was an 8th degree Grand Master in

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 ...

. Born in Japan in 1943, Master Tabata started karate at age 13 and received the rank of ''nidan'' in Shorinji-ryu Renshinkan as a freshman in high school. Master Tabata went to

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

and started studying Shotokan style karate under Master

Isao Obata was a pioneering Japanese master of Shotokan karate.Blair, R. L. (1972): "Karate is dying, says Isao Obata, disciple of the venerable Gichin Funakoshi, Founder of Modern Karate." ''Black Belt'', 10(10):27–33. He was a senior student of Gichin F ...

, one of Master

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 ...

's first students and first chairman 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 ...

. He founded the North American Karate-Do Federation (NAKF) and the New England Collegiate Karate Conference (NECKC), and lived in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

where he taught regularly until his death in 2020.

Competitive History

Master Tabata was the captain of the karate club at Waseda University, and, after moving to the United States at the behest of his sensei to spread Shotokan Karate, he was the captain of the US Karate Team for two decades, representing the US in many international tournaments. In addition, he was the technical director for the US National Olympic Committee.

North American Karate-do Federation

The North American Karate-do Federation is a collection of Shotokan karate schools, mostly in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

and centered in

Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas, home to 4,941,632. The most s ...

. The organization was founded in 1968 by Master Tabata at the urging of his teacher Master

. Its sister organisation is the NECKC, and together they host a bi-annual tournament.

Current members

*Haverhill outh Empower House under Sensei Robert Harb - Haverhill,

. *Triumph Martial Arts, under Sensei Mark Ryder -

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other words Arts and media * ''Concord'' (video game), a defunct 2024 first-person sh ...

, Massachusetts. *Lunenburg School, under Sensei George Noone - Lunenburg, Massachusetts. *Tiger Mountain Shotokan Karate, under Sensei Gayle Fleming - New London,

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. *Wyoming Valley Karate Club, under Sensei James Ambrose -

Plains Township Plains Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States (on the outskirts of Wilkes-Barre). The population was 9,816 at the 2020 census. The municipality is the birthplace of Chicago White Sox hall of famer Ed Walsh and John ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

The New England Collegiate Karate Conference

The New England Collegiate Karate Conference is a group of colleges and universities in the New England area, centered in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, that was founded by, and train under, Tabata. It is a sister organization of the NAKF. Current members are listed below and past members have also included

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, and

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

Current members

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

University of Massachusetts Lowell The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a Public university, public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of M ...

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

Bibliography

* * * *

References

External links

Official Page of the NAKF

MIT Shotokan Club

The Battle for Boston biannual martial arts tournament

* ttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007AI4XS Power Karate: Basic Karate Techniques for Colleges (Amazon.com)
Secret Tactics: Lessons from the Great Masters of Martial Arts (Amazon.com)

Mind Power: Secret Strategies for the Martial Arts (Amazon.com)

Kazumi Tabata memorial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabata, Kazumi Shotokan practitioners 1943 births Living people Japanese emigrants to the United States Japanese male karateka American male karateka Waseda University alumni 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century Japanese sportsmen