Andy Sherry (born 9 July 1943) was one of the most senior
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
practitioners of
karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
and the retired chief instructor of the
KUGB
The Karate Union of Great Britain, or KUGB, is an association of Shotokan Karate clubs and Karateka operating across Great Britain, with some oversea affiliations. The 1960s saw a growth in the popularity of Karate, and the KUGB was founded in ...
.
Biography
Born in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, Andy Sherry showed an interest in the
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
as a young man. Initially training in
judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, 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 Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
and
jujutsu
Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...
, he soon took an interest in karate, starting his study of the art in 1959. In 1966, Sherry became the first person to pass a grading in the UK for a black belt in
Shotokan karate
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" throug ...
Keinosuke Enoeda
was a Japanese master of Shotokan karate.UK Karate history Sherry, alongside Jack Green and Eddie Whitcher were also the first to be graded 2nd Dan in the United Kingdom, gaining their grade in 1967 at Crystal Palace.
In 1966, Sherry won the first British all-styles championship, beating competitors from all of Britain's karate styles. He went on, in 1968, to become European champion in
kumite
Kumite ( ja, 組手, literally "grappling hands") is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which a person trains against an adversary.
Kumite can be used to develop a partic ...
, an achievement he repeated in a number of subsequent years. Andy dominated the early KUGB karate championships, winning the kata competition for the first four years running (1967–1970) and the kumite in 1968 and 1970.
On the competition circuit, Andy Sherry was well known for using a yori-ashi gyaku-tsuki (lunging rear-hand punch) as his "trademark" manoeuvre, leading many competitors of the time to joke that he only knew one technique.
Retiring from competition in 1977, Sherry continued to coach the KUGB international competition squad until his retirement. He previously ran his own karate club, the Liverpool Red Triangle. Sherry earned 9th dan (9th level black belt) making him Britain's highest ranking Shotokan karate practitioner in February 2013. He adjudicated many gradings throughout the year in many karate clubs registered under the KUGB.
Andrew Sherry has been charged with gross indecency with a child and inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency against a boy in the 1980s. The 79-year-old also faces a count of sexual assault on a man in 2012. Sherry was released on unconditional bail ahead of a further case management hearing on March 13, 2023.
See also
*
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" throu ...
*
Karate Union of Great Britain
The Karate Union of Great Britain, or KUGB, is an association of Shotokan Karate clubs and Karateka operating across Great Britain, with some oversea affiliations. The 1960s saw a growth in the popularity of Karate, and the KUGB was founded in ...