This interview was published in 2003

Whenever anyone spoke about Yoshinobu Ohta to me, they always spoke well of him. He was always quoted as being “all right’ or “a nice guy” and his Karate was always described as “good quality”.  He began Shotokan Karate at High School in 1974 and graduated from the famous Takushoku University that lists former students such as Nakayama and Enoeda. A talent such as his could only find it’s way to the JKA Honbu.

Luckily for Shotokan Karate in this country, Ohta Sensei came to England in 1982 to assist Enoeda Sensei and has remained here ever since developing the Art he loves.  The death of Enoeda left Ohta Sensei, in his own words, “staring into an abyss”; losing his mentor, not only in Karate, but in life itself.  Fulfilling his mentors’ wishes, Yoshinobu Ohta took up the JKA mandate and joined the English Karate Governing Body, thus carrying the desired unification process forward.  He now carries the flag for official JKA Shotokan Karate in England. 

When we met I was struck by Ohta Sensei’s natural and honest manner.  He has an easy sense of humour and clearly loves his Art.  The photo shoot was a joy with his technical expertise, focussed attention and humility.

I would like to thank Chris Thompson for making this interview possible and accompanying Ohta Sensei to my Dojo.

SR  Welcome Sensei.  Can you give the readers some information on your background?

YO  I was born on the 3^rd November 1959 in Chiba, near Tokyo in Japan.

This interview was published in 2003

A true Founding Father of English Karate, it was at this time of the year in 1963 – that’s 40 years ago – that Mick Randall and Ray Fuller decided to join the first Karate Club in Great Britain run by Vernon Bell.

That 40 years of service to Traditional English Karate has earned Mick an MBE.  He trained under the first visiting Japanese Instructors like Tetsuji Murakami and Hiroo Mochizuki, featured in the first colour film of Karate in England in 1964 that was shown in cinemas all over England and took part in the first JKA Karate demonstrations in England supporting Sensei’s Kase, Kanazawa, Enoeda and Shirai. 

Mick was a founder member of the Karate Union of Great Britain and one of the first to be awarded a JKA Black Belt.  He is the subject of the book “The Kanazawa Years” written by prolific Martial Arts Author Clive Layton.

His life in Karate is an interesting story with 40 years of continuous training and study in the Art of Shotokan Karatedo with Instructors that have become legends over the years.  Mick is a stalwart of the English Karate Governing Body that he founded the roots of 4 decades ago…. 

SR  Hi Mick, first of all let me congratulate you on recently receiving the MBE!

MR  Thank you Steve, it’s an honour for all of Traditional Karate and a great honour for me.

SR  Can we start by taking a look at your background before you started Karate?

MR  I was born in Stoke Newington, North London and grew up mainly in London, after I left school I had numerous jobs because to be honest, I was lazy and didn’t really want to work!  My Dad made me sign up as an apprentice carpenter and that was where I met Ray Fuller.

Ray had been in the army previously and had seen Karate in the far east and had bought Nishiyama and Brown’s book “Karate the Art of the Empty Hand” he asked me if I wanted to learn Karate.  We got on well together so we decided have a go!

This interview was recorded in July 2003

Dave Hazard is a living legend in Shotokan Karate.  He is typical of the depth of quality contained within the English Karate Governing Body.  One of the first to start the Art in the late 60’s, training at the famous Blackfriars Dojo under the late Enoeda Sensei, Dave was one of the first English Instructors to up sticks and make the journey to Japan to train at the Honbu Dojo of the Japan Karate Association, returning a year later as a Sandan graded by the late Nakayama Sensei, head of Shotokan Karate.

An East End boy, Dave has the reputation of the highest level of skill and the ability to transform that into the most useful applications both in competition and in the street.  He has a cockney charm that helps him to put over the depth of his knowledge in the most simple and practical way that makes learning with him a pleasure.

In the year 2000 Dave became Part Time Assistant to Ticky Donovan on the National Squad and helped immensely with both Kumite and Kata.  He has bought out two new videos entitled “Applied Karate” volumes 2 and 3 that are a must for any Karate enthusiasts video shelf.  He has also recently formed a new association within the English Karate Governing Body called The Academy of Shotokan Karate. 

SR  Hi Dave, can you tell me how you first became involved in Karate?

DH  I had been involved with Judo for a few years as a youngster and had stopped for about a year, when I met a friend who had a badly damaged hand, I asked him how he had injured it and he said “Karate”.  I had heard of the Art and couldn’t help but be interested…

SR  When was that?

DH  It was August 1969 and he took me along to the now famous Blackfriars Dojo.  I thought the Japanese Instructors had landed from the moon!  They were leaping about with their head kicks and so on and I was astonished!  I’d always been taught you only kick someone in the head when they were lying on the floor!  I thought…  I’d like to be able to do that someday…  and that’s how it all started.

This interview was recorded in 2004.

John calls a spade a spade.  If you have a sensitive nature you need to gird your loins to be in his presence.  I would consider that to be one of his qualities, I can’t abide devious people and you always know where you stand with him.  He has been an essential part of the structure of the English Karate Governing Body and it’s Treasurer since 1994.  He has done a sterling job with the finances and performed many other functions that others hadn’t the time to do skilfully keeping many “balls in the air” at the same time!

John started training in 1966 in Kilmarnock, Scotland and gained his Shodan in Japan in 1971.  He is a BKF Referee & Kata Judge, an EKGB Referee & Kata Judge, and apart from his 6^th Dan in Shotokan Karate, holds a 3rd Dan in Judo and 6th Dan in Jujitsu.

20 years in the Army has given him a wealth of experience not only in a variety of Martial Arts all over the world, but also in life itself.  John is yet another example of why membership of the EKGB gives you the opportunity to tap into the wealth of experience provided by so many of the Founding Fathers of English Karate.

John has trained under several fine Sensei’s such as Hirokazu Kanazawa, Akio Nagai, Hideo Ochi, Seiji Sugimoto, Keijo Abe, Tomiko Mitsuoka, Haruo Ueda,  Tommy Morris and Davie Coulter.

John is Chief Instructor to his own federation, Gakushuin Karate, formed in 1977. Gakushuin joined the EKGB directly in 1998 and now have clubs all over the world, predominantly within British Army establishments.

SR  Hi John, How did you become interested in the Martial Arts?

JG  I was born and brought up in Kilmarnock in Scotland, a typical upbringing really; when I was 8 yrs old, a friend of mine introduced me to the local Judo club.   When I first arrived there I noticed everyone was wearing these funny pyjamas and Eddie Ainsworth had just returned from the 1964 Olympics, so he was the “mover and shaker” of the time in Judo, in our area.