KARATE, contrary to popular understanding is a fairly new phenomenon.

Although derived from older systems from China and Okinawa, karate as we know it was introduced to Japan in the early 1920s by teacher Gichin Funakoshi.

Accepted wisdom is that it was brought to Great Britain in 1957 by Vernon Bell of Essex, who founded the British Karate Federation, but there is some evidence that Maurice Ainsworth brought karate to Darwen from Australia in 1956.

The club he founded, Darwen KC is still in existence so East Lancs has a significant and pioneering role in the development of the art in England.

Karate is unique amongst the Oriental martial arts in that it embraces, in equal measure, a brutal and effective self-defence system; a spiritual and ascetic system of self-improvement, embodied in the Japanese term “Budo” (the code of the warrior); and an exciting and dynamic sport.

Because, partly, of our early involvement in the sport, England – and indeed Britain – has always been at the front of world competition.

A British team beat the French in the final of the first European Championships in Paris in 1966. In 1975 at the third World Championships in Long Beach, California, Great Britain Beat Japan to take the world team title.

Since then, karate in GB has split into four home nations, but a series of splits at world and local level means that there is no recognised National Governing Body in England, and a number of groups claiming World Governing Body status.

This is perhaps one of the reasons that, despite the millions of participants worldwide, karate has never made it into the Olympics.

The North West, along with London and Birmingham has always been a region of excellence for karate and throughout the 1970s and 80s England was particularly strong on the world stage.

East Lancs continues to support a thriving karate community and all four major styles: Shotokan, Wado Ryu, Shito-Ryo (Shukokai) and Goju Ryu are practised.

Note: at the time of writing four of the major Governing Bodies in England have come together to form the “English Karate Council” representing the majority of the estimated 100,000 karateka in England.

Tower Shukokai’s Martyn Skipper is on the board of this group which has reached an advanced stage in discussions with Sport England to become the National Governing Body.

Coincidentally seven international bodies have recently reached an accord and formed “United World Karate” in which over 100 countries are represented and their first unified World Championships will be held in Brazil in 2015.

 

Martyn Skipper, Tower Shukokai