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" throug ...

Karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...

clubs and

Karateka (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fujia ...

operating across

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

, 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 nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, 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 (JKA) until the death of chief instructor Keinosuke Enoeda Sensei in 2003. Subsequently, a disagreement regarding his successor resulted in the KUGB withdrawing from the JKA, with Sensei

Andy Sherry Andy Sherry (born 9 July 1943) was one of the most senior British practitioners of karate and the retired chief instructor of the KUGB. Biography Born in Liverpool, Andy Sherry showed an interest in the martial arts as a young man. Initially t ...

being appointed Chief Instructor. 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; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

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, recently 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 a japanese martial artist who is regarded as the founder of Karate, Shotakan karate, perhaps the most widely known style of karate, and is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato,Funakoshi, ...

References

External links

KUGB Website
{{Authority control Karate organizations Shotokan 1966 establishments in the United Kingdom Sports organizations established in 1966 Karate in the United Kingdom

See also

References

External links