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Peter Urban

Peter 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.

Quick Facts

Date of Birth8/14/1934
Date of Death4/7/2004
Country of OriginUnited StatesUnited States
OccupationSoldier

Biography

Peter Urban was born on 14 August 1934 at the Jersey City Medical Center in New Jersey. He is known as a Goju-ryu master and founder of the USA GoJu Karate school. He grew up in Union City, New Jersey, graduated from Emerson High School in 1952, and then joined the U.S. Navy.

He began studying martial arts while serving in Yokohama, Japan, where in 1953 he became a student of Richard Kim. From 1954 to 1959 he trained under Gogen Yamaguchi, and from 1955 also under Masutatsu Oyama. In 1959 Yamaguchi awarded him the 5th dan, and in 1966 Richard Kim awarded him the 6th dan.

In 1959 he opened his first dojo in Union City. In 1962 he organized the first North American karate championship at Madison Square Garden and introduced a point system into American tournaments. In 1967 he published the book The Karate Dojo: Traditions and Tales of a Martial Art. In 1968 he founded the USA GoJu Karate school under the company Peter Urban Karate Inc. and named himself 10th dan.

In 2003 Black Belt magazine named him Man of the Year in its Hall of Fame. He died on 7 April 2004 in Massachusetts at the age of 69.

Teachers, students and family

Teacher

Associated Martial Arts

Goju-ryuNotable figure→

An Okinawan karate style founded by Chojun Miyagi. He took the name “hard-soft” from a verse of the Chinese text Bubishi, and its hallmark is the breathing kata Sanchin.

Organisations

Ranks and titles

  • 5th danGoju-ryu · 1959
  • 6th danGoju-ryu · 1966

Achievements and honours

  • Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame – Man of the YearHall of Fame · 2003