Richard Kim (November 17, 1917 – November 8, 2001) was an American martial artist. He was an instructor of various disciplines, including Okinawan Kobudo, Shōrinji-ryū

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 ...

, and

Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners ...

, known for spreading traditional

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

to North America and Europe.

Early life and career

Kim was born in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

. His parents immigrated from Nagasaki, Japan to Hawaii, and were Japanese citizens of Korean heritag

Kim began studying

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

as a child in the early 1920s, under Kaneko. Around the same time, he also began studying

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 ...

under Arakaki Ankichi. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, his service in the

United States Merchant Marine The United States Merchant Marine is an organization composed of United States civilian sailor, mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of ...

took him to east Asia. In 1937, he studied

tai chi is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners ...

, pa kua and Shorinji-ryu kempo under Kenichi Sawai while pursuing university studies. He cited many martial artists as his teachers, including Tachibana and Chen Chen Yuan. He moved to Japan in 1939, where he continued training under Sawai and also studied Daito-ryu aikijujutsu, and

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

weapon A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...

ry under Kotaro Yoshida, who he considered his primary sensei and with whom he lived from 1945-1952. During this time, he also trained with Gogen Yamaguchi and Masatoshi Oyama.Kim stated that he had in his possession the Daito-ryu scrolls and had been granted the Daito-ryu

menkyo kaiden is a Japanese term meaning "license." It refers to the license to teach used by practitioners of various Japanese classical arts and martial arts certifying some license within the school or ryū. The ''menkyo'' system dates back to the 8th ce ...

, which was confirmed in 2024 by th
Zen Bei Butoku Kai
which now has the scrolls in its archives. Kim_Zen_Bei_Butoku_Kai_Daito_Ryu_Scrolls

Teaching career

In 1959, Kim began teaching

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, particularly at the Chinese YMCA. He traveled extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, teaching wherever he went. He founded branches of the Butoku Kai in the U.S., Canada, France and Germany. As well as teaching the physical aspects of the

, Kim taught the

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "troop leadership; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the " a ...

, and spiritual aspects. According to the ''Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia'', “Kim became the foremost karate historian residing in the U.S.” Kim wrote a monthly column for ''Karate Illustrated'' magazine, and wrote a number of books including: ''The Weaponless Warriors'', ''The Classical Man'', and an instructional series on weaponry ( Kobudo). There has been some controversy surrounding ''The Weaponless Warriors'', published in 1974, as the bulk of the work appears taken, without acknowledgement, directly from Eizo Shimabukuro's 1963 work ''Old Grandmaster Stories'', which was translated into English for the first time in 2003. Kim was named ''

Black Belt Magazine ''Black Belt'' is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports. The magazine is based in Hollywood, California, and is one of the oldest titles dedicated to martial arts in the United States. History and profile The magazine was ...

s "Karate Sensei of the Year", in 1967, and was later inducted into the ''Black Belt Magazine'' Hall of Fame. Kim was the Director of the American Amateur Karate Federation, Vice-President for the International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF), and coaching staff for the 1980 U.S. National Karate Team. He continued to teach, lecture and lead martial arts activities until his death. Kim died on November 8, 2001. At his memorial service,

Hidetaka Nishiyama was a prominent Japanese Grandmaster (martial arts), master of Shotokan karate.Judan (10th degree black belt) posthumously. His teachings continue through a number of organizations: th
Zen Bei Butoku Kai
International, founded by two of Richard Kim’s senior students, Brian Ricci and Frank Gaviola; th
Kokusai Butokukai
founded by some of Richard Kim’s senior students, including Jean Chalamon; and the Bu Toku Do, founded b
Don Warrener
a senior student of Richard Kim.

Publications

# The Weaponless Warrior. (1974). # Kobudo, Volume 1: Okinawan Weapons of Matsu Higa. (1984). # Kobudo, Volume 2: Okinawan Weapons of Hama Higa. (1985). # Kobudo, Volume 3: Okinawan Weapons of Chatan Yara. (1993). # The Classical Man. (1999).

References

External links

KOKUSAI BUTOKUKAI – Official Homepage

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Richard American male karateka American sportspeople of Korean descent 1917 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen