People of Karate
Karate: 57 documented people. Also: codifier (4), predecessor / teacher (1), grandmaster (2), master (9), champion (4), notable figure (8).
Founder (29)
Chojun MiyagiFounder: Goju-ryuOkinawan master from Naha, founder of Goju-ryu (the first Okinawan style recognized by the Dai Nippon Butokukai) and creator of katas Tensho and Gekisai.Ed ParkerFounder: Kenpo KarateHawaiian martial arts teacher (1931–1990), creator of American Kenpo and organizer of the Long Beach International Karate Championships tournament.Eiichi MiyazatoFounder: Jundokan Goju-ryuOkinawan Goju-ryu karate master (1922–1999), student and successor of Chojun Miyagi, founder of the Jundokan dojo in Naha and a judoka with the rank of 8th dan.Gichin FunakoshiFounder: ShotokanOkinawan teacher who in 1922 brought karate to mainland Japan, founded Shotokan and wrote the textbook Karate-Do Kyohan (1935).Hideyuki AshiharaFounder: Ashihara KarateJapanese karateka (1944–1995), former Kyokushin instructor, creator of the concept of sabaki and founder of the Ashihara Karate style and the NIKO organization.Hironori OtsukaFounder: Wado-ryuFounder of Wado-ryu, student of Nakayama in jujutsu and of Funakoshi in karate, who received the 10th dan in 1972.Isamu TamotsuFounder: Shorinji Ryu RenshinkanJapanese karate master who founded the Shorinji-ryu Renshinkan style in Kagoshima in 1955, combining several combat disciplines within it.Joko NinomiyaFounder: Enshin KarateJapanese karateka (b. 1954), student of Hideyuki Ashihara, winner of the 1978 All-Japan Tournament and founder of Enshin Karate and the Sabaki Challenge tournament in Denver.Jon BlumingFounder: Kyokushin BudokaiDutch judoka and karateka (1933–2018), pioneer of Kyokushin in Europe and founder of the Netherlands Karate Association, later head of Kyokushin Budokai.Kanbun UechiFounder: Uechi-ryuOkinawan founder of Uechi-ryu, who studied for 13 years in Fuzhou under Zhou Zihe and from 1926 taught publicly in Wakayama.Katsuaki SatoFounder: Satojuku KarateJapanese karateka, winner of the first Kyokushin World Championship (1975), who in 1977 founded his own school, Satojuku, in Tokyo, focused on knockdown techniques.Katsuya MiyahiraFounder: Shorin-ryu ShidokanOkinawan karate master (1918–2010), student of Choshin Chibana and founder of the Shidokan branch of Shorin-ryu, holder of the 10th dan hanshi.Kazuyoshi IshiiFounder: Seidokaikan KarateFounder of Seidokaikan karate who organised the first K-1 Grand Prix at Tokyo's Yoyogi hall in April 1993 and earlier ran Ashihara's dojo in the Kansai region.Kenwa MabuniFounder: Shito-ryuOkinawan karate master from Shuri, a student of Anko Itosu and Kanryo Higaonna, who founded the Shito-ryu style in the nineteen-thirties and opened dojos in Osaka.Kori HisatakaFounder: Shorinji-ryu KenkokanOkinawan karateka, student of Chotoku Kyan and founder of the Shorinji-ryu Kenkokan style (1945), who introduced protective equipment for safer kumite.Masutatsu OyamaFounder: KyokushinThe founder of Kyokushin karate, who in 1953 opened the Oyama Dojo in Tokyo and in 1964 founded the International Karate Organization (IKO).Meitoku YagiFounder: Meibukan Goju-ryuOkinawan Goju-ryu master from Naha, student of Chojun Miyagi, founder of the Meibukan school and author of the Meibuken kata, a Living National Treasure of Japan since 1986.Motobu ChokiFounder: Motobu-ryu KarateOkinawan karate master (1870–1944), known for his emphasis on kumite and his victory over a boxer in Kyoto, author of the first book on kumite from 1926.Seiken ShukumineFounder: Gensei-ryuAn Okinawan karateka who announced the Gensei-ryu style in 1953 and in 1965 introduced the new martial art taido based on rotational movements.Shigeru NakamuraFounder: Okinawa KenpoOkinawan teacher of karate and kobudo (1891–1969), creator of the name Okinawa Kenpo and a pioneer of postwar bouts in protective gear (bogu kumite).Shoshin NagamineFounder: Matsubayashi-ryuOkinawan karate master (1907–1997), police officer and founder of the Matsubayashi-ryu style, author of the book The Essence of Okinawan Karate-do.Shugoro NakazatoFounder: Shorin-ryu ShorinkanOkinawan karate master, student of Choshin Chibana, founder of the Shorin-ryu Shorinkan association (1975), hanshi 10th dan and holder of the Order of the Rising Sun.Shuji TasakiFounder: Seiwakai Goju-ryuJapanese Goju-ryu master (1933–2011), student of Gogen Yamaguchi, who founded the Seiwakai organization in the early 1970s.Sokon MatsumuraFounder: Shorin-ryuOkinawan martial arts master from Shuri (1809–1899), holder of a Jigen-ryu swordsmanship licence, to whom the principles of the seven virtues of bu are attributed.Tatsuo ShimabukuFounder: Isshin-ryu KarateOkinawan karate master (1908–1975), student of Chotoku Kyan and founder of the Isshin-ryu style, which spread mainly among American soldiers.Tsuyoshi ChitoseFounder: Chito-ryu KarateOkinawan karate master and physician (1898–1984), who founded the Chito-ryu style around 1948, combining Shuri-te, Tomari-te, and Naha-te.Yasuhiro KonishiFounder: Shindo Jinen-ryuJapanese karate master and founder of the style Shindo Jinen-ryu, who opened the Ryobu-kan dojo and studied under Funakoshi, Motobu, Mabuni, Miyagi and Ueshiba.Yoshinao NanbuFounder: SankukaiJapanese karateka (1943–2020) from Kobe, founder of the styles Sankukai and Nanbudo, who from 1964 spread karate in France and other countries of Europe.Yuchoku HigaFounder: Shorin-ryu KyudokanOkinawan karate master and politician, founder of Shorin-ryu Kyudokan (1947), student of Choshin Chibana and president of the Okinawan karatedo federations.
Chojun Miyagi
Ed Parker
Jon Bluming
Yoshinao NanbuCodifier (4)
Anko ItosuOkinawan karate master from Shuri who from 1901 introduced karate into schools, created the five Pinan (Heian) katas and wrote the Ten Precepts of Karate in 1908.George DillmanCodifier: Tomari-teAmerican karateka holding 10th dan, creator of the Ryukyu Kempo Tomari-te system and popularizer of pressure-point technique (kyusho jitsu) in karate kata.Gigo FunakoshiCodifier: ShotokanSon of Gichin Funakoshi, who between 1936 and 1945 laid the foundations of modern Shotokan: low stances, new kicks and free sparring.Higaonna KanryoCodifier: Naha-teOkinawan master of Naha-te (1853–1915) who studied under Ryu Ryu Ko in Fuzhou, introduced Naha-te into schools in 1905 and trained Chojun Miyagi.
Predecessor / teacher (1)
Zhou ZiheGrandmaster (2)
Morio HigaonnaOkinawan Goju-ryu karate master (born 1938), founder of the IOGKF federation in 1979 and author of books on Goju-ryu, since 2022 at the head of the TOGKF federation.Shigeru EgamiJapanese karate master (1912–1981), a student of Gichin Funakoshi and chief teacher of Shotokai, who developed a relaxed approach to karate and rejected competitions.
Master (9)
Gogen YamaguchiMaster: Goju-ryuJapanese karate master (1909–1989), a student of Chojun Miyagi and the founder of the Goju-kai organization, who was nicknamed the Cat.Hohan SokenOkinawan karate and kobudo master (1889–1982), nephew of Nabe Matsumura, who after returning from Argentina in 1952 taught Matsumura Seito Shorin-ryu.Kanei UechiOkinawan karate master (1911–1991), son of Uechi-ryu founder Kanbun Uechi, who developed the style after 1948 and opened it to American soldiers as well.Kanken ToyamaOkinawan karate master (1888–1966), student of Itosu Anko and founder of the Shudokan dojo in Tokyo, who claimed that karate has no separate styles.Kosaku MatsumoraMaster: Tomari-teOkinawan master of Tomari-te (1829–1898), teacher of Choki Motobu and Chotoku Kyan, to whom he passed on his own version of the kata Chinto.Raúl RizoCuban colonel and president of the Cuban Karate Federation, who in 1978 trained KGB instructors in Moscow in his karate operativo system.Seiko HigaOkinawan Goju-ryu master and former police officer, a student of Kanryo Higaonna and Chojun Miyagi, founder and first president of the Goju-ryu Kokusai Karate Kobudo Renmei.Shinpan ShiromaMaster: Shito-ryuOkinawan karate teacher (1890–1954), also read Gusukuma, a student of Anko Itosu and Kanryo Higaonna and teacher of Yoki Uema and Seikichi Iha.Yosuke YamashitaMaster: Goju-ryuJapanese Goju-ryu master holding the 10th dan, who came to Spain in 1969, founded a dojo in Madrid and trained Olympic champion Sandra Sánchez.
Raúl Rizo
Yosuke YamashitaChampion (4)
Cynthia RothrockAmerican karateka with black belts in seven disciplines, five-time world champion in forms and weapons in 1981–1985, later a star of Hong Kong action films.Dolph LundgrenChampion: KyokushinSwedish actor and Kyokushin karateka, captain of the Swedish team, European champion of 1980 and 1981 and a 4th dan holder, famous for the role of Ivan Drago in Rocky IV (1985).Gerard GordeauDutch karateka and 1991 savate world champion who reached the final at UFC 1 in 1993, where he lost to Royce Gracie.Joe LewisJoe Lewis (1944–2012) was an American karateka and kickboxer, a student of Bruce Lee, undefeated U.S. heavyweight kickboxing champion, and 1974 PKA world champion.
Notable figure (8)
Bas RuttenNotable figure: KyokushinDutch MMA fighter, three-time King of Pancrase open-weight champion and briefly UFC heavyweight champion in 1999, holder of an honorary 5th dan in Kyokushin karate.Higaonna KanryuNotable figure: Naha-teOkinawan master of Naha-te (1849–1922), student of Wai Shinzan, known as Eastern Higaonna, often confused with his relative Kanryo Higaonna.Jean-Claude Van DammeBelgian actor and former competitive karateka and kickboxer with a 2nd dan in Shotokan karate, who rose to fame with the films Bloodsport (1988) and Kickboxer (1989).Kanga SakugawaOkinawan nobleman and martial arts master from Shuri (c. 1786–1867), known as Tode Sakugawa, administrator on Yaeyama and by tradition teacher of Sokon Matsumura.Michael Jai WhiteAmerican actor and fight choreographer holding black belts in, among others, Kyokushin karate, Goju-ryu and Shotokan, who himself choreographed the film Blood and Bone (2009).Peter UrbanNotable figure: Goju-ryuPeter Urban (1934–2004) was an American Goju-ryu master, a student of Gogen Yamaguchi and Masutatsu Oyama, and in 1968 the founder of the USA GoJu Karate school.Ralph CastroNotable figure: Kenpo KarateRalph Castro, who grew up in Honolulu, taught his own Shaolin Kenpo system in San Francisco and founded the International Shaolin Kenpo Association in 1981.Wesley SnipesAmerican actor, holder of a 5th dan in Shotokan karate and a 2nd dan in hapkido, known as the vampire Blade from the trilogy launched in 1998.
Jean-Claude Van Damme