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" throug ...

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

Waseda University , mottoeng = Independence of scholarship , established = 21 October 1882 , type = Private , endowment = , president = Aiji Tanaka , city = Shinjuku , state = Tokyo , country = Japan , students = 47,959 , undergrad = 39,382 , postgrad ...

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 a japanese martial artist who is regarded as the founder of 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, Gich ...

's first students and first chairman of the

Japan Karate Association 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 organization in the world. Origins Gichin Funakoshi played a ...

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

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

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 comprising 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 Can ...

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. The region forms the northern a ...

. 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" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

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

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

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

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

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 (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, 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

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

and

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

Current members

* Boston College *

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

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

*Wellesley University

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)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabata, Kazumi Shotokan practitioners 1943 births Living people Japanese emigrants to the United States Japanese male karateka American male karateka