, and Joe Bucholtz. Nagle became one of the instructors
chiefly responsible for the profileration of karate throughout the Eastern Seaboard.
Louis Kowlowski, an early USKA
member, opened the first karate school in the midwest in 1957, in St. Louis, Mo. He was also one of the first to introduce
Okinawan shorin-ryu (Matsubayashi) into the U.S.
In 1957 Cecil Patterson, a wado-ryu black belt, opened a private
club in Sevierville, Tenn. And in 1962 he opened his first commercial school in Nashville, which, by the mid-1970s, expanded
to as many as 17 dojo across Tennessee. Patterson also began the Eastern U.S. Wado-Kai Federation.
Okinawa kempo master
Zempo (atsu) Shimabuku founded the first known karate dojo in Philadelphia in 1957.
In 1958, Roger Warren, who studied
in the Orient, started leaching karate in Chicago and Peoria. Charles Gruzanski (d.1973) also opened a martial arts school
in Chicago in the same year. Gruzanski, who spent many years in Japan, was a black belt in a number of different arts and
was one of the few Caucasian experts in masakiryu-manriki-gusari, a viscous chain and sickle weapon.
In the mid-1950s
Ed Kaloudis traveled to Japan to improve his judo knowledge. While there he studied koei-kan karate from Eizo Onishl. In 1958
Kaloudis moved to New York where he began to teach at NYU and also to members of the New York City Police Department. He later
moved to New Jersey and opened up schools in Clifton and Caldwell. Today he oversees a large number of affiliated schools.
Robert Fusaro, who trained under Nishiyama in Japan, was the first man to teach karate in Minnesota. He began teaching
his shotokan style in 1958 in Minneapolis and founded the Midwest Karate Association. Today he runs a number of schools in
Minnesota.
In 1958 George Mattson was discharged from the U.S. Army. He returned home to Boston where he became the
first Uechi-ryu instructor in America, as well as the first karate pioneer in the New England region. Mattson became a leader
of karate on the Eastern Seaboard sponsoring the first karate tournament in New England in 1961. Mattson also wrote one of
the first books on karate, The Way of Karate, published in 1963.
In 1958 in Portland, Oreg., Moon Yo Woo began teaching
kong su an obscure Korean style of karate.
In 1958-59 Harry Smith, a student of Don Nagle, opened the first-known
karate school in western Pennsylvania. He trained several students including Joe Penneywell, Harry Ackland and James Morabeto.
Around this time Walter Mazak and Joe Hedderman opened a dojo in Pittsburgh, Hedderman was a student of Chito-stylist
William Dometrich.
In 1959 Philip Koeppel was discharged from the Navy. He had studied karate in Japan with Richard
Kim and Kajukenbo with Adriano Emperado in Hawaii. In 1960 he joined the USKA and studied under Robert Trias. In 1963 he promoted
the 1st World Karate Championships in Chicago and has since built a strong chain of karate studios throughout the midwest.
In 1959 Natamoro Naikima opened a school in Philadelphia teaching shorin-ryu.
Peter Urban, one of the founders
of karate on the East Coast, opened his first goju-ryu karate school in Union City, New Jersey, in Sept.1959. Urban had studied
in Japan with Richard Kim and later became a top student of Gogen "The Cat" Yamaguchi.
In 1960, Urban moved to New
York City and taught karate at the Judo Twins (Bernie and Bob Lepkofker) and later established his own dojo, the famous "Chinatown
Dojo." He also broke away from the goju-kai organization and formed his own, which he called USA Goju. Urban probably trained
more top black belts than anyone on the East Coast; among them were: Chuck Merriman, Al Gotay, William Louie, Frank Ruiz,
John Kubl, Lou Angel, Thomas Boddie, Joe Lopez, Joe Hess, Bill Liquori, Aaron Banks, Ron Van Clief, Susan Murdock, Owen Watson,
and Rick Pascetta.
Ralph Lindquist, an isshin-ryu stylist, opened a school in 1960 in New Cumberland, Pa.
In
Michigan, AI Horton began teaching hisuechi-ryu in Kalamazoo in 1960. Other early pioneers included J. Kim in Lansing; Ernest
Lieb in Muskegon; David Praim in Mt. Clemens (1962), who taught fighters Everett Eddy and Johnny Lee; and Paul and Larry Malo
from Detroit who taught Shito-ryu and operated a number of multimillion-dollar karate centers.
As the decade closed,
karate was gaining appeal. While no single member of the 1950-60 group of pioneers appears to have been greatly successful,
the fact that so many individuals were operating schools, whose enrollments were increasing steadily, proved this new form
ofself-defense was attractive to the general public. ln this decade the foundation was laid for the circulation of styles,
instructors, and masters that would in the 1960s see the art of karate surpass judo in numbers of active practitioners.
The
early 1960s also marked the beginning of an extensive immigration of Korean tae kwon do instructors. After Jhoon Rhee, who
introduced tee kwon do in the U.S. in 1956, the first wave included: S. Henry Cho, Richard Chun, and Duk Sung Son in New York;
D.S. Kim in Georgia; J.Kim and Sang Kyu Shim in Michigan; Mahn Suh Park in Pennsylvania; Haeng Ung Lee in Omaha; Ki Whang
Kim in Maryland; and Jack Hwang in Oklahoma. In all, it is estimated that more than 25 masters during the early and mid-1960s
settled in the U.S.
The Vietnam War gave this native Korean art visibility.Pictures of Korean instructors training
American GI's in hand-to-hand combat appeared in Time and Newsweek.
While these legitimate instructors were encouraged
to emigrate to the U.S., the teaching credential itself was to create an intense controversy in American karate. As more and
more Korean tae kwon do instructors and masters arrived in the U.S., it was clearly unlikely that all of them could have taught
American military personnel. Yet this claim, coupled with insupportable claims to unreasonably advanced degrees of black belt
rank-usually no less
than 7th dan-first caused suspicion, then rebellion by American karatemen. More often than not a
third claim, that of being an "All Korean Champion," was another of the tee kwon do credentials. It is improbable that there
were more than a few dozen All Korean Champions, since tae kwon do embraced no organized competitions until the 1960s-when
more than 800 master instructors were teaching tae kwon do in the U.S. The degree and intensity of
business competition
was undoubtedly the motive for these exorbitant claims. At any rate, potential martial arts students now had a choice of where
and with whom to study. By the early 1970s more than 1,200 tae kwon do instructors were reportedly teaching in the U.S.
Such
phenomenal growth placed increasing demands on the tae kwon do community as a whole, and the need for a central organization
quickly became apparent. In the U.S., as in Korea, the cause of organization was initially obstructed by affiliations of master
instructors to parent schools and associations in Korea.
Meanwhile, within the Japanese karate community, Tsutomu
Ohshima, who was still traveling, arranged in 1961 for Hidetaka Nishiyama to come to California to preside over his Los Angeles
headquarters. Nishiyama arrived in July and within four months struck out on his own to form the All America Karate Federation
(AAKF), a branch of the powerful Japan Karate Association (JKA). Today, the AAKF is one of the largest karate organizations
in the U.S. This development spawned a bitter political rivalry between Ohshima and Nishiyama, which continues under the surface
of the international amateur karate movement. Both pioneers, however, are consummate karate masters. Each is responsible for
having firmly planted Shotokan karate in the U.S., and for having trained numerous disciples of high technical skill.
Richard
Kim, sensei to such American karate pioneers as Peter Urban, Phil Koeppel, and Canada's Benny Allen, came to America from
Japan in 1961 and began teaching at the Chinese YMCA in San Francisco, Calif. Later Kim became the foremost karate historian
residing in the U.S.
Top JKA instructor Teruyuki Okazaki arrived in the U.S. in May 1961 and began teaching Shotokan
karate in west Philadelphia. In Sept.1962 he formed the East Coast Karate Association, a branch of the AAKF. Today he oversees
the 50,000-member International Shotokan Karate Federation.
Also in Philadelphia that year, Mahn Suh Park established
his first tae kwon do dojang, which, like Okazaki's dojo, is still in operation today.
It was around 1961 that John
Keehan, alias "Count Dante," began teaching karate in the midwest from his base dojo in Chicago, III. Keehan joined the USKA
in 1961, at age 22, and was instrumental in helping Trias firmly entrench the USKA in the midwest, the association's strongest
territory. He taught numerous students all the way to black belt, who opened their own schools and turned out respected students.
On the night of April 23, 1970, he took part in the infamous "dojo war" that ended in the brutal stabbing death of
his friend and student, Jim Koncevic, at the Green Dragon's Black Cobra training hall in Chicago. The tragedy left a profound
mark on Keehan until his death from bleeding ulcers in 1975.
For all the University Game competition, financial help was received from the USJF. Without this
national governing body, U.S. judo would have had a far greater struggle; and certainly, without its financial aid, competitors
would never have been able to compete internationally. (YOSH UCHIDA)
The organized judo program in the U.S. Armed
Forces began in the Air Force in 1950 when Gen. Curtis E. LeMay, the commander-in-chief of the Strategic Air Command, USAF,
directed the setting up of a model physical conditioning unit at Offutt AFB, Neb. In 1951 similar conditioning units were
set up at other SAC bases. Gen. LeMay appointed Emilio ("Mel") Bruno, a former National AAU Wrestling Champion and Th-degree
in judo, to direct the program. At this time, civilian judo instructors staffed six SAC bases; the rest had physical conditioning
units, but no judo instructors. In direct charge of the judo and conditioning program for SAC was Gen. Thomas Power, later
honorary chairman of the National AAU Judo Committee.
Because of an obvious deficiency of instructors, Power sent
two classes of airmen (24 men) to the Kodokan Institute in Tokyo in 1952 for several weeks training. This was the first such
training for any Armed Forces group.
Air Force judo received added impetus in 1953 when ten experts from Japan, six
in judo, three in karate, and one in aikido, gave demonstrations at over 70 U.S. Air Force Bases over a three-month period.
The purpose of this tour was to train judo instructors and combat crews and to give exhibitions on and off base. Many civilian
judo clubs had their first visit from high-ranking judo teachers as a result of this tour. One of the highlights of the tour
was a demonstration at the White House on July 22. The year 1953 was also marked by the first National AAU Judo tournament
held at San Jose State College. A SAC team participated in these first Nationals.
In 1954, the first SAC Judo Tournament
was held at Offutt AFB the Grand Champion was Airman Morris Curtis. Also in 1954, 26 SAC Air Police went to the Kodokan to
study judo fourteen weeks. The curriculum consisted of police tactics, aikido, karate and, of course, judo. Two SAC judoists
advanced to the last few rounds in the 1954 AAU National Championships at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco. The 12-man SAC team
won 29 rounds and lost 19 but was unable to place a man. Staff Sgt. Ed Maley, SAC, a member of the 1955 SAC Judo Team, placed
in the 1955 AAU National championships-third in the 150-lb division. The Air Research and Development Command, USAD (ARDC),
also entered a team in 1955, after only a year of competition, and A/1 C Vern Raab won an unofficial fourth place in the heavyweight
division.
The year 1954 also brought a 10-man AAU-Air Force team visit to six Japanese cities to compete in 16 contests.
Five members of the team were Air Force, and the most successful member of the team was to be heard from many times in the
future. This man, Staff Sgt. George Harris, won all of his 16 contests.
Seventy men from SAC and ARDC journeyed to
the Kodokan in 1955 for instruction. Under the guidance of Gen. Power, who had taken over as ARDC Commander, the SAC-ARDC
Judo Association was formed and received recognition from the Kodokan in 1956. Emilio Bruno was elected president, and the
association was permitted to grant judo rank. This was the first and only Armed Forces judo association to be so recognized
by the Kodokan. SAC and ARDC sent 280 Air Policemen for four-week classes at the Kodokan during 1956.
Again in 1956,
the Air Force placed one man in the national AAU Judo Tournament at Seattle. Returning from his successful Japanese tour,
George Harris, then a 2nd dan, placed third in the heavyweight division.
In 1957, after only five years in judo, Staff
Sgt. George Harris won the Grand Championship in the National AAU Judo Championships in Hawaii. Harris was first in the heavyweight
division; sweeping the division with him were A/1 C Lenwood Williams in second place and A/2C Ed Mede, third. The Air Force
also took the National 5-Man Team Championship for the first time.
Winners of the SAC and ARDC tournaments represented
the Air Force in the AAU tournaments on April 13 and 14 in Chicago. Twelve Air Force judoists participated, with George Harris
successfully defending his Grand Championship, and the Air Force team captured the National 5-Man Team Championship for the
second year in a row. Due to the great power of southern California in the lower weight divisions, the Air Force was unable
to win the overall team championship.
The SAC Judo Team, consisting of L. Williams, E. Mede, G. Harris, J. Reid, R.
Moxley, and M. O'Connor (trainer) was designated as the U.S. Pan-American Judo Team in 1958. Team members won first and fourth
in the 3rd dan category (Harris and Williams), third in the 2nd dan (Reid), and second in the 1st dan (Mede). In the fall
of 1958, George Harris and Ed Mede represented the U.S. in the 2nd World Tournament, held in Tokyo. Harris's three wins before
losing to Sone, a Japanese 5th degree, placed him in a tie for fifth place along with the four other defeated quarter finalists.
As a result of this fine record, George Harris was promoted to 4th degree in judo, the first Armed Forces man to be so honored.
(LT AGULLA GIBBS DEBRELL)
The Governance of U.S. Judo The development of a national governing body for U.S. judo started
in 1952, through the efforts of Dr. Henry A. Stone, Maj. Draeger, and others. At that time there was no national authority
to give guidance to local judo communities and insure the logical and orderly development of judo as a sport. The Amateur
Judo Association was a first attempt at establishing a national governing structure. Dr. Stone served as the first president.
Authority to grant the most coveted Kodokan judo rank was assumed by the national organization. High ranking individuals were
no longer permitted to grant promotions independently. The growth of local judo organizations was encouraged, promotion privileges
were granted to yudanshakais,
and a national communications avenue was opened.
Until the early 1960s, judo in
the U.S. had grown in a haphazard, somewhat informal fashion. Most leaders tended to be purists, preferring the security and
recognition offered by their local influence. Judo was structured strictly on rank, and those without the proper credentials
were considered outsiders. It was judo rank, that coveted mantle of recognition, which for so many years retarded the formation
of a strong, responsive national organization. As judo spread across the nation, false claims to rank and promotions were
commonplace, and the existing organization was powerless to take action. Those leaders who had feared a national organization
and popularization of judo in time became the strongest voices for change.
The national organization was renamed the
Judo Black Belt Federation. President Yosh Uchida (1960-61) delegated the task of laying the groundwork for reorganization
to Donald Pohl, a relatively unknown 1st dan from Detroit. Pohl, the executive secretary of the Detroit Judo Club (then the
nation's largest non-profit club), had effected a pilot program for a national rank system.
During the brief tenure
of President Renyo Uyeno (before his untimely death at the age of 39 on June 1,1963), the Judo Black Belt Federation launched
a national rank registration procedure, which was coupled with a detailed rank identification system. This was the basis for
future financial stability of the organization. The Judo Black Belt Federation also adopted a comprehensive constitution and
by-laws, established a national communications system and published the Judo Bulletin.
Although the early leaders
of the Judo Black Belt Federation (then known as the Amateur Judo Association), had actively sought out the Amateur Athletic
Union and had been granted the right to represent U.S. judo on the international level, little attention or significance was
attached to this accommodation until early in the 1960s when amateurism and sanctions began to become important. As the Judo
Black Belt Federation expanded (18 yudanshakais in 1963) and tournaments were more widely attended, the importance and presence
of the AAU began to be noticed. The Judo Black Belt Federation and the Amateur Athletic Union succeeded in maintaining an
atmosphere of cooperation and mutual assistance during the remainder of the decade.
In 1963 the Judo Black Belt Federation
joined the Amateur Athletic Union in producing the first of what were to be five joint handbooks (two published by Phil Porter
and three by Don Pohl). Sales of the books, mostly through the Federation, exceeded 100,000 copies. All proceeds were given
to the Amateur Athletic Union Judo Committee to help finance its operation. When proceeds from the sale of hand books failed
to provide the necessary funding for the expanding program, the Judo Black Belt Federation authorized grants in excess of
$75,000 to the Amateur Athletic Union to help finance international competition and related programs
In 1964 and 1966,
Hiro Fujimoto of Detroit was elected president of the Federation and Dr. Eichi Kolwai of Philadelphia, vice-president. Dr.
Koiwai assumed the presidency at the 1968 election, holding office for several terms. During the uncertain years of the 1960s
the Federation changed its name to the U.S. Judo Federation, published a book of procedures, rewrote the judo contest rules,
adopted a comprehensive promotion procedure, drafted a new referees' certification procedure, and expanded to 25 yudanshakais.
Judo soon grew to the third largest sport in the array of Amateur Athletic Union activities. What were first considered
minor contentions between the Union and the Federation soon grew to open disagreement over philosophy, priorities, and control.
Amateurism became a bone of contention. considered by many a stumbling block in the way of development. Amateur Athletic Union
advocates, on the other hand, questioned the unchallenged control of rank exercised by the U.S. Judo Federation.
In
1969 the differences and positions that had been fought out at the meetings finally culminated in one of the yudanshakais
(the Armed Forces Judo Association) withdrawing from the U.S. Judo Federation to start a rival national organization. The
Armed Forces Judo Association adopted a name similar to that of the parent organization, the U.S. Judo Association. The association
closely aligned itself with the philosophy and position of the Amateur Athletic Union. (DENNIS HELM)
KARATE Kung-fu
arrived in the U.S. with the first Chinese immigrants in the mid-19th century, but the growth of karate is largely owed to
contact between American servicemen and Japanese experts during the post-World War II occupation of Japan and Okinawa.
Kung-fu:
the Forerunner of Karate Kung-fu was a part of the Chinese lifestyle in the labo camps and mining towns that grew up following
the gold rush of 1848. With the importation of large numbers of Chinese laborers to work on the Central Pacific Railroad,
beginning in 1863, the swelling Chinese communities isolated themselves within their own, transplanted culture.
Conflicts
over control of gambling, prostitution, and the like, arose; rival secret societies fought each other in the notorious "Tong
Wars," which lasted until the 1930s. The troops in these internecine wars were "hatchetmen," so-called because they used meat
cleavers and hatchets as weapons. They were skilled also in kung-fu, in the art of "pin-blowing," and in hurling lethal, razor-edged
coins. Hatchetmen in the U.S. handed down, from one generation to the next, the secret and sinister practice of kung-fu, the
forbearer of modern karate.
Until roughly two decades after World War II, kung-fu was not available to non-Chinese
on the U.S. mainland. The early Japanese and Okinawan communities in the U.S. were isolated, introverted, and intensely secretive
about their ethnic arts and crafts. Judo was the only exception: Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo, encouraged its spread.
According to martial arts scholar Donn F. Draeger, Kano asked that " judo training be undertaken not only in the dojo but
also outside it, and so make of its physical aspects the focus of human endeavor for the progress and development of man."
The other martial arts had no such original intention.
The first club to practice kung-fu in organized classes with
instructors from Chinese provinces was a branch of the Chinese Physical Culture Association, founded in Honolulu in 1922.
This association promoted physical culture among the Islands' Chinese communities, but kung-fu remained unavailable to non-orientals
until 1957, when Tlnn Chan Lee, at'ai-chi-ch'uan specialist, became the first Chinese sifu to open his teaching to the general
public.
In 1964 the closely-guarded doors of kung-fu finally opened in the U.S. mainland. Ark Y.Wong of Los Angeles,
born in China, broke the traditional kung-fu "color line" by accepting students of all races at Wah Que Studio in Los Angeles's
old Chinatown Also in 1964 the movie idol Bruce Lee and his one-time partner, James Yimm Lee, began accepting non-Orientals
at Lee's kwoon in Oakland, Calif. In fact, the notorious John Keehan, a.k.a. "Count Dante," claimed to have trained there
as early as 1962.
Teachers like New York's Alan Lee, Ark Y. Wong, and T.Y. Wong popularized Shaolin. Choy-Li-Fut and
t'ai-chi-ch'uan quickly became public and, soon after, the various branches of northern and southern Shaolin kung-fu.
In
northern California, sifus Kwong and Brendan Lai helped establish the praying mantis system. Y.C. Wong promoted the hung gar
and tiger crane systems; Kuo-Lien-Ying promoted t'ai-chi; George Long, the white crane; and Lau Bun and the Luk Mo Studio,
the Choy-Li-Fut. Noted scholar Wen-Shan Huang, with his protege Marshall Ho, started the National T'ai-Chi-Ch'uan Association
in the early 1960s, opening up instruction in this "soft style" of kung-fu to Caucasians.
Throughout the U.S. kung-fu
spread, especially during the Bruce Lee era, when so-called Eastern Westerns dominated American and international movie screens.
Even so, the majority of kung-fu styles and teachers still remain hidden.
Many of the first karate students were street
fighters. Few of these rough types possessed, however, the discipline necessary to remain with the art and learn it thoroughly.
The small number who did found their original attitudes startlingly transformed.
Today, karate classes are predominantly
composed of business persons, professionals, skilled workers, and students-a cross section of American society.
Karate
Comes to Hawaii In Hawaii, a great cultural crossroads, karate secured a foothold long before its emergence on the mainland.
Although practiced within the Okinawan community, no wider audience had seen karate in Hawaii until 1927, when Kentsu Yabu,
a famous Okinawan master, introduced Shuri-te in a public demonstration at the Nuuana YMCA in Honolulu.
A few "naichi"
Japanese (i.e., Japanese from one of the four main islands of Hawaii) who observed the YMCA demonstration adjudged karate
a strong fighting art, possibly even stronger than their judo. Interest in karate by non-Okinawans flourished thereafter.
Yabu's open teachings also brought together interested groups of Okinawans for practice and recreation, something the rivalries
of llaha, Shuri, and Tomari had prevented on Okinawa.
In 1932 Choki Motobu, a legendary, eccentric Okinawan karate
fighter, was denied entry to Hawaii when a group of Okinawan promoters living in Hawaii tried to import him for a public match
against well-known Island fighters. In 1933 Zuiho Mutsu and Kamesuke Higaonna were allowed into Hawaii with the understanding
that they would teach and lecture but not compete in the boxing ring. Both refused to engage in public matches and prepared
to depart immediately. Thomas Miyashiro, who had studied with Yabu in 1927, convinced other karate enthusiasts to approach
the pair collectively and urge that they remain in Hawaii to teach their art. They agreed and, after great initial success
at the Asahi Photo Studio, the site of their original school, the two karate masters chose a new facility for their classes,
the Izumo Taishi Shinto Mission.
The club formed from these classes, the Hawaii Karate Seinin Kai (Hawaii Young People's
Karate Club), subsequently staged a public karate demonstration at the Honolulu Civic Auditorium. A number of Caucasian spectators
in attendance, mostly members of the First Methodist Church, became interested in learning karate. Through their efforts,
the first known Caucasian group in the Western world to study openly and to sponsor karate activities was formed in 1933 Shortly
thereafter, both Mutsu and Higaonna departed for Japan, where they had been teaching previously.
In May 1934 Chinei
Kinjo, editor of the Okinawan newspaper Yoen Fiho Sha, invited grandmaster Cholun Miyagi, the founder of goju-ryu karate,
to Hawaii. Miyagi lectured and taught to popularize Okinawan goju-ryu karate-do, staying almost a year and returning to Okinawa
in Feb. 1935.
The spread of kempo to the Islands is largely owed to Dr. James Mitose, a Japanese-American born in
Hawaii in 1916. At age five he was sent to Kyushu, Japan, for schooling in his ancestral art of self-defense, called "kosho-ryu
kempo," said to be based directly on Shaolin kung-fu. Mitose returned to Hawaii in 1936. In 1942 he organized the Official
Self-Defense Club at the Beretania Mission in Honolulu. This club continued under his personal leadership until 1953, when
it was assigned to Thomas Young, one of his chief students. Only five of his students-Young, William K.S. Chow, Paul Yamaguchi,
Arthur Keawe, and Edward Lowe-attained the rank of black belt. But the kempo arts flourished in Hawaii and later on the west
coast of the mainland, where three of Mitose's protégés formed clubs of their own. In 1953, before going to the mainland,
Mitose wrote What is Self-Defense, reprinted by his students in 1980.
Of Mitose's students, perhaps Chow played the
most significant role in the evolution of the American martial arts. Although he had learned kosho-ryu kempo under Mitose,
Chow was the first to teach what he called kenpo (first law) karate. From 1949 Chow trained a great number of students to
the rank of blackbelt, including Adriano Emperado, Ralph Castro, Bobby Lowe, John Leone, and Paul Pung. By far the most famous
of Chow's students is Ed Parker, a leading pioneer in the American karate movement.
Adriano "Sonny" Emperado was a
co-founder in 1947 of the kajukenbo system, formed by five experts: Walter Choo (karate), Joseph Holke (judo), Frank Ordonez
(jujutsu), Emperado (kenpo), and Clarence Chang (Chinese boxing). The name is an acronym derived from the five disciplines
of its founders: ka from karate, ju from judo and jujutsu, ken from kenpo, and bo from Chinese boxing. Today, this style is
one of the most prominent in Hawaii. In 1950 Emperado founded Hawaii's first and largest chain of karate schools, the Kajukenbo
Self-Defense Institute, Inc., in which he still holds the office of vice-president. Probably Emperado's most famous student
is Al Dacascos, founder of the won hop kuen do system.
In 1954 Japan's colorful Mas Oyama visited Hawaii for a month
to assist Bobby Lowe, a Chinese -American, in setting up the first overseas branch of Oyama's kyokushinkai style.
Karate
Emerges on the Mainland The first karate school on the U.S. mainland was established by a former sailor, Robert Trias, who
began teaching karate in Phoenix in 1946. In 1942, while stationed in the Pacific, Trias trained with Tong Gee Hsing, a teacher
of heing-I and Shuritode ryu, and a nephew, according to Trias, of Okinawa's Choki Motobu. The word "karate" was not then
in universal use; Shuritode ryu was a style of Okinawan shorei-ryu karate.
Upon his discharge in 1946, Trias returned
to the U.S. and established his private, 14-foot-square dojo. He charged a low annual fee for instruction in judo or karate
for two to three hours daily, seven days a week. Until the late 1970s, when John Corcoran investigated the subject, little
acknowledgment was given Trias as the actual founder of karate in America. Later, in 1948, Trias formed the United States
Karate Association (USKA), the first karate organization on the mainland.
From Mar. to Nov. 1952, Mas Oyama of Japan
toured 32 states by invitation of the U.S. Professional Wrestling Association-officials had heard of his exploits in Japan.
While in the country he began his famous challenge matches with professional wrestlers and boxers, all of whom he is said
to have defeated. Oyama's exhibition bouts and demonstrations, including the breaking of boards, bricks, and stones, received
great public attention, including articles in the New York Times, which covered his bout with a pro boxer at Madison Square
Garden.
In 1951 Emilio Bruno, judo teacher, pioneer, and administrator, had been named supervisor of judo and combative
measures for the Strategic Air Command (SAC). Bruno formulated a new approach to military combat training, integrating parts
of aikido, judo, and karate into a systematic unarmed combat technique. To implement his idea, he suggested a pilot program
to Gen Curtis LeMay, then commander of the U.S. Air Force and one of Bruno's judo students. The program had a significant
effect on the subsequent propagation of karate in the U.S.With Gen. LeMay's endorsement and SAC's sponsorship, Bruno initiated
eight-week training programs for Air Force instructors at the Kodokan, judo's mecca, in Japan. Kodokan officials contacted
the Japan Karate Association (JKA) to manage the karate instruction, and that organization selected Hidetaka Nishlyama as
one of the coaches. Financially backed and supported by SAC, Bruno invited ten martial arts instructors of judo and karate
to participate in a now famous four-month 1953 tour of every SAC base in the U.S. and Cuba. The touring group included seven
judoka and three karate dignitaries: Nishiyama, Toshio Kamata, and the late
Isao Obata, a JKA co-founder and senior disciple
of Gichin Funakoshi.
The 1953 SAC tour was responsible for opening up communication between Japan and the U.S.,accounting
for the migration of dozens of Japanese karate instructors to America. It also influenced other U.S. military branches and
departments to adopt similar martial arts programs.
In 1954 the JKA established its first, small headquarters in Tokyo,
and, with the establishment of a central dojo, Nishiyama was elected chief of the JKA instruction department. He conceived
a plan to train large numbers of karate instructors and send them across the world to establish karate. His plan, once put
into operation, accounted for the migration, beginning in 1955, of many instructors who pioneered Shotokan karate wherever
they settled.Nishiyama himself assumed responsibility for furthering karate in the U.S.
In 1954 Ed Parker, black belt
kenpo student of William Chow, began teaching a karate course at Brigham Young University. Hawaiian-born Parker, who had arrived
on the mainland in 1951, limited instruction to Americans attending the university His evening classes enrolled as many as
72 students: city police, state highway patrolmen, fish and game wardens, and sheriffs' deputies. With some of his students,
Parker formed an exhibition team, and through various chambers of commerce, he and his group performed in several Utah cities.
William Dometrich, who began his karate training in Japan in 1951, returned in Dec. 1954, settling in Kentucky. A
student of Dr. Tsuyoshi Chitose, the founder of Chito-ryu karate, Dometrich was the first to teach this system in America.
He formed the U.S. Chito-Kai in 1967.
Denver's Frank Goody, Jr., who had as early as 1924 started judo lessons with
his father, is the first instructor to have taught karate in the Rocky Mountain region. Jack Farr, in compiling the history
of martial arts in Colorado, reported that between 1945 and 1951, Goody promoted yawara tournaments within his judo school
in Denver. While Goody's background is the subject of much confusion, his contribution to karate's growth is not. In
1957,
he opened a karate school in Boulder, Colo., and is credited with teaching nearly all the other karate pioneers in the Colorado
area.
Dewey Deavers, a jujutsu and karate instructor who reportedly traveled in China and Japan in the 1920s, surfaced
around 1954 in Pittsburgh. By then he had already trained two students to the rank of black belt: Warren Siciliano and Larry
Williams. Williams in that year introduced karate to a promising student, Glenn Premru, who in the late 1960s and early 1970s,
became a noted performer and national kata champion.
Another pioneer was Atlee Chittim of Texas. After studying tae
kwon do in Korea, Chittim returned as a brown belt in 1955 and taught his art at San Antonio College. (Interestingly, the
name "tae kwon do" had only been created in April of that year.) As far as can be determined, Chittim was the first to teach
any form of karate in the southwestern U.S. outside of Arizona. And he sponsored the entry of Jhoon Rhee to America from Korea
in 1956. Rhee, a tae kwon do black belt, came to the U.S. to study engineering at San Marco's Texas State College and began
to teach his art on campus, opening a commercial club in 1958. Rhee, known as the "Father of American Tae Kwon Do," went on
to become one of the most important leaders in American karate.
In 1955 Tsutomu Ohshima, a graduate of Waseda University
in Japan, organized a small karate class at the Konko Shinto Church in Los Angeles. A disciple of Gichin Funakoshi's Shotokan
style, Ohshima was the first instructor in the U.S. to teach a typically Japanese karate system, and was the first resident
karate teacher on the West Coast. In 1956 he opened the first public dojo in Los Angeles. He also founded the Shotokan Karate
of America.
The First Karate Tournament Robert Trias in 1955 conducted the first known karate tournament in America,
the 1st Arizona Karate Championships. Held at the Butler Boys Club in Phoenix, participants were chiefly members of the Arizona
Highway Patrol, Trias' own students.
Karate Comes to Hollywood By 1956 Ed Parker had moved to California where his
growing student list began to include such Hollywood names as Darren McGavin, author Joe Hyams, television executive Tom Tannenbaum,
producer Blake Edwards, and the late film stars Nick Adams, Frank Lovejoy, and Audie Murphy. Both Hyams and Tannenbaum later
achieved black belts under different instructors. Each made substantial contributions to karate, Tannenbaum in television
and Hyams in print Through Parker's influence, Blake Edwards directed his writers to add karate scenes to the screenplays
for such 1960s hits as A Shot in the Dark and The Pink Panther. In those days, filmmakers were intrigued primarily by the
more spectacular aspects of the martial arts, such as board and brick breaking.
Eventually Parker taught many more
celebrities, including Elvis Presley, and appeared in motion pictures and television shows. It is difficult to determine whether
Bruce Tegner or Parker was the first karate expert to work in films. It is a matter of record, however, that Tegner attracted
attention to the martial arts early by setting up fight scenes for the 1950s TV series "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,"
and "The Detectives," starring Robert Taylor. He also wrote a large number of books which had a great influence on the number
of Americans that got involved in karate. As early as 1956 Stirling Silliphant had begun writing martial arts into many of
his films requiring combat action. He first did this in Five Against the House in which Brian Keith portrayed a Korean
war
veteran and karate expert. Later he wrote martial arts roles in TV series like "Naked City" and "Route 66." Silliphant later
became largely instrumental in the rise of Bruce Lee, with whom he studied for 3 years.
Karate Pioneers In the years
1956 through 1960 the core of an American establishment came into being. A nucleus of first-rate instructors-immigrants from
the Far East and returning U.S.servicemen-opened the first schools in assorted styles, in their respective regions. In 1957
Don Nagle returned from Okinawa, where he studied isshin-ryu under Tatsuo Shimabuku. He opened a dojo in Jacksonville and
trained such well-known black belts as Ed McGrath, Harold Long, Gary Alexander, Ron Duncan, Donald Bohan, James Chapman, Lou
Lizzotte, Ralph Chirico, and Joe Bucholtz. Nagle became one of the instructors chiefly responsible for the profileration of
karate throughout the Eastern Seaboard.
Louis Kowlowski, an early USKA member, opened the first karate school in the
midwest in 1957, in St. Louis, Mo. He was also one of the first to introduce Okinawan shorin-ryu (Matsubayashi) into the U.S.
In 1957 Cecil Patterson, a wado-ryu black belt, opened a private club in Sevierville, Tenn. And in 1962 he opened
his first commercial school in Nashville, which, by the mid-1970s, expanded to as many as 17 dojo across Tennessee. Patterson
also began the Eastern U.S. Wado-Kai Federation.
Okinawa kempo master Zempo (atsu) Shimabuku founded the first known
karate dojo in Philadelphia in 1957.
In 1958, Roger Warren, who studied in the Orient, started leaching karate in
Chicago and Peoria. Charles Gruzanski (d.1973) also opened a martial arts school in Chicago in the same year. Gruzanski, who
spent many years in Japan, was a black belt in a number of different arts and was one of the few Caucasian experts in masakiryu-manriki-gusari,
a viscous chain and sickle weapon.
In the mid-1950s Ed Kaloudis traveled to Japan to improve his judo knowledge. While
there he studied koei-kan karate from Eizo Onishl. In 1958 Kaloudis moved to New York where he began to teach at NYU and also
to members of the New York City Police Department. He later moved to New Jersey and opened up schools in Clifton and Caldwell.
Today he oversees a large number of affiliated schools.
Robert Fusaro, who trained under Nishiyama in Japan, was the
first man to teach karate in Minnesota. He began teaching his shotokan style in 1958 in Minneapolis and founded the Midwest
Karate Association. Today he runs a number of schools in Minnesota.
In 1958 George Mattson was discharged from the
U.S. Army. He returned home to Boston where he became the first Uechi-ryu instructor in America, as well as the first karate
pioneer in the New England region. Mattson became a leader of karate on the Eastern Seaboard sponsoring the first karate tournament
in New England in 1961. Mattson also wrote one of the first books on karate, The Way of Karate, published in 1963.
In
1958 in Portland, Oreg., Moon Yo Woo began teaching kong su an obscure Korean style of karate.
In 1958-59 Harry Smith,
a student of Don Nagle, opened the first-known karate school in western Pennsylvania. He trained several students including
Joe Penneywell, Harry Ackland and James Morabeto.
Around this time Walter Mazak and Joe Hedderman opened a dojo in
Pittsburgh, Hedderman was a student of Chito-stylist William Dometrich.
In 1959 Philip Koeppel was discharged from
the Navy. He had studied karate in Japan with Richard Kim and Kajukenbo with Adriano Emperado in Hawaii. In 1960 he joined
the USKA and studied under Robert Trias. In 1963 he promoted the 1st World Karate Championships in Chicago and has since built
a strong chain of karate studios throughout the midwest.
In 1959 Natamoro Naikima opened a school in Philadelphia
teaching shorin-ryu.
Peter Urban, one of the founders of karate on the East Coast, opened his first goju-ryu karate
school in Union City, New Jersey, in Sept.1959. Urban had studied in Japan with Richard Kim and later became a top student
of Gogen "The Cat" Yamaguchi.
In 1960, Urban moved to New York City and taught karate at the Judo Twins (Bernie and
Bob Lepkofker) and later established his own dojo, the famous "Chinatown Dojo." He also broke away from the goju-kai organization
and formed his own, which he called USA Goju. Urban probably trained more top black belts than anyone on the East Coast; among
them were: Chuck Merriman, Al Gotay, William Louie, Frank Ruiz, John Kubl, Lou Angel, Thomas Boddie, Joe Lopez, Joe Hess,
Bill Liquori, Aaron Banks, Ron Van Clief, Susan Murdock, Owen Watson, and Rick Pascetta.
Ralph Lindquist, an isshin-ryu
stylist, opened a school in 1960 in New Cumberland, Pa.
In Michigan, AI Horton began teaching hisuechi-ryu in Kalamazoo
in 1960. Other early pioneers included J. Kim in Lansing; Ernest Lieb in Muskegon; David Praim in Mt. Clemens (1962), who
taught fighters Everett Eddy and Johnny Lee; and Paul and Larry Malo from Detroit who taught Shito-ryu and operated a number
of multimillion-dollar karate centers.
As the decade closed, karate was gaining appeal. While no single member of
the 1950-60 group of pioneers appears to have been greatly successful, the fact that so many individuals were operating schools,
whose enrollments were increasing steadily, proved this new form ofself-defense was attractive to the general public. ln this
decade the foundation was laid for the circulation of styles, instructors, and masters that would in the 1960s see the art
of karate surpass judo in numbers of active practitioners.
The early 1960s also marked the beginning of an extensive
immigration of Korean tae kwon do instructors. After Jhoon Rhee, who introduced tee kwon do in the U.S. in 1956, the first
wave included: S. Henry Cho, Richard Chun, and Duk Sung Son in New York; D.S. Kim in Georgia; J.Kim and Sang Kyu Shim in Michigan;
Mahn Suh Park in Pennsylvania; Haeng Ung Lee in Omaha; Ki Whang Kim in Maryland; and Jack Hwang in Oklahoma. In all, it is
estimated that more than 25 masters during the early and mid-1960s settled in the U.S.
The Vietnam War gave this native
Korean art visibility.Pictures of Korean instructors training American GI's in hand-to-hand combat appeared in Time and Newsweek.
While these legitimate instructors were encouraged to emigrate to the U.S., the teaching credential itself was to
create an intense controversy in American karate. As more and more Korean tae kwon do instructors and masters arrived in the
U.S., it was clearly unlikely that all of them could have taught American military personnel. Yet this claim, coupled with
insupportable claims to unreasonably advanced degrees of black belt rank-usually no less
than 7th dan-first caused suspicion,
then rebellion by American karatemen. More often than not a third claim, that of being an "All Korean Champion," was another
of the tee kwon do credentials. It is improbable that there were more than a few dozen All Korean Champions, since tae kwon
do embraced no organized competitions until the 1960s-when more than 800 master instructors were teaching tae kwon do in the
U.S. The degree and intensity of
business competition was undoubtedly the motive for these exorbitant claims. At any rate,
potential martial arts students now had a choice of where and with whom to study. By the early 1970s more than 1,200 tae kwon
do instructors were reportedly teaching in the U.S.
Such phenomenal growth placed increasing demands on the tae kwon
do community as a whole, and the need for a central organization quickly became apparent. In the U.S., as in Korea, the cause
of organization was initially obstructed by affiliations of master instructors to parent schools and associations in Korea.
Meanwhile, within the Japanese karate community, Tsutomu Ohshima, who was still traveling, arranged in 1961 for Hidetaka
Nishiyama to come to California to preside over his Los Angeles headquarters. Nishiyama arrived in July and within four months
struck out on his own to form the All America Karate Federation (AAKF), a branch of the powerful Japan Karate Association
(JKA). Today, the AAKF is one of the largest karate organizations in the U.S. This development spawned a bitter political
rivalry between Ohshima and Nishiyama, which continues under the surface of the international amateur karate movement. Both
pioneers, however, are consummate karate masters. Each is responsible for having firmly planted Shotokan karate in the U.S.,
and for having trained numerous disciples of high technical skill.
Richard Kim, sensei to such American karate pioneers
as Peter Urban, Phil Koeppel, and Canada's Benny Allen, came to America from Japan in 1961 and began teaching at the Chinese
YMCA in San Francisco, Calif. Later Kim became the foremost karate historian residing in the U.S.
Top JKA instructor
Teruyuki Okazaki arrived in the U.S. in May 1961 and began teaching Shotokan karate in west Philadelphia. In Sept.1962 he
formed the East Coast Karate Association, a branch of the AAKF. Today he oversees the 50,000-member International Shotokan
Karate Federation.
Also in Philadelphia that year, Mahn Suh Park established his first tae kwon do dojang, which,
like Okazaki's dojo, is still in operation today.
It was around 1961 that John Keehan, alias "Count Dante," began
teaching karate in the midwest from his base dojo in Chicago, III. Keehan joined the USKA in 1961, at age 22, and was instrumental
in helping Trias firmly entrench the USKA in the midwest, the association's strongest territory. He taught numerous students
all the way to black belt, who opened their own schools and turned out respected students.
On the night of April 23,
1970, he took part in the infamous "dojo war" that ended in the brutal stabbing death of his friend and student, Jim Koncevic,
at the Green Dragon's Black Cobra training hall in Chicago. The tragedy left a profound mark on Keehan until his death from
bleeding ulcers in 1975.
An early pioneer of karate in the South was John Pachivas, who became the first karate instructor
in the Miami Beach area in 1961. Pachivas reportedly has been active in the martial arts since the mid-1940s, and holds degrees
in judo, jujutsu, and godu-ryu karate.
In Jan. 1961 George Pesare introduced kenpo karate to Rhode Island in Providence.
Preceded only by Ted Olsen, Pesare would in time become the foremost instructor in his state and an influential leader in
the northeastern U.S.
One of the first New York instructors to be affiliated with Mas Oyama was Augustin DeMello,
who opened the New York Kyokushinkai karate club in Greenwich Village in 1961. He later broke away from Oyama and quit teaching.
Daeshik Kim, a judo and tae kwon do instructor, came to Atlanta, Ga., in 1961 where he began teaching tae kwon do
in the physical education department of Georgia State College.
Among Kim's students were Joe Corley, Chris McLoughlin,
"Atlas" Jesse King, Larry McClure, and Dick Lane. In 1966, Kim sold his Institute of Self-Defense, a non-campus club, to McLoughlin
and Corley.
Corley and McLoughlin established several branch schools over the years, all in and around Atlanta, and
they jointly produced the first Battle of Atlanta in 1970. Later, the tournament would become one of the most prestigious
in American sport karate.
Individually, Corley would become one of the most influential voices in Southern karate
by spearheading the formation of the Southesat Karate Association (SEKA). In the 1970s, he would invest most of his time and
money in the full-contact karate movement.
McLoughlin would make his mark as one of the first professional martial
arts journalists who also was a black belt.
In Los Angeles, Mito Uyehara, an aikido practitioner, and his brother,
Jim, published the inaugural issue of Black Belt Magazine in 1961. The first issue was in digest form, with articles on judo,
karate, aikido, and kendo. Though it suffered lean years, the publication became one of the most successful in its field.
In the late 1960s, the brothers dissolved their partnership, Jim taking with him the merchandise trade-which later developed
into Martial Arts Supplies-and Mito retaining ownership of the magazine. The publication struggled until Mito launched a line
of paper back text books, which eventually brought large profits. This, coupled with shrewd capitalization on the martial
arts movie trend of the early 1970s, made Mito Uyehara one of the few millionaires in the martial arts business.
Out
of the Uyehara publishing empire have come some 60 textbooks, the monthly, Karate Illustrated (since 1969), and the monthly
Fighting Stars (since 1973).
In 1961 New York's John Kuhl wrote, edited, posed for, and published a karate manual/magazine
called Combat Karate. Kuhl started his karate training in Montreal in 1957 under Ari Anastasiatis. After moving to New York
City in 1970, he continued his training with Peter Urban and Gosei Yamaguchi, son of Gogen, the goju-ryu teacher. Two of Kuhl's
early students were Aaron Banks and Al Weiss. Kuhl and Weiss co-produced in 1962 a manual entitled Karate, the most popular
instruction book at its price. Its success prompted the 1968 publishing of Official/Karate Magazine, a bi-monthly. It soon
became a monthly, with international distribution. The magazine's outlook is radical compared to the conservative Black Belt.
It was an animated voice in the movement toward an Americanized form of karate. And Weiss, its editor, has been recognized
for writing the most potent monthly editorials in his field.
Bob Yarnall, a shorin-ryu instructor, opened his first
dojo in 1962 in St. Louis, Mo., where he has remained to this day. A student of James Wax, Yarnall has instructed such pioneers
as Jim Harrison, Parker Shelton, and Bill Marsh, who was a successful competitor in the European karate circuit. Yarnall is
probably the best-known exponent of Matsubayashi-ryu in the U.S. and has been a long time member of Trias' USKA. His wife,
Joyce, assists her husband in the operation of his schools, and is a photographer whose collection includes many historic
pictures of the sport and its early champions.
Jhoon Rhee opened his first school in Washington, D.C., in 1962, and
within three months had amassed more than 100 students. This, then, became the basis of the Jhoon Rhee empire, which later
blossomed into one of the largest privately-owned martial arts enterprises in the world today.
The Jhoon Rhee Institutes
have developed many of the most accomplished karate competitors in American karate. Some notable students are: Larry Carnahan,
Michael Coles, Gordon Franks, Jeff Smith, Jose Jones, Wayne Van Buren, John and Pat Worley, Otis Hooper, John Chung and Rodney
Batiste.
Rhee would also begin teaching tee kwon do to distinguished members of the U.S. government hierarchy, senators
and congressmen among them. Through his endeavors, Rhee would become a genuine celebrity to the D.C. general public.
Allen
Steen, Rhee's student, established the first school of his eventual empire in 1962 in Dallas, Tex. Only Johnny Nash preceded
him by a few months. No one, however, would dominate the Southwest territory as would Steen. Like Rhee, Steen trained many
of America's top karatemen, among them Mike Anderson, Skipper Mullins, Pat Burleson, Fred Wren, Roy Kurban, and Jim and Jenice
Miller.
In 1962 after a visit to Pittsburgh by Master Tatsuo Shimabuku, at the invitation of James Morabeto and Harry
Smith, disharmony once again set in among the city's isshinryu principals. Morabeto opened several dojo of his own, while
Harry Ackland and Joe Penneywell established the Academy of Isshinryu Karate in downtown Pittsburgh. William Duessel and William
Wallace, students of Shimabuko, assumed ownership in the late 1960s.
At this time, Nick Long began teaching Okinawan
kempo in Greensburg, Pa., where he built a large following of college students.
In Denver, Robert Thompson and Fran
Heitmann jointly opened a Tang Soo Do school in 1962. That same year, Chuck Serett, a black belt student of Heitmann's, established
his first school and brought in Korean instructor Moon Ku Back to teach there. Sereff and one of his black belts, Ralph Krause,
opened another Denver karate school, but later the two went separate ways. Today, Sereff has one of the largest operations
in Colorado.
Frank Ruiz earned a chestful of medals including the Purple Heart, Silver Star, and Bronze Star during
the Korean War. Upon his release, he became one of Peter Urban's first students in 1960. In 1962, he launched his own teaching
career in New York City, and produced two nationally recognized fighters, Louis Delgado and Herbie Thompson (of Florida),
and East Coast karate champions Ron Van Clief, Owen Watson, and the late Malachi Lee. Ruiz later broke away from Urban to
form his own Nisei Goju organization. In 1970 Ruiz cheated death after being struck by a car traveling 80 m.p.h., managing
four years later to walk normally and even practice karate.
The Birth of Franchised Karate In 1963 two brothers, Jim
and Al Tracy, founded their first kenpo karate school in San Francisco; both-had been students of Ed Parker. After spending
large sums in development costs, the brothers launched what became the largest chain of karate schools in the world, under
the trade name "Tracy's Karate." The Tracy brothers brought big business practices to karate. Their strategy included a proven
sales system, adapted from commercial dance studios. At its peak, 1969-73, the Tracy organization was estimated to have 70
studios under its franchise banner. After hiring Joe Lewis, one of the port's brightest stars, as a figurehead for its franchise
recruitment program, the organization attracted instructors who, using the knowledge gained in business indoctrination courses,
were able to make careers in the martial arts. Among the early corps of Tracy's novitiates were Jay T. Will, Al Dacascos,
Jerry Smith, Jerry Piddington, Dick Willett, Roger Greene, Steve LaBounty, and Ray Langenburg.
At the same time, throughout
the mid- and late 1960s, other instructors and organizations were developing sales systems and business practices particularly
suited to the martial arts. Jhoon Rhee, Allen Steen, Chuck Norris, and Ed Parker soon expanded into franchising. Bob Wall
of Los Angeles is credited with having helped many martial artists adopt sound business practices in their schools, among
them Norris, Rhee, and Colorado's Jim Harkins.
An astute businessman, Wall developed and manualized a sales system still
in use in many professional karate studios across the nation.
In 1963 Chuck Norris, who would become one of the most
respected karate fighters in the world, established his first school in Torrance south of Los Angeles. In 1968 he and Bob
Wall bought out Joe Lewis' interest in the Sherman Oaks Karate Studio. From there he launched a chain of seven studios until
1975, when he gave up the operation to concentrate fully on a motion picture career.
Norris is now responsible for
guiding more than 2000 students to black-belt rank and dozens to competitive champioship prominence. Among them are: Bob Wall,
Jerry Taylor, Pat Johnson, John Natividad, Howard Jackson, Ralph Alegria, Darnell Garcia, and Bob Burbidge, Chip Wright, Danny
Lane, among many, many others.
In April 1963 Master Duk Sung Son, president of the World Tae Kwon Do Association,
immigrated to the U.S. and began teaching in and around New York City. Within a few years, Son was teaching his art at Princeton,
N.Y., Brown and Fordham Universities, and later at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Francisco Conde in 1963
initiated classes exclusively for females at the Women's Karate Club of Fort Meade, Maryland. There his wife, Kathleen, received
some of her early training before going on to become one of the premier black belt competitors in her region. Known for his
tournament promotions, as early as 1963 Conde became a driving force behind many of the regional activities of the Mid-Atlantic
states.
Roger Carpenter, a black belt student of George Pesare, came to Wichita, Kans., in Sept. 1963. Carpenter taught
karate for two years at churches, YMCAs, and a National Guard Armory. In the spring of 1965, he opened the first commercial
karate school in Wichita. By 1964, Jim Harrison had also established a school in Kansas City.
In Denver, Shotokan
stylist Joe Costello(d.1973), from Hawaii, opened a dojo downtown. That same year, Ralph Krause opened the first of an eventual
chain of karate schools in Colorado.
Ki Whang Kim, a highly respected tae kwon do master, organized a YMCA class in
Washington, D.C., in 1963. This class produced some outstanding D.C. martial artists including John Camance Albert Cheeks,
Phil Cunningham, Mike Warren, Furman Marshall, and John Mickens. During the 1970s Mike Warren was widely considered to be
America's best tournament fighter and, indisputably, one of the best technicians in the sport.
Lou Angel, Jack Hwang,
and Bill Brisco, all of Oklahoma City, are the recognized pioneers of karate in Oklahoma. Angel, a former U.S. Marine and
student of Peter Urban, arrived in Oklahoma at an unspecified date in the early 1960s. He is best known for having produced
the Tulsa Southwest Karate Championships in 1963 where Mike Stone would launch his impressive fighting career. Stone, then
still a brown belt, became an overnight sensation by winning first place in the sparring division and soon rose to prominence
as the sport's first superstar.
Jack Hwang, a pioneer of tee kwon do, immigrated to the U.S. in 1960. He taught quietly
until opening his first school in Oklahoma City in 1964. In 1965, Hwang produced his inaugural All American Open Karate Championships,
which is a highlight of the southwestern karate circuit.
Marine sergeant Sam Pearson, a disciple of Master Eizo Shimabuku,
founded a shorin-ryu karate club in 1963 at Camp LeJeune, N.C. His most famous student is the aforementioned Glenn Premru
of Pittsburgh, who would become one of the sport's first corps of great kata champions and flamboyant performers.
Tournaments
The early 1960s brought the first American karate tournaments. Until 1963 several local and at best, regional competitions
were organized in different parts of the U.S Principal among these early events were the All America Karate Championships
and the North American Karate Championships. The former was held in Los Angeles in Dec.1961 by Hidetaka Nishiyama, concurrent
with his formulation of the All America Karate
Federation. Nishiyama chose as the tournament site the Olympic Auditorium,
the West Coast boxing center. The tournament was produced as a fund-raiser for the March for Muscular Dystrophy. Participants
were chiefly members of the Shotokan style of karate, but some came from as far as Canada and Hawaii.
The North American
Karate Championships, conducted on Nov. 24,1962, was the first karate tournament held at Madison Square Garden, and the first
open karate competition in America. Here, Mas Oyama appeared for the second time in his illustrious career, and this time
the appearance was not for the purpose of demonstrating karate's superiority to professional boxing and wrestling. Preceding
the finals, Oyama presented one of his impressive breaking routines, crushing rocks, bricks, and boards with his bare hands,
feats even at that time considered phenomenal by the American public. Gary Alexander, one of the early wave of "fighting"
instructors, won the black belt sparring championship. In 1963 he established his first school in New Jersey and began promoting
notable karate tournaments himself.
On July 28,1963, Robert Trias and John Keehan jointly hosted the 1st World Karate
Tournament at the University of Chicago Fieldhouse, gathering contestants and officials from around the country. This was
the first truly national American karate tournament and the forerunner of the many subsequent tournaments using and abusing
the title of "World Championship." To date, this misnomer has been attached by various promoters to more than 20 North American
karate tournaments. Clearly, it is an inexact title, since the participants do not come from all over the world.
Tournament
titles were not an issue, however, during the embryonic stage. What is important is that Trias' event attracted most of the
prominent American karateka. What took place in Chicago set a precedent for the emergence of large-scale, national-caliber
competitions. This particular event was retitled the USKA Nationals in 1966, and in 1968 adopted its present title, the USKA
Grand Nationals. It is one of the longest-running annual karate tournaments in America.
Also in 1963, Texan Allen
Steen inaugurated his Dallas Southwest Karate Championships, in which Mike Stone, still a brown belt, won the black belt fighting
division. Steen's tournament was retitled in 1965 the U.S. Karate Championships. David Moon, one of the few Asian instructors
competing in open sparring divisions, won the first of three consecutive grand championships there. The tournament maintained
its national prestige until the mid-1970s.
During this period many judo and jujutsu black belts had begun studying
karate; their styles were often unrefined. Some were the recipients of "cross-over" ranks, i.e., because of their proficiency
in one art they might receive den rank in karate.
As each generation of American karate black belts became progressively
more polished, fluid, and performance-conscious, the old ex-judo/ jujutsu converts appeared out of touch with new developments
in the art. Despite criticism, many of these same figures were responsible for introducing the martial arts to
individuals
who would later make contributions to the growth of American karate. One of these, Jerry Durant,
trained tap fighter Artis
Simmons as well as Art Sykes, William Cavalier and Vince Christeano.
In 1964 Trias again staged his World Championships
in Chicago, but this year two new tournaments shared the spotlight. The first was Ed Parker's International Karate Championships
in Long Beach, Calif. Parker's tournament, like Trias 'the year before, attracted the biggest names in American karate.
Mike
Stone became the event's first grand champion, an accomplishment overshadowed historically by the results of a demonstration
presented there by an unknown Chinese stylist named Bruce Lee.
Lee was a sensation. Demonstrating his skills, he sent
partners reeling backward with his 1 -inch punch, a technique that became a personal trademark. Lee's performance left a lasting
impression on many practitioners and non-martial-artist spectators.
Parker's Internationals grew in size and prestige
until about 1976, reaching its zenith in 1974, when Parker drew a record-setting 6,000 contestants. In 1975 Parker awarded
prize money totaling $16,250 the largest yet at an American Pro/Am tournament.
The second prominent event of 1964
was Jhoon Rhee's U.S. National Karate Championships, held in Washington, D.C. Pat Burleson of Texas, winner of the black belt
grand championship, joined Al Gene Caraulia in becoming the first recognized national champion of the new sport. Today Burleson
is looked upon as the "granddaddy" of tournament fighters and the first genuine star in the sport.
In late 1964 Mahn
Suh Park produced the first open tournament in Philadelphia, the Globe Tae Gyun Championships; it became an annual promotion
enjoying steady growth.
Jhoon Rhee pulled off a coup in 1965: he persuaded Wide World of Sports to film and subsequently
broadcast segments of his U.S. National Karate Championships. His was the first American karate tournament to receive television
coverage from a network sports program. However, a heated match for the grand championship between Stone and Walt Worthy,
in which there was bloodshed and heavy contact, earned the displeasure of the show's producers. Select excerpts only were
broadcast. And the program ignored the sport for the next nine years.
It is important to recall here the nature of
competition in this period. It was a time of bloodshed and brutality. Historians have called it-suitably-the "blood and guts
era" of American sport karate, a period spanning from 1963, when the major open tournaments began, to roughly 1970, when the
sport temporarily graduated to its first kick-boxing phase. During this time tournaments were an arena for only the most courageous
karate fighters, with a high tolerance for absorbing punishment. The type of sparring then popular is called "non contact"
or "light contact." Rules stipulated closely pulled blows to the face and only light body contact. Excessive contact was grounds
for disqualification. Despite this general rule, heavy contact to both the face and body was so common that competitors and
officials alike appeared to accept it. The techniques, crude and calamitous by today's standards, were as unrefined as the
rules governing the infant sport. A fighter might break an opponent's bones or knock him into the grandstand and not be disqualified.
If he was a true fighter, the opponent was expected to come back and dish out the same punishment he had received.
The
Second Generation In karate instruction a virtual explosion took place from 1964 onward, not only in the U.S., but in Canada,
South America, Europe, and Asia. Ex-military personnel, having studied the martial arts in the Orient, returned home en masse
to open karate schools. Augmenting this rapid growth were the second generation, students of the original pioneers, who concurrently
established studios of their own.
In Sept.1964 the Institute of Technology in Pasadena adopted a regular course of
karate instruction supervised by Tsutomu Ohshima. This is the first known karate program to have been accepted as an accredited
course by an American college.
The move to establish karate as part of the educational curriculum had enjoyed widespread
success in Japan. Thus, the early Japanese stylists in the U.S. concentrated on this aim. Later, the Korean tae kwon do instructors,
perhaps even more meticulously organized, likewise made significant progress toward gaining acceptance for the martial arts
in American institutions of higher learning.
In Beaver Falls, Pa., Willie Wetzel, a master of pukulan, was one of
the first instructors of an Indonesian discipline to surface in the U.S. ne of his students, Barbara Niggel, in the mid-1970s
distinguished herself as a national kata champion.
Pauline Short should probably be called the "mother of American
karate." Short opened in 1965 the first karate school exclusively catering to a female clientele, in Portland, Oreg. In 1975
she became one of the nation's top 10 female fighters.
Also in 1964, Bill Readers emerged in Erie, Pa. He trained
Art Sykes.
In 1965 Glenn Premru returned to Pittsburgh, having trained with Shorin-ryu instructor Sam Pearson. He
opened a dojo in the North Hills section of town.
Mike Stone became the first superstar of the sport. He had dominated
competition since 1963, and by the time of his retirement had been active for only eighteen months. Although he competed in
a total of nine tournaments, all of them were large-scale events featuring highly rated fighters. Stone won in 1965 what could
be considered Karate's Triple Crown: the Internationals in Long Beach, U.S. Nationals in Washington, D.C., and World Championships
in Chicago. Although Stone claims to have won 89 consecutive black belt matches, the record shows that he lost a grand championship
match in the middle of his run, at the 1964 Western U.S. Karate Championships in Salt Lake City. (Stone won the heavyweight
title, but was defeated by Dave Johnson in the grand championship play-off.)
The first genuine martial arts craze
in America began in 1966, when Bruce Lee made his acting debut as Kato in the Green Hornet TV series. From Sept. 9, the weekly
series remained on the air until Mar. 17,1967. There were 26 half-hour episodes, and reruns began in 1968. Although this series
was short-lived, Lee's provocative kung-fu action in the show's numerous fight scenes stirred the public's imagination. Thousands
of new students became involved in the martial arts. This development seemed to prove that the popularity and acceptance of
the Asian martial arts was directly related to the degree of its exposure in the visual media.
The year 1966 marked
the competitive debut of Joe Lewis, who had distinguished himself quickly, earning his black belt in Okinawa in a mere seven
months. With just twenty-two months of training, Lewis entered his first tournament in 1966, Rhee's U.S. Nationals. He won
the black belt championship, using one technique exclusively, the side kick Astonishingly, no opponent scored a single point
against him. Demonstrating his versatility, Lewis also won the black belt kata championship.
During the late 1960s
the number of karate tournaments swelled substantially on a state, regional, and especially, on the national level. Yet, as
the sport grew, so did its problems. Promoters disagreed on rules and procedures; the sport suffered from a lack of unification
and standardization, a problem that continues to plague it today.
These difficulties did not impede two rising tournament
stars, both of whom became recognized world champions: Chuck Norris and Skipper Mullins.
After losing the 1966 Internationals
grand championship to Allen Steen, Norris came back to win the grand title two years running, 1967 and 1968. He also won the
grand title of the 1967 and 1968 Al1 American Karate Championships, produced by S Henry Cho in New York.
Norris was
an innovator in combination techniques; until his arrival fighters usually delivered only one technique to score a point.
After his victories combinations became standard in the sport.
Skipper Mullins, 6 feet, 150 Ibs., was heralded as
the fastest kicker in karate. Many of his victories were the result of whiplike kicks, at a time when punchers dominated the
tournament circuit. Mullins rose to prominence on lightweight and middleweight victories in the Al1 American Karate Championships,
produced by Jack Hwang in Oklahoma City, and the Top 10 Championships. In one weekend in Feb 1967 Mullins fought in New York
City on Friday, Dallas on Saturday, and Los Angeles on Sunday.
Norris and Mullins, with Mike Stone and Joe Lewis,
the great karate champions of the 1960s-only Lewis continued competing into the 1970s
Team Competition In 1967, in
New York City, team competition was introduced. The concept was originated by Aaron Banks, who became karate's most prolific
promoter. Banks started the team competition format, producing the first team event of national caliber in 1968, the East
Coast vs. West Coast Team Championships. The victorious West Coast contingent was represented by Joe Lewis, Steve Sanders,
Chuck Norris, and Jerry Taylor. Representatives for the East Coast were Thomas LaPuppet, Joe Hayes, Kazuyoshi Tanaka, and
Louis Delgado.
Team competition was soon adopted by karate promoters throughout the country. Banks also deserves credit
for keeping sport karate flourishing in New York when others could not: from 1967 to 1975 his over 100 flamboyant productions
gave regional exposure to aspiring East Coast competitors.
The Sport Turns Professional For five years, from 1963-68,
sport karate had grown strictly on an amateur basis. In 1968 several promoters endeavored independently to add a professional
dimension, offering prize money to victorious fighters and meeting the expenses of star names participating in the events.
In Feb. 1968 Jim Harrison staged the 1st World Professional Karate Championships (WPKC), the first of a string of
tournaments to use this popular title. In principle, at least, this was the first professional tournament in the history of
American karate. Harrison conducted the event in his Kansas City dojo, two days after Allen Steen's U.S. Championships in
Dallas. Many top fighters were invited, but in view of Harrison's permissive rules, which endorsed heavy contact, only six
fighters participated. They were: Joe Lewis, Bob Wall, Skipper Mullins, J. Pat Burleson, David Moon, and Fred Wren. Several
fighters suffered broken ribs and noses and were forced to forfeit. Lewis won the title, becoming karate's first paid professional
fighter when Harrison awarded him
the token sum of one dollar.
In Aug.1968 Robert Trias and Atlee Chittim produced
the World's Hemisphere Karate Championships in San Antonio, Tex. The second professional karate promotion held in the U.S.,
this was the first to be conducted as a genuine tournament. Victor Moore of Ohio won the grand championship in a spirited
battle with Joe Lewis and took a purse of $500. (Lewis also took away $500, a contract guarantee.)
The most important
professional karate event of the decade was Aaron Banks' World Professional Karate Championship, produced on Nov.24, 1968,
at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. This invitational established four fighters as recognized world champions.
In contrast to Harrison's event, each champion was paid $600. And Banks paid all of his ringside personnel, from officials
to the announcer.
The champions were heavyweight Joe Lewis (over Victor Moore); light-heavyweight Mike Stone over
Bob Taiani middleweight Chuck Norris (over Louis Delgado); and lightweight Skipper Mullins (over Kazuyoshi Tanaka). There
were subsequent protests disputing the event's status as a legitimate world championship, in the sense that the contestants
were predominantly American, but no one disputed the world-class skill of the four winners. (Only Norris returned in 1969
to defend-successfully-his title.)
Another karate competitor who made his bid for national prominence at this time
was Ron Marchini of Stockton, Calif. He won Henry Cho's Tournament of Champions in 1968 in New York City, and then went on
to distinguish himself as one of the top competitors of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Challenges to authority and
inconsistent tournament regulations became the rule rather than the exception, though tournament planning was steadily improving.
The amount of promiscuous contact in tournaments became a destructive issue, and injuries increased dramatically, often because
of inexperienced and intimidated officials. Some believed the sport should encourage contact; others wanted contact barred.
Commercial karate came of age in 1969. Women and children flocked to the schools, as more and more instructors expanded
classes to accommodate them.
In 1968, two influential martial artists, Jay T. Will, and Al Gene Caraulia established
schools in Ohio. Will, a student of Ed Parker and Scott Loring, had relocated from San Jose, Calif., to Columbus, opening
the very first Tracy's karate franchise in the U.S. Caraulia, the winner of Robert Trias' 1963 World Championships, had relocated
to Cleveland from Chicago.
In 1969, Sok Ho Kang, a Korean Tae Kwon Do and World Champion, made his way to Huntington,
West Virginia where he opened his first studio. In early 1970 he meet Danny Lane, a highly decorated U.S.Marine who had justed
returned from Vietnam. Danny became a police officer and went on to become Master Kang's most famous student. Within 5 years
Danny become one of Tae Kwon Do's top competitiors winning the 1975,76,77, U.S. Open Tae Kwon Do Championships after competing
for years and walking in the shawdows Tae Kwon Do greats Joe Hayes, Mike Warren, Albert Cheeks, George
Thanos, Gerald
Robbins, and many more. Master Kang took Danny to Korea in 1975 then only as a second degree black belt and put him up against
the 6th and 7th degree masters in dozens of matches. Danny came out victorious in all the bouts which developed a stir and
talk among the Tae Kwon Do community. Master Kang and Danny went on to open a sucessful chain of Tae Kwon Do Schools in the
West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky area. Danny also turned to professional kickboxing where he was undefeated as a professional
in the middleweight division and was rated in the top ten by PKA when
he retired. Danny started working out with Chuck
Norris and in 1980 became one of his black belts. Danny returned to the ring in the 80's to win (6) Chuck Norris National
UFAF Championships and again in the 90's as he won the 1994 National Ju-Jitsu Masters Championships. He still runs the same
school that Master Kang opened in Huntington in 1970.
Until 1965 the Japanese styles had the largest following in
the U S, but by 1967 Okinawan karate was attracting more students. In 1969, with the great influx of Korean immigrants, tae
kwon do suddenly outdrew the others. More than ever before, practitioners were changing from one style to another. Consequently,
interest in organizations and unification dwindled.
The Birth of Full-Contact Karate Joe Lewis objected to the unrealistic
structure of noncontact karate, in which blows were to be pulled short of actual contact. Its nature was to score points without
producing results-what Bruce Lee called "swimming on dry land." At the peak of Lewis' disenchantment, which had began as early
as 1969, he started training with, and was influenced by, Bruce Lee and ranked heavyweight boxer Joey Orbill. He began training
in various Los Angeles boxing gyms, with the intention of becoming a professional boxer.
In late 1969 Lewis was contacted
by Los Angeles promoter Lee Faulkner, who was organizing a major noncontact team contest in which he wanted Lewis to participate.
Lewis agreed on the condition that Faulkner permit him to fight also in a full-contact match. Faulkner agreed to promote the
bout, but only if Lewis fought in the team event as well. Lewis searched frantically for a suitable opponent. After repeated
rejections from top karate fighters, he found Greg Baines, a San Jose kenpo stylist, who agreed to meet Lewis under full-contact
conditions
The bout, preceded by the U.S. Team Championship, took place on Jan. 17, 1970, at the Long Beach Sports
Arena. Results of the contests were victories for Lewis, by a 2nd-round knockout, and for a West Coast team composed of Lewis,
Mike Stone, Bob Wall, Chuck Norris, and Skipper Mullins. And, while the Lewis/Baines bout had been promoted as the "first
full-contact" championship, during the fight itself the uninformed announcer inadvertently but repeatedly called it "American
kick-boxing." The announcer's blunder caught on, and Lewis became known for having pioneered American kick-boxing. The term
"full-contact karate" would not be used until several years later. In this its original form, full-contact karate survived
for only a year; Lewis successfully defended his title during that year ten times, with no opponent lasting past the 2nd round.
The Jan. 17 team bout also marked the last fight in Chuck Norris' brilliant competitive career.
Karate in the 1970s
Pat Johnson of Sherman Oaks, Calif., a nationally respected tournament referee, originated the "penalty point" system for
excessive contact in 1970. The "Johnson Ruling," as it was called by Karate Illustrated, essentially ended the uncontrolled
"blood and guts era" of noncontact sport karate. Johnson's innovation, introduced at the National Black Belt Championships
in Albuquerque, is used as a standard today in every U.S. karate tournament. Under this rule, competitors who make excessive
contact forfeit one point; any degree of dangerous contact results in disqualification.
The year 1970 also marked
the emergence of amateur sport karate on a truly international scale: 32 nations took part in the 1st WUKO World Karate Championships
at Tokyo's Budokan. A conference held prior to the event had resulted in the name of World Union of Karate-do Organizations
(WUKO). Qualification and participation rules, however, were ill-defined and the competition rules were those used by the
Japanese. WUKO had no constitution or organizational rules covering the tournament. As such, Japan was permitted to have four
teams competing and the U.S. three. Al1 other nations had one. The U.S. members had been selected by extensive negotiations
among the principal U.S. Japanese karate stylists. The only nationally known U.S. member was Tonny Tulleners of Los Angeles;
he won third place in individual fighting at the WUKO event.
The disorganization of the 1st WUKO World Championships
was the chief reason for the eventual existence of two organizations governing international amateur karate: WUKO and the
International Amateur Karate Federation (IAKF) with Los Angeles' Hidetaka Nishiyama the elected executive director as of 1974,
when the association was formed. The struggle to organize international karate has engaged these two bodies since then. The
goal is a worthy one: Olympic recognition and acceptance for the sport.
The AAKF resisted a move in 1973 by the AAU
to relinquish its rights as the international karate representative of the U.S. in WUKO, and subsequently resigned its membership
in the AAU. Afterwards, the AAU formed its own karate committee with Caylor Adkins, a student of Tsutomu Ohshima, named its
first chairman. So bitter were the political conflicts that in 1976 Adkins dropped out of karate altogether and moved from
Los Angeles to a farm in middle America.
In Thailand, its homeland, kick-boxing, or more properly, Muay Thai (Thai
kick-boxing) was-and is-the national pastime. In America, however, it failed dismally. In 1971 American kick-boxing died almost
as suddenly as it had begun. There was virtually no spectator support, and promoters were losing more money than ever before.
Along with kick-boxing, professional karate, in its noncontact form, also died. Chuck Norris held perhaps the last important
pro tournament of the initial era. His 2nd World Pro/Am Championships of 1971 attracted a large representation of top-rated
fighters, but barely 1,000 spectators showed up at the spacious Los Angeles Sports Arena where it was staged.
In the 1970s, the ties between parent schools in Korea and tae kwon do instructors in the U.S. had
been weakened by a decade of separation and "Americanization." Consequently, a number of regional tae kwon do associations
were born. On the nation's college and university campuses the American Tae Kwon Do Coaches Association and the American Collegiate
Tae Kwon Do Association were created in 1972. These organizations worked jointly to send a U.S. team to the inaugural World
Tae Kwon Do Championships in 1973, at which the U.S. team placed second, and the 2nd World Championships in 1974, both held
in Seoul, Korea.
The most significant development of 1971 was the advent of the "Longstreet" television series, co-starring
Bruce Lee. Unlike productions that had preceded it, the one-hour season opener actually identified the art being shown and
was the first to explain on screen the philosophy behind the Asian fighting arts. The program was a showcase for Lee's innovative
teaching methods. Cast as a martial arts master, Lee taught the blind detective, Longstreet (James Franciscus), how to protect
himself, through both the physical maneuvers of Jeet Kune Do and Lee's personal philosophy. That particular show is now considered
by many martial arts aficionados Bruce Lee's best work on film, and it has become a classic. The season opener was
written
by Stirling Silliphant, one of Lee's students.
This year marked the rise to stardom of Bill Wallace, who rocketed
from virtual obscurity to America's number-1 -ranked karate fighter, a position he also held in 1972 and again in 1974. Wallace
won Allen Steen's highly competitive U.S. Championships and the USKA Grand Nationals.
In 1972 an astonishing growth
occurred in the martial arts. Much of it was directly attributable to the martial arts' sudden emergence as a bone fide entertainment
vehicle. It began when filmmaker Tom Laughlin released Billy Jack in which he starred. Although the karate sequences in Billy
Jack took but a few minutes of screen time, they were climactic. Filmed in slow motion, with hapkido master Bong Soo Han doubling
for Laughlin, they demonstrated more than any previous motion picture the electrifying visual aspects of the martial arts.
Bruce Lee's Fists of Fury, released on the heels of Billy Jack, became one of the first Chinese films to be distributed
to general movie theaters. In the Orient, it unexpectedly broke all box-office records, eventually surpassing the longstanding
hit, The Sound of Music. Shortly afterward, Lee's second film venture with Raymond Chow, Fist of Fury (The Chinese Connection
in the U.S.), eclipsed the success of its predecessor and catapulted Lee to stardom as the biggest box-office draw in the
history of Asian cinema.
Back in the U.S., the mounting martial arts mania was accommodated by an influx of Hong Kong
kung-fu films that virtually flooded the American market. Critics labeled them "Eastern Westerns" or "chop-sockeye." But the
trend found its way into big-budget projects such as Red Sun, starring Charles Bronson and Toshiro Mifune, and The Mechanic,
again starring Bronson and featuring Hollywood karate master Tak Kubota.
Kung Fu, starring David Carradine, aired
as an ABC-TV Movie of the Week on Aug. 8, 1972. This weekly series, which showcased martial arts philosophy as well as physical,
had a positive effect on the trend, introducing martial arts on a regular basis directly to American living rooms.
The
need for stuntmen familiar with the martial arts grew. Conventional Hollywood stuntmen were at the time inexperienced in the
arts, and martial artists poured into Hollywood casting offices. Some of the more flamboyant and fortunate were catapulted
to stardom. With the release of Melinda, Los Angeles' Jim Kelly, hired as a fight-scene choreographer, was made a co-star.
Kelly went on to star in Enter the Dragon, Black Belt Jones, The Golden Needles,
Also in 1972 Emil Farkas founded
Creative Action Associates, the first martial arts company to cater to the motion picture and television industries. His company
set up action sequences for shows such as "The FB.I.," "Mannix," "Mod Squad," "Mission Impossible," "Spiderman," and many
others.
Hungarian-born Farkas came to the U.S. in 1965 with black belts in judo and karate. He began giving private
lessons to some of Hollywood's top celebrities, among them Phil Spector, the Beach Boys, Herb Alpert, Jimmy Caan, Dennis Hopper,
Fred Williamson, etc. Through his students Farkas gained entrance to Hollywood's inner circle and soon was working regularly
on T.V. shows and features as a fight choreographer and stuntman.
Joe Lewis unexpectedly announced his retirement
in 1972. During his tenure as champion, Lewis amassed more than 30 major titles. He was the only four-time grand champion
of the U.S. National Karate Championships (1966-69) and the only three-time grand champion of the International Karate Championships
(1969-71).
Coincidental with the entertainment craze, tournament karate was thriving as never before. In 1972 Mike
Stone, now a promoter, conceived the first tournament franchise. Earlier, Stone, together with Chuck Norris and Bob Wall,
had created the Four Seasons Karate Championships, a quarterly series of contests held in southern California. When the others
lost interest, Stone maintained the tournaments. In 1972 he sold its name and concept to promoters in other parts of the country
and created the Four Seasons Nationals in Las Vegas as the culminating event of the network.
Public interest in martial
arts reached its zenith in 1973. Thousands of spectators who formerly had no interest in karate supported tournaments as never
before. And theaters showcasing martial arts films were doing great box-office business.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong,
Bruce Lee was working constantly. Following Way of the Dragon, his third hit, he immediately started production on Game of
Death. But the film was interrupted when Lee received a co-production offer from Warner Bros. to star in Enter the Dragon.
Enter the Dragon was the first co-production between Chinese and Hollywood filmmakers. On July 20, 1973, shortly before the
U.S. release of Enter the Dragon, the world was staggered by the unexpected death of Bruce Lee in Hong Kong.
Only
32, he allegedly died from acute brain swelling, the cause of which remains enigmatic. Lee's chief jeet kune do protégé is
Dan Inosanto.
Enter the Dragon became the king of martial arts movies, the unsurpassed classic of the genre. Today,
this picture stands out as one of the most profitable in international cinema history. Though numerous imitators attempted
to replace Lee, no one could duplicate his spectacular success. By 1974 the martial arts craze, commonly called the "Bruce
Lee Era" began tapering off.
Professional Karate Revival The comeback began in the summer of 1973, when Oklahoman
Mike Anderson published his inaugural edition of Professional Karate Magazine. Anderson openly campaigned for the restoration
of professional karate, backed by his quarterly publication and his compilation of national and regional ratings of karate
players. Widespread acceptance of these ratings revolutionized the ratings polls, making Black Belt's annual Top 10 rating
antiquated by comparison.
Shortly after the release of his inaugural issue, Anderson staged his Top 10 Nationals in
St. Louis. Anderson offered a$1,000 grand championship purse, a precedent immediately adopted by other major promoters. The
event was the first to make mandatory the use of Jhoon Rhee's newly created Sate-T Equipment in the black belt fighting divisions.
This innovation launched a new form of karate fighting, which in 1974 was dubbed "semicontact" by martial arts journalist
John Corcoran. The use of Safe-T Equipment, basically foam rubber hand and foot pads, added excitement to competition, safely
permitting moderate contact to both the face and body.
At this event Los Angeles' Howard Jackson won the grand championship
and prize money. At 5 feet 5 inches, 152 Ibs, Jackson became the first lightweight to dominate his sport and professional
karate's biggest money winner of 1973.
Jackson had usurped Bill Wallace, at the time America's top tournament fighter.
Wallace was a sport karate phenomenon in that he gained most of his victories by relying on one technique exclusively, a left-footed
whip-like roundhouse kick. His kicks were clocked at an incredible delivery speed ot 60 m.p.h., and when he later became the
premier star of full-contact karate, he was aptly nicknamed "Superfoot "
On June 4, 1973, John Corcoran was hired
as book editor for Ohara Publications, the sister company of Rainbow Publications, publishers of Black Belt and Karate Illustrated.
By the end of the year, he had begun to work on both magazines as assistant editor. Corcoran was the first karate black belt
to become an editor of these publications, and he rose to prominence as one of the first genuine martial arts journalists
in America. He was preceded as a black belt editor only by Official Karate's Al Weiss. Corcoran was a student of Glenn Premru.
Corcoran was hired the same week as Jerry Smith, a commercial artist, who was also a black belt and a disciple of
Joe Lewis. The pair formed an intimate friendship and Corcoran continued his martial arts studies with Smith, who was to become
recognized as one of the first full-contact karate coaches in the U.S.
In Aug.1974 Ed Parker offered a winner-take-all
purse of $2,500 for the grand champion of his International Karate Championships in Long Beach. In a spectacular 25-point
overtime match, John Natividad, a student of Chuck Norris and Jerry Taylor, defeated Benny Urquidez,13-12. Even today, spectators
debate the outcome of this classic contest; some believe Urquidez, a regional favorite, scored an overtime point against the
favored Natividad before the latter landed his conclusive point. Historians call it one of the greatest bouts of the light-contact
era.
The continuing martial arts mania kept business flourishing through 1974. Aaron Banks' Oriental World of Self-Defense,
an annual production of martial arts demonstrations, set a gate record in its field. The promotion, held at Madison Square
Garden, attracted 19,564 spectators,according to Banks. The paid live gate reportedly reached $100,000. The event was aired
on ABC's "Wide World of Sports."
Ken Min, of the University of California at Berkeley, conducted the first collegiate
survey in 1974 to determine how many schools offered karate, tae kwon do, and kung-fu classes on campus.
Judo, which
preceded other arts in its American migration, outranked all of them Of 596 colleges responding to the survey, 278 offered
some type of judo program. At the same time, there was equal interest in karate, tee kwon do, and kung-fu. Of 448
colleges
reporting, 228 offered some type of program in one of these three disciplines.
Joe Lewis and Tom Tannenbaum decided
to resurrect full-contact karate. They planned to promote the World Professional Karate Championships. Lewis brought Mike
Anderson into the deal and Anderson spent most of 1974 preparing for what was to become the most extraordinary promotion in
American karate history. He spent months finding and establishing European and Asian representatives. German karate entrepreneur
George Bruckner, Anderson's friend and business associate, conducted an elimination contest to determine European full-contact
representatives. Three of the four American representatives were selected on the basis of their divisional supremacy in Professional
Karate's ratings: they were lightweight Howard Jackson of Los Angeles, middleweight Bill Wallace of Memphis, and light heavyweight
Jeff Smith of Washington, D.C. Joe Lewis, originally scheduled to co-host the event, chose to come out of retirement and fight
as the heavyweight representative. Lewis was the only karate fighter with full-contact experience.
Jeff Smith, during
this year, had surpassed Jackson to become America's foremost tournament fighter. He was, in fact, named the 1974 "Fighter
of the Year" by Professional Karate Magazine. A product of the rugged Texas school of karate, Smith had moved to the nation's
capital in the early 1970s to teach for Jhoon Rhee.
Two months before the event, in July 1974, Anderson relocated
his operation to Los Angeles. In August he formed a promotion company with Beverly Hills business couple, Don and Judy Quine,
who helped finalize negotiations with Universal Television. In late August, the Quines and Anderson formed the Professional
Karate Association (PKA), the sport's first sanctioning body, to establish full-contact karate as a major professional sport
with recognized champions, standardized rules, and network television coverage of its bouts. Anderson also persuaded Bob McLaughlin
and John Corcoran, editors of Black Belt and Karate Illustrated, to work jointly as editors of Professional Karate. Instead
of editing, however, the two worked feverishly on the fast approaching World Championships.
On the night of Sept.14,
1974, at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 14 fighters from eight countries vied in a double elimination for the inaugural titles.
Four emerged as world professional full-contact champions: heavyweight Joe Lewis, light heavyweight Jeff Smith, middleweight
Bill Wallace, and lightweight Isaias Duenas of Mexico City. Among the American entrants, only Howard Jackson, suffering from
a severe knee injury, lost his bid for the title. This extravaganza drew one of the largest live gates for competition karate,
$50,000, and attracted more than 10,000 spectators. Anderson awarded an unprecedented $20,000 in total prize money Each champion
earned $3,000, while runners-up received a smaller purse. All fourteen participants were
given a guaranteed minimum. Much
of this impressive news soured, however, when Anderson later reported a personal loss exceeding $60,000. Tom Tannenbaum sold
the broadcast rights to ABC's "Wide World of Entertainment." The event aired twice as a 90-minute special, the first time
acquiring the highest rating of a "Wide World" special for 1974.
Great controversy ensued. The traditional karate
community contended that full-contact degraded the art form and would have a negative influence on school enrollments. This
faction felt the television coverage for the sport gave the impression that full-contact was taught in schools everywhere
as a required course of learning and would therefore discourage parents from enrolling their children. Moreover, detractors
protested the association of the word "karate" with full-contact and vocally sought a name change to "kick-boxing."
It
wasn't to be. For one, the sport could only be sold to television because of the popularity of karate. It was a word and an
activity with which television executives were familiar. Kick-boxing, on the other hand, was associated with the far more
brutal sport popular in Thailand and Japan. When its promoters attempted to get it on American television, they failed. TV
executives felt it was too violent. Consequently, the name "full-contact karate" was retained.
In Oct. 1974 tae kwon
do was recognized as an amateur sport separate from karate by the AAU. This development was chiefly due to the efforts of
Ken Min, tae kwon do coach of Berkeley University, with the support and aid of members of the AAU Judo Committee and a dozen
tae kwon do masters. A number of important tournaments-starting with the 1st AAU Invitational Tae Kwon Do Championships in
June 1974, held at Berkeley under Min's able direction, through the 1st National AAU Tae Kwon Do Championships, conducted
at Yale university in Mar. 1975, and the Mar 1976 version held in Kansas City-promoted and publicized the sport aspect of
this Korean art.
It was in Kansas City that a U.S. tae kwon do federation was conceived with the purpose of supporting
the National AAU Tae Kwon Do Committee. Tae Kwon Do programs in American universities reached a new level of progress with
the advent of the 1st National Collegiate Tae Kwon Do Championships, held at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La.
From
1975 onward, two activities dominated the martial arts: films and the sport. These continue to be the most active and visible
aspects of the industry, based simply on mass exposure through the various media.
The year 1975 was one of economic
disaster, signaling the beginning of the end of the martial arts movie boom. The industry suffered a double blow when it was
victimized jointly by the depressed national economy and the pronounced tapering off of martial arts in the cinema. Some instructors
blamed the new full-contact movement for deteriorating enrollments at the school level. Others felt it was not the sport itself,
but poorly conditioned fighters and unprofessional promotions.
Following the inaugural world championships, a rash
of full-contact promotions broke out in 1975, spreading to epidemic proportions. At one point in Los Angeles alone, hardly
a week passed without a full-contact event. Within a year of its birth, no less than seven full-contact karate organizations
sprang up. Their organizers were convinced that the infant sport and its potential sales appeal to television might be the
financial salvation of the declining martial arts industry. It wasn't.
In all fairness, the army of inept promoters
who tried to capitalize on the young sport were not totally at fault. Some blame has to be shared by the fighters themselves.
Many entered the ring preposterously under conditioned, and none of them had any ring experience.
Those organizations
that moved into the promotional end of the sport in 1975 were: Tommy Lee's World Series of Martial Arts; Jhoon Rhee's World
Black Belt League (WBBL), a team concept; Joe Corley's South East Professional Karate Commission (SEPKC); Aaron Banks' World
Professional Karate Organization (WPKO); and Larry Scott's and Valerie Williams' National Karate League (NKL), another team
concept. Each association created its own rules, sanctioned its own promotions, and established its own champions. Each independently
sought television exposure for its promotions. Of these early organizations only two remain: Banks' WPKO and Rhee's WBBL.
The Scott/Williams NKL featured Benny Urquidez as its premier star. Urquidez quickly accumulated the most impressive
record in his sport by virtue of his consistent victories in 3- and 5-round NKL team bouts across the country. However, the
NKL was under-financed and suffered major losses. It disbanded in 1976. Its principals left substantial debts in their wake,
as well as a negative business reputation for karate in general.
In 1975, 50 million viewers saw full-contact karate
when Jeff Smith defeated Karriem Allah. The closed-circuit broadcast was a preliminary card to the Muhammad Ali/Joe Frazier
"Thrilla in Manila" fight.
On May 3, 1975, the PKA, in conjunction with Joe Corley's Battle ot Atlanta in Georgia,
produced a full-contact card whose main event the much-acclaimed bout between Corley himself and Bill Wallace. It marked the
first title defense of the new sport and, as in Los Angeles, it attracted more than 10,000 spectators to the Omni Arena. Wallace
retained his crown with a 9th-round TKO.
Notable at this event were two new concepts: the addition of professional
kata competition to the regular competition, an innovation of Mike Anderson's at his Top 10 Nationals in St. Louis; and the
introduction of martial ballet, created by Jhoon Rhee, in which a team of black belts perform a synchronized kata routine
to classical music. This latter concept served as the prototype of the musical kata divisions gaining popularity in American
karate tournaments today.
One week later, on May 10, Aaron Banks conducted a title defense held under the auspices
of his WPKO. Presented at the Nassau Coliseum in New York, Banks' event later aired on ABC's "Wide World of Sports," a development
creating a fierce dispute between Banks and the Quines, whose original PKA event had aired as an ABC network special. The
PKA felt it was a conflict of interest on the part of ABC to air two different events that declared two different sets of
"world champions." Banks' card crowned four divisional champions: heavyweight Joe Hess of New York (now of Florida), light
heavyweight Fred Miller of New York, middleweight Kasim Dubar of New York, and lightweight Benny Urquidez of Los Angeles.
By year's end, Urquidez was the leading money winner of his sport, having earned more than $30,000.
In June 1975,
Mike Anderson resigned as an executive officer of the PKA to pursue the promotion of the sport on his own. The Quines assumed
complete control of the PKA, while Anderson eventually formed the World All-Style Karate Organization (WAKO) with George Bruckner
in West Berlin, Germany. At the same time, Anderson's Professional Karate magazine was suffering from poor sales. He decided
to move His operation back to Oklahoma City. Bob McLaughlin entered the public relations business; John Corcoran joined author
Bob Wall as editor of Wall's self-published book, Who's Who in the Martial Arts. By autumn, Corcoran launched a full-time
career as a free-lance writer specializing in the martial arts.
Professional Karate, it must be emphasized, left a
lasting mark in its field. No magazine before or after it had such a profound impact on all aspects of the sport, its participants,
and its formation of a professional foundation. Through Professional Karate, careers were launched and professional karate
athletes began to receive a degree of respect and admiration they had never before known. Most of these benefits can be directly
attributed to the magazine's founder and publisher, Mike Anderson, who often put his money where his heart was to promote
the sport.
The movies of 1975 included the Stirling Silliphant-scripted The Killer Elite, directed by Sam Peckinpah.
The film featured a bevy of West Coast martial artists clad in ninja disguises engaging in poorly staged fight scenes having
nothing to do with ninjutsu. The Killer Elite suffered from production disputes and inferior editing. It did average box-office
business.
Bruce Lee: His Life and Legend, to which Warner Bros. devoted $200,000 in development costs, never advanced
from preproduction. Warners launched a worldwide search for a candidate to play the lead role in this Bruce Lee bio, co-scripted
by Linda Lee, Bruce's widow, and director Robert Clouse. Advertisements seeking the candidate were run in major newspapers
across the U.S, and thousands of aspiring martial artists swarmed the Burbank studio applying for the role. Denver's Al Dacascos
was given serious consideration. The producers eventually settled on Chinese-Canadian Alex Kwok of Vancouver. After changing
his name to Alex Kwon, capping his teeth, and paying him a holding fee, the producers dropped the project and the film was
never made.
The big disappointment of 1975 was the final retirement of superstar Joe Lewis following two back-to-back
nontitle defeats. Remarkably, in the last of these bouts, Lewis dislocated his right shoulder after the 1st round and, despite
excruciating pain, continued fighting for the duration of the contest. He lost a seven-round decision to Ross Scott because
of penalties for insufficient kicks.
Ed Parker's Internationals in Aug.1975 awarded the largest sum of prize money
ever for a Pro/Am karate tournament, a total of $16,250. Kata winners were awarded an overall $1,000 of that sum. The two
figures stand as records to this day.
Along with Washington vs. Dominican Republic team matches on Sept.14, 1975,
Jhoon Rhee presented a special politician's semicontact division pitting a trio of Democrats against a Republican threesome
in whet was called the Capitol Hill Grudge Bout. Presented under the auspices of Rhee's World Black Belt League, the novel
division featured Democrats Rep. Walter Fauntroy (D.C.), Rep. Tom Bevill (Ala.), and Sen. Quentin Burdick (N.D.) against Republicans
Rep. Willis Grandison, Jr. (Ohio), Rep. Floyd Spence (S.C.), and Sen. Ted Stevens (Alaska). The Congressmen appeared on behalf
of the Freedom of the Press Foundation; they were members of Rhee's twice-weekly classes and have come to be known as the
"Capitol Hill karate corps." (The match was drawn.)
On Sept. 21, in conjunction with Georg Bruckner's All European
Karate Championships, America's Gordon Franks met Mexico's Ramiro Guzman to decide who would emerge as the first world super
lightweight champion of full-contact karate. Franks, then a Ramiro Guzman 20-year-old college student from Minneapolis, won
the title in a unanimous 9-round decision. Promoted at the Deutschlandhalle Arena in West Berlin, it was the first full-contact
world title fight to be staged in a foreign country. The promotional budget was reportedly $130,000, the single most expensive
karate promotion up to that time. Franks, besides being the original champion in this 139-lb division, was also the first
black fighter to become a full-contact world champion.
Also in 1975, the 3rd WUKO World Karate-do Championships were
held, for the first time in the U.S., at the Long Beach Arena. It was an uneventful tournament for the U.S. amateur karate
athletes. The British team emerged as the new world champions, and the Japanese fighters, as usual, dominated the individual
competition.
In Black Belt's 1976 survey respondents in karate registered an 11 percent increase in students from
1975-76. Judo and tee kwon do registered no increase or decrease. Yet, many leaders in karate stated that a decline took place.
One answer may be that the decline was registered in 1974-75 and that interest had picked up in this year. A statistic of
interest was that 18 percent of all students in both 1975 and 1976 were female. Approximately 31 percent of all students were
children,14 or younger. However, it was not clear from the survey that girls age 14 or younger were not also included in the
female as well as the children's statistics.
In 1976 the full-contact karate movement continued to be the pacesetter
for the industry. By now, most of the smaller promoters found the expense prohibitive, and the more distinguished entrepreneurs
took command of the sport. Most of the lavish events were filmed for television and appeared on sports shows such as "The
Champions," "CBS Sports Spectacular," and the PKA's 90-minute "Sports Special of the Month."
The year kicked off with
champion Bill Wallace becoming the first karate athlete ever to participate in ABC's "Superstars" competition. Wallace appeared
in the third set of eliminations on Jan. 31, which was broadcast nationwide on Feb. 7. Wallace placed in two events, but finished
only tenth out of 11 entrants in his elimination series, besting Lynn Swann of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite a disappointing
finish, it was an extraordinary endorsement for the sport of karate.
Prior to Wallace's appearance, Don Quine, who
now managed the champion, originated the nickname "Superfoot," a nickname attributed to Wallace's uncanny kicking ability.
A PKA event held at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on Oct. 1, 1976, marked the beginning of the association's contractual
arrangement with CBS Sports, as well as a merger attempt with promoter Howard Hanson of Westminster, Ca. The CBS deal eventually
accounted for tour network broadcasts per year of PKA sanctioned world title tights. Critics accused the PKA of conflict of
interest. The organization was operating both as a sanctioning body and, through Sport Karate, Inc., a sister corporation,
as a promotional body. The PKA principals, Don and Judy Quine, countered by claiming the sport's survival depended on their
synthesis of its various activities. The PKA sanctioned a total of 19 events in 1976.
After his merger attempt with
the PKA soured, Howard Hanson formed the World Karate Association (WKA), a full-contact sanctioning body that became the PKA's
strongest competitor. As its president, Hanson survived by arranging promotions in Japan, pitting Japanese kick-boxers against
American full-contact karate fighters, using a combination ot the two sports' rules. After the PKA stripped Benny Urquidez
ot his lightweight title in 1977, the champion fought predominantly in the WKA and quickly established himself as a superstar
in Asia, where he defeated every kick-boxing challenger and champion he tought.
The most bitter conflict between the
PKA and the WKA is a dispute over rules. The WKA advocates the use of leg kicks, while the PKA rigidly opposes them. The issue
is one of potential injury to the athletes. The PKA maintains that these techniques are dangerous to the fighter's physical
safety and his career longevity. Hanson parries this charge by pointing to the Orient, where some kick-boxing champions remain
active after more than 50 fights where leg kicks, at their most vicious, are employed.
In Sept. 1976 California passed
a law placing full-contact karate under the jurisdiction of the State Athletic Commission (SAC), which regulates professional
and amateur boxing and wrestling. It marked the first time that any form of American karate was regulated by a government
body, even though many martial artists had been attempting tor years to bring traditional karate under government supervision
tor licensing ot instructors. The California commission sanctioned the organization of the volunteer group called the Full
Contact Karate Advisory Board to assist in the formation of standard rules and practices tor the sport.
The state
athletic commissions, which regulate professional and amateur boxing and wrestling have gradually begun regulating full-contact
karate since 1976.
In California, the SAC generally recognized the PKA's rules and policies as standards tor the sport,
with the exception of the controversial leg kicks. In July 1978 the North American Boxing Federation, to which all SACs belong,
approved a motion to officially recognize the PKA as the international governing body of professional full-contact karate.
Finally in 1976, amateur karate, under the WUKO, was accepted for membership in the General Assembly of International
Sports Federations (GAIF), bringing it one step closer to the Olympics. In the following year, however, the General Assembly
ot the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued a directive specitying that the two world karate bodies, the WUKO and
the IAKF, had to unity before Olympic recognition ot karate would be granted. As a result, that recognition was postponed
indefinitely.
1976 WORLD TITLE FIGHTS
Date: 2/8; Site: Atlanta, Gal; Sanction: SEPKA; Division: Lt. Hvywt.;
Winner: Jeff Smith;
Loser: Wally Slocki; Promoter: Joe Corley; Television: "The Champions" (Syndication).
Date:
3/13; Site: Las Vegas, Nev.; Sanction: PKA; Division: Midwt.; Winner: Bill,,Wallace;
Loser: Jem Echollas; Promoter: SKI;
Television: "Sports Special of the Month" (90-minute
syndication).
Date: 5/29; Site: Toronto, Can.; Sanction:
PKA; Division: Midwt.; Winner: Bill Wallace;
Loser: Daniel Richer; Promoter: Jong Soo Park; Television: Filmed by ABC
"Wide World of
Sports" but not aired.
Date: 8/28; Site: Honolulu, Hawaii; Sanction: PKA; Division: Hvywt.; Winner:
Teddy
Limoz; Loser: Mike Arroyo; Division: Ltwt.; Winner: Benny Urquidez; Loser: Earnest Hart, Jr.;
Promoter: SKI/Hanson.
Date: 10/1; Site: Los Angeles, Calif.; Sanction: PKA; Division: Mdwt.; Winner: Bill Wallace;
Loser: Gary Edens;
Division: Ltwt.; Winner: BennyUrquidez;Loser: EddieAndujar; Promoter:
SKI/Hanson; Television: "CBS Sports Spectacular."
Activities in the sport and movies continued to remain at the forefront of the martial arts for 1977. The big news
was the starring debut of Chuck Norris, the first karate champion turned actor. Norris was best known to film peers for his
performance against Bruce Lee in the climactic fight scene of Return of the Dragon. His first starring role came in Breaker,
Breaker, a low-budget exploitation film that attempted to capitalize on Norris' karate name and expertise and the CB radio
trend. Filmed for under $250,000, Breaker, Breaker, according to director Don Hulette, grossed $10 million.
Before
the release of Breaker, Breaker, Norris signed a three-picture deal with a new production company called American Cinema and
began filming Good Guys Wear Black. By the time it had run its course, Good Guys had grossed $20 million.
The ramifications
of this film are extraordinary. Norris had single-handedly restored interest in the martial arts genre at a time when Hollywood
refused to make such films.
Other film making efforts featuring the martial arts this year included Revenge of the
Pink Panther, starring Peter Sellers with Ed Parker as a hired karate assassin. A Fistful of Yen, starring Bong Soo Han of
Billy Jack fame, was one of three vignettes composing the satirical Kentucky Fried Movie. Yen is actually a parody of Enter
the Dragon and is perhaps the first American made comedy related to the martial arts genre. It has become a cult classic.
With two national television broadcasts and a total of ten sanctioned events in 1977, the PKA remained at the forefront
of contact karate. The April 23 "Triple Crown" championship from the Las Vegas Hilton was broadcast live by "CBS Sports Spectacular,"
marking the first live broadcast of karate in any form in U.S. history. But the PKA principals, Don and Judy Quine, were also
pressing its world champions to sign exclusive contracts with them. Refusal on the part of several led to the Quines stripping
them of their titles. One of these stripped champions was Benny "The Jet" Urquidez.
Howard Hanson, who had just formed
his World Karate Association quickly recruited Urquidez to fight in the Orient under the WKA banner. Urquidez went to Japan
and became the first American fighter ever to beat the Japanese kick-boxers at their own genie. Urquidez scored a knockout
over champion Katsuyuki Suzuki on Aug. 2 before a national television audience in Japan. His victory amounted to a national
insult to the Japanese, who take their sport very seriously. Following his win, retired and undefeated champion Kunimatsu
Okao publicly challenged Urquidez to a bout for which he would come out of retirement. Urquidez accepted. On Nov. 14, at the
prestigious Budokan in Tokyo, the two met in a vicious showdown resulting in an Urquidez victory. Bloody and battered, Okao
was knocked out cold in the 4th round and had to be helped from the ring. The bout was carried over Japanese national television
and drew an unprecedented $500,000 live gate, the largest on record for professional karate.
The victory brought Urquidez'
record to 40-0 with 38 knockouts, the best in his sport, and made him an international celebrity. In Japan, he became a cult
hero and the central figure of a series of comic books entitled Benny the Jet. He also represented his sport in a Japanese
documentary, Kings of the Square Ring, which also features boxing's Muhammad Ali and wrestling's Antonio Inoki.
Howard
Jackson became the first karate champion to enter professional boxing and win. Within one year, Jackson amassed a pro boxing
record of 14-1-2 with 11 knockouts. Jackson's precedent has since 1977 led the way for other karate athletes to pursue dual
careers in the boxing and karate rings.
The 4th WUKO World Karate-do Championships in 1977 marked the return of this
international event to Tokyo. The tournament, held at the Budokan, featured kata competition for the first time. American
players fared better at kata than fighting, but tied for fifth place in team fighting. Japan dominated the kata competition,
winning the two top positions, and the strong Dutch contingent surprisingly dominated both the team and individual fighting
titles. Otti Roetot of Gary Sproul wins WAKO full-contact light heavyweight title in Tampa, Fla., 1978.
On March 5,
1977, the 3rd National AAU Tae Kwon Do Championships were held at the University of California at Berkeley, in conjunction
with the 1st North American Tae Kwon Do Championships. The latter event was highlighted by the first organizational meeting
of the North American Tae Kwon Do Union. Later, on Sept.15-17, at the Amphitheater in Chicago, the World Tae Kwon Do Championships
made its debut in America.
1977 WORLD TITLE FIGHTS
Date: 3/12; Site: Los Angeles, Calif.; Sanction: WKA; Division:
spr.. Ltwt.; Benny Urquidez/Narong Noi (Declared a no contest); Promoter: Howard
Hanson.
Date: 4/23; Site: Las
Vegas, Nev.; Division: Hvywt.; Winner: Ross Scott; Loser: Everett Eddy; Division: Midwt.; Winner: Bill Wallace; Loser: Pilinky
Rodriguez; Division: Ltwt.; Winner: Benny Urquidez; Loser: Howard Jackson; Promoter: SKI; Television: "CBS Sports Spectacular"
(Wallace/Rodriguez
aired live).
Date: 5/21; Site: Providence, R.l.; Sanction: PKA; Division: Midwt.; Winner: Bill
Wallace; Loser: Ron Thiveridge; Promoter: Hee II Cho.
Date: 5/21; Site: Charlotte, N.C.; Sanction: PKA; Division:
Lt. Hvywt.; Winner: Jeff Smith; Loser: Keith Haflick; Promoter: Jerry Piddington.
Date: 8/2; Site: Tokyo, Japan; Sanction:
WKA; Division: Spr.. Ltwt.; Winner: Benny Urquidez; Loser: Katsuyuki Suzuki; Promoter: Howard Hanson / Ron
Holmes / Hisashi
Shima /Antonio Inoki; Television: Japanese national TV
Date: 10/8; Site: Indianapolis, Ind; Sanction: PKA; Division:
Midwt.; Winner: Bill Wallace; Loser: M. Pat Worley; Division: Welwt.; Winner: Earnest Hart, Jr.;
Loser: Eddie Andujar;
Promoter: SKI; Television: "CBS Sports Spectacular."
Date: 11/14; Site: Tokyo, Japan; Sanction: WKA; Division: Spr..
Ltwt.; Winner: Benny Urquidez; Loser: Kunimatsu Okao; Division: Ltwt.; Winner:
Kunimasa Nagae; Loser: Tony Lopez; Promoter:
Hanson/Holmes/Shima; Television: Japanese national TV.
Date: 11 /28; Site: Honolulu, Hawaii; Sanction: PKA; Division:
Mdwt.: Winner: Bill Wallace; Loser: Burnis White; Promoter: Kip Russo.
Participation in the Korean martial arts reached
an all-time high from 1977-78, according to Black Belt's 1978 survey. Almost 65 percent of the respondents were either students
or instructors in hapkido, tee kwon do, or tang soo do. Also at an all-time high was the percentage of practitioners in the
category of "others," those from obscure or combination arts. In comparison to previous surveys, response from practitioners
of the Japanese arts was at a low, virtually equal to the number of respondents for the Chinese disciplines.
In 1978,
while the WKA was idle, the PKA coordinated a sanction for a light-heavyweight title fight between champion Jeff Smith and
challenger Dominic Valera, for a decade Europe's greatest noncontact karate champion. Valera had made the transition to full-contact
fighting in mid-1975 following a fierce dispute with the WUKO's amateur karate politicians. Valera met Smith for the PKA title
on May 22 in Paris before a sold-out crowd. Smith won a dull 9-round decision.
Also on the international front, John
Corcoran began to syndicate his articles to martial arts magazines across the world. This marked the first time a domestic
writer secured mass exposure abroad for American martial artists and events on a regular basis. He became the world's foremost
martial arts magazine writer and joined an elite group of syndicated peers: Zarko Modric in Yugoslavia and John Robertson
and Arthur Tansley in Japan.
Semicontact (often called "point karate" or "tournament karate") in 1976-77 had sunk
to an all-time low in popularity and interest. Chiefly responsible for the decline was the absence of recognizable stars:
all of the great fighters had turned to full-contact. In 1978, however, a star emerged. Keith Vitali won the grand championships
of two of America's most prestigious tournaments: the Battle of Atlanta and the Mid-America Diamond Nationals. The victories
catapulted him to the pinnacle of every 1978 Top 10 rating poll in the U.S. Vitali duplicated his number-1 rating for the
next three years before retiring in Feb.1981 at 28. He and Bill Wallace are the only point fighters in U S. history to have
been ranked number 1 for three years; Vitali, however, is the only fighter to occupy the position in consecutive years Vitali's
intense rivalry with Texan Ray McCallum, beginning in 1979, infused new life into a sport sorely needing it. Although the
pair met only three times in competition, with Vitali winning twice, the contests were classic encounters. Through their presence
and performance, point fighting was rejuvenated and more martial artists took an interest in the sport. Vitali won the rubber
match at the 1981 Superstar Nationals in Oakland, Ca., where he was grand champion runner-up and announced his retirement
from competition.
1978 WORLD TITLE FIGHTS
Date: 3/1 1; Site: Providence, R.l.; Sanction: PKA; Division: Midwt.;
Winner: Bill Wallace; Loser: Emilio Narvaez; Division: Welwt.; Winner: Bob Ryan; Loser: Earnest Hart, Jr.; Promoter: SKI/George
Pesare; Television: "CBS Sports Spectacular."
Date: 5/22; Site: Paris, France; Sanction: PKA; Division: Lt. Hvywt.;
Winner: Jeff Smith; Loser: Dominic Valera; Promoter: GuyJugla/Marc Counil.
Date: 7/22, Site: W. Palm Beach, Fla.;
Sanction: PKA; Division: Welwt.; Winner: Steve Shepherd; Loser: Bob Ryan; Promoter: Steve Shepherd/Don Haines
Date:
11/30; Site: Atlanta, Gal; Sanction: PKA; Division: Welwt.; Winner: Earnest Hart, Jr.; Loser: Steve Shepherd; Promoter: SKI
/Joe Corley; "CBS Sports Spectacular."
The SecondBoom By 1979, a martial arts movie renaissance was underway. At the
forefront of these films was Chuck Norris, in A Force of One, produced by American Cinema. Due to Norris' personal philosophy,
A Force of One earned a PG (Parental Guidance) rating and consequently reached a huge market of youthful moviegoers. Also
starring Jennifer O'Neill and Bill Wallace, who made his film debut, Force was a box-office hit from its outset and even received
favorable critical reviews.
Joe Lewis, who once competed against Norris in the karate ring, became the second American
karate champion to star in a motion picture. Lewis' transition had been expected by martial artists, since it was common knowledge
that he had been seriously pursuing an entertainment career since 1970, when he took up acting. Filmed on locations in Europe
and Asia, Jaguar Lives Lewis' first film is a spy action adventure in the James Bond tradition.
In 1979, two projects
that originally involved Bruce Lee finally appeared in American theaters. Game of Death, partially filmed by Lee before Enter
the Dragon but unfinished at his death, and Circle of Iron (a.k.a. The Silent Flute), originally written by Lee, Stirling
Silliphant, and actor James Coburn, were replete with production complications and controversy.
Overall, more than
40 PKA-sanctioned events were telecast over the ESPN in 1980, and CBS aired three more. The rival WKA broke into the American
network with one broadcast over "NBC Sports World" and signed a television syndication pact with Hollywood Programmed Entertainment
for the broadcast of 26 full-contact cards domestically and abroad.
In August, Chuck Norris, with a media blitz and
personal appearances, publicized the release of The Octagon. Having fulfilled his contract with American Cinema, Norris became
a free agent. In 1981 -82 he starred in three films-An Eye For An Eye, Silent Rage, and Forced Vengeance-and formed his own
production company.
August also marked the second American tour of a Chinese wu shu troupe, through the coordination
of San Francisco's Anthony Chan, a wu shu stylist and one of America's great form champions. The first visit had been in 1974;
the 1980 tour took the Peking troupe to San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Boston, New York, and Houston. The
troupe's San Francisco performance was filmed by ABC's "Wide World of Sports" for later broadcast.
Full-contact karate
was televised in two national broadcasts of PKA bouts, one on "NBC Sports World," the other on "CBS Sports Spectacular." NBC
aired the unexpected defeat of PKA heavyweight champion Ross Scott by Demetrius Edwards, via a 7th round knockout. This marked
the first of two matches within a one-week period in which established world champions were defeated by challengers.
On
August 9th, challenger Cliff Thomas of El Paso, Texas, assumed the PKA world super-lightweight title,
upsetting Gordon
Franks by a 3rd round TKO, Old champions give way to the new young challengers. The field starts opening up on a grandeur
scale making way for international contenders. The effect is synergistic as the sport renews itself.
Perhaps the greatest
event of the 1980 martial arts renaissance was the staggering success of the television miniseries Shogun. Based on James
Clavell's best-selling novel, the $22 million project aired on NBC the week of Sept. 15-19 in five parts, and presented American
audiences with the first insight into the world of the feudal Japanese samurai. Shogun captured 125 million viewers, or more
than half of the total television viewing audience in the U.S. Shogun's phenomenal success created a new wave of interest
by the American public in learning the "samurai arts." Supply companies reported a sudden boost in orders for samurai swords
and other Japanese-related weapons. Karate schools were inundated with phone calls from potential students, and business increased
dramatically.
With the 1980 Warner Bros. release of The Big Brawl, general American audiences were introduced to the
irrepressible new king of kung-fu, Jackie Chan. Chan's fame spread from Hong Kong when, beginning in 1978, three of his pictures
surpassed the grosses of Bruce Lee's films in Asia: Drunken Monkey in a Tiger's Eye, Fearless Hyena, and The Young Master,
the last having sold more tickets, according to its producers, Golden Harvest, than any picture of any genre ever to play
Hong Kong. Chan was quickly discovered by Hollywood and cast in his first American-made film, The Big Brawl, his American
debut, however, failed to duplicate his international appeal.
When Mexico suffered last-minute sponsorship problems,
the 5th WUKO World Championships was picked up by Spain as the host country. The event, originally scheduled for 1979, was
delayed one year by this development. The tournament took place in Madrid on Nov. 28-29, with 55 countries represented. The
AAU had conducted its team selection tournament in New Jersey, from which America fielded its strongest, most experienced
contingent ever. Head coach Chuck Merriman anticipated the possibility of returning home with a world championship.
Tokey
Hill of Ohio became the first amateur world champion to emerge from the ranks of America's fighters. Not since 1970, at the
inaugural WUKO tournament, had an American placed in individual fighting, when Tonny Tulleners won third place. Hill won a
gold medal and Pennsylvania's Billy Blanks defeated the Spanish national champion to advance to the finals, where he took
a silver medal in the open weight class. Blanks then took a bronze medal in the 80 kg division, making him the only American
double medal winner in world class amateur karate competition.
Another new division, in addition to the open weight
class, was women's kata competition. Kathy Baxter of New York and Pam Glaser of Massachusetts placed within the top 8 finalists,
with Baxter taking a respectable fifth place.
Significantly, the 1980 AAU karate team was composed of players representing
a multitude of karate styles, whereas earlier, most of the U.S representatives had been predominantly Japanese stylists.
The
international rivalry between the WUKO and the IAKF took a bright turn on Dec. 25, 1980, when a unification meeting between
the two organizations took place in Tokyo. Zentaro Kosaka, president of the IAKF, and Ryoichi Saxakawa, president of the WUKO,
initiated talks for the consolidation of international amateur karate-do competition.
Since 1977 the International
Olympic Committee had directed that prior to consideration of karate as a recognized non-participatory Olympic sport, application
for this status must emanate from only one federation truly representing the great majority of karate federations worldwide.
The Dec. 25 conference resulted in unification of the WUKO and the IAKF in Japan only-the intention was to unify amateur karate
in those parts of the world still divided between the two organizations. With world unity essential to IOC acceptance, it
is believed the organizations can overcome the remaining obstacles to that recognition.
HAWAII
Hawaii During the
era of Japanese immigration to Hawaii, in the late 1800s and the early 1900s, many Japanese immigrants trained in the art
of Kodokan judo arrived. The first judo club in Hawaii, the Shunyo-Kan, was formed on March 17,1909, by Shigemi Teshima and
Naomatsu Kaneshige. Consul-General Isami Shishido, 7th dan, joined the club in 1919 and served as chairman of the club's board
of directors for many years.
The Shobu Kan judo club was founded by Yajiro Kitayama, Nakajiro Mino, and others. Its
first dojo site was the basement of the Ono Bakery on Beretania Street, followed by several locations in Honolulu, until it
was moved to its present location on Kunawai Lane in the Liliha area.
Other clubs were subsequently established, and
in 1929, three of the major judo clubs, Shunyo Kan, Shobu Kan, and Hawaii Chuugakko (junior high school) initiated an effort
to organize judo in the territory of Hawaii. The organization hoped to demonstrate a united effort to the community and to
be recognized as an instrument through which the social and cultural significance of this martial art would be transmitted
and perpetuated. Organized judo grew rapidly under the supervision of this body, the Hawaii Judo Kyokai. In 1925, the Kodokan
issued the first certificates for black belts to judoka in Hawaii. In 1927, a judo seminar was conducted by a visiting Waseda
University judo group, headed by Mr. Makino, 6th dan. By 1932, the Hawaii Judo Association had several active clubs, and received
official recognition from Prof. Kano during one of his stopovers in Honolulu. The certificate of recognition, #76, issued
by the Kodokan Judo Institute on November 15,1932, was the first such authorization granted to a yudanshakai outside of Japan.
From "The Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia." by John Corcoran and Emil Farkas
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