Manchester JKF Wadokai

Here's something about the judo life for the students training at Tenri University judo club, one of the leading university clubs in Japan:

www.youtube.com

Slightly unusual group photograph from an interview conducted by Arakawa Toru sensei in 1976, discussing experience of instructors who have taught karate outside of Japan.

At the back right is Higaonna Morio, middle right is Shiomitsu Masafumi, front right Arakawa Toru and left, Fuji Hisaomi. Not in the picture but also present was Kanazawa Hirokazu.

Another fascinating article by Andreas Quast.

Was Kūsankū a Grappler? New Evidence from an Eighteenth-Century Jūjutsu Register | Ryukyu Bugei The Register of Jūjutsu Kata (Jūjutsu Kata no Mokuroku) is a manuscript scroll dated Kansei 5 (1793). It is a mokuroku, or catalog of techni

On one of the Facebook Wadoryu pages there was a post discussing kumite gata and whether Suzuki Tatsuo was familiar with these.

There are certainly photos of him as uke for Otsuka Hironori where they are doing what people now call "kumite gata" (also known as "machite no kata" and "kumite no ura"). For whatever reason these don't seem to be something he adopted into his teaching though.

John Sparkes was one of the four members from the Middlesbrough Budokan club awarded 1st Dan by Suzuki Tatsuo, early in 1965. John told me he thought he was grading for 4th kyu and it was a complete surprise to receive the black belt.

John later gained grades in Aikido and Kendo and had a dedicated dojo for these at the old Larchfield Street sports centre in Darlington.

Suzuki Tatsuo, from the magazine Karate & Oriental Arts, July 1970.

Recently, I was in discussion about Dan grades, mainly in the UK. Specifically we were talking about JKF Wadokai grades.

[Edited] The first of these were issued by Suzuki Tatsuo in January 1965 when he awarded Jim Self the first 1st Dan, literally within the first couple of weeks of Suzuki arriving. It was Jim Self who wrote the letter to invite him to the UK and put up the funds to cover his first year of living costs. Later in April 1965, Suzuki, Kono and Toyama spent a week teaching in the north east of England. At the end of the week, Suzuki granted four 1st Dan certificates to members of the Middlesbrough Budokan club. Those members had been training for a year or two in the version of Shotokan taught by Vernon Bell, but jumped ship to the new organisation called the ABKA when they got wind that Suzuki was arriving in January 1965.

Suzuki was still 5th Dan when he gave that course, as was Kono, whilst Toyama held 4th Dan. A couple of months later, Suzuki had been awarded 7th Dan, Kono 6th Dan and Toyama (along with Yamash*ta) went up to 5th Dan.

When Suzuki parted ways with the ABKA he took with him a small group of clubs and formed the UKKF. This soon took off and grew into one of the main karate organisations in the UK, later becoming the UKKW, but its worth remembering that in its day, ABKA was by far the largest karate organisation in the UK, dwarfing its nearest rival the KUGB.

Grades in the UKKW didn't progress at the pace they can today. I believe the rules stipulated a certain period between grades was required so that by the time of 'the split' the highest grades awarded in UKKW was 3rd Dan. The exception was in 1973 when some members of Suzuk's team split away from him. They arranged a course and invited Kono Teruo to lead it. Kono chaired a Dan grading in which he awarded Peter Spanton a 4th Dan. Spanton had been one of Suzuki's most promising early students in the ABKA but had stayed with that group as a 2nd Dan when Suzuki left it in 1968. Spanton told me that he never received the Dan certificate from the grading.

By 1981, I think most people know there was a bit of disagreement in Wadokai. Without going into that, it led to the formation of Wadoryu Renmei headed notionally by the founder Otsuka Hironori and then by his son, Jiro.

The UKKW eventually chose to join this organisation so the Dan grades issued in the 1980s were those of the Wadoryu Renmei, not Wadokai. I believe by the time of its demise in 1989 there were two people holding 5 Dan and five holding 4th Dan.

Up until the late 1990s, Wadokai accepted Wadoryu Renmei Dan grades, the general feeling being that the two groups might come back together. That rule was then restricted to acceptance up to 3rd Dan and I think early 2000s they gave up on the idea of a reconciliation and no longer accepted Wadoryu Renmei dan grades for new joiners/re-joiners. I think that was the official line anyway but I have heard there was some flexibility on this!

Fast forward to the 2010's and I think Wadokai has firmly re-established itself in the UK and Europe with a very active population training and travelling to seminars and competitions.

So far though, no one resident in Europe has passed the JKF Wadokai 8th practical Dan examination (meaning actually taking the test in front of the panel of examiners). Even the late Ohgami sensei didn't pass this, although he did pass 1st kyu instructor test - which only around 15 people have so far achieved.

In relation to Dan grades, Wadokai issue practical Dan or recommended Dan. In the license book issued by JKF Wadokai these are separately identified. I believe the first UK resident to pass the 7th Dan practical test was Oliver Brunton from Northern Ireland. Until then, I think Ohgami sensei was the only person resident in Europe who held a practical 7th Dan awarded by JKF Wadokai. So far as the UK is concerned, we have four more 7th Dan holders, one member passed in 2020, two in 2023 and one more in 2024. That's it. Elsewhere in Europe, I think there are four more holders of practical 7th grade.

So, I wonder what readers think. Does this compare favourably to other styles that have been established in Europe for as long as Wadoryu?

Another fascinating article by karate researcher Naoki Motobu sensei which will be of interest to Wadoryu karateka.

A Visit from the University of Tokyo Karate Club and Kenpōkai: The Technical Relationship between Motobu Chōki and Wadō-ryū | Motobu Naoki A Visit from the University of Tokyo Karate Club and Kenpōkai: The Technical Relationship between Motobu Chōki and Wadō-ryū by Motobu Naoki on Patreon. Join Motobu Naoki's community for exclusive content and updates.

Wanted to share this excellent work by Andreas Quast

NEW RELEASE: ATEMI — Origins | Theory | Application | Ryukyu Bugei NEW RELEASE: ATEMI — Origins | Theory | Application by Ryukyu Bugei on Patreon. Join Ryukyu Bugei's community for exclusive content and updates.

Motobu Naoki is a leading researcher of karate history. His particular interest is looking into the Okinawan roots of karate but he has covered a lot of ground of interest to Wadoryu karateka too. A lot of his work is behind a paywall but here is one he has put up for free access.

When Did Karate Style Names Emerge? | Motobu Naoki Get more from Motobu Naoki on Patreon