The Karate Union of Great Britain, or KUGB, is an association of
Shotokan
is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" thro ...
Karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...
clubs and
Karateka
(; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts. While moder ...
operating across
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
, with some oversea affiliations. The 1960s saw a growth in the popularity of Karate, and the KUGB was founded in 1966 to be a democratic,
not-for-profit organisation
A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives.
While not-for-profit organizations and non-profit organizations (NPO ...
, and was the first single style organisation within the UK. Many other British Shotokan Karate organisations have since formed after splitting from the KUGB. The KUGB is currently affiliated to the European Shotokan Karate Association (ESKA) and the World Shotokan Karate Association (WSKA).
The KUGB operated as the British arm of the
Japan Karate Association
The Japan Karate Association (日本 空手 協会; ''Nihon Karate Kyokai''; JKA; sometimes referred to simply as ''Kyokai'' 協会 in Japan) is one of the oldest global Shotokan karate organizations in the world.
Origins
Gichin Funakoshi played ...
(JKA) until the death of chief instructor
Keinosuke Enoeda
was a Japanese master of Shotokan karate.Andy Sherry
Andy Sherry (born 9 July 1943) is a British martial artist. He was one of the most senior British practitioners of Karate and the retired chief instructor of the Karate Union of Great Britain. Sherry was unanimously convicted at Liverpool Crow ...
being appointed Chief Instructor.
Andy Sherry held the role of Chairman up until 23 March 2021. Frank Brennan then held the role of Chairman going forward.
The KUGB was amongst the karate organisations which joined Karate England, the national governing body set up by the British Sports Council to regulate competitive ( WKF) karate (the style recognised by the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
as a candidate for Olympic status).
It is the largest single-style karate association in the UK. The KUGB is organised on a regional basis, within England there are 3 regions, Southern, Central, and Northern, along with Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and Northern Ireland. Each region has its own committee and chairman, and organises its own annual regional championships, which attract many entries from all ages.
Each year the KUGB organise a number of regional and national competitions and regularly send squads to represent them at international events, winning the senior male team kumite event at the 2007 World Shotokan Karate Association Championships and European Shotokan Karate Association Championships. The senior team retained their ESKA title in 2008 and the junior male team added to the success winning the 2008 ESKA Championships in Crawley Despite the competition successes, the teaching remains traditional as originally intended by
Gichin Funakoshi
was the founder of Shotokan karate. He is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato,Funakoshi, Gichin (1981). ''Karate-Do: My Way of Life'', Kodansha International Ltd. . he was one of the Okin ...
.
As of 12 May 2024 Frank Brennan has resigned from his role of Chairman of the KUGB however he continues to be a key part of the Technical Committee. John Bruce has now been appointed as the Chairman of the KUGB as of 09 July 2024, the Vice Chair position of the KUGB has not changed and is still held by Rob Manning.
See also
*
Keinosuke Enoeda
was a Japanese master of Shotokan karate.Terry O'Neill
*
Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.
Biography
Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...