Tetsuji Murakami ( ja, 村上哲次; March 31, 1927 – 24 January 1987) was an early

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 ...

representative to Europe.

Early life

He was born in

Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...

, Japan, in 1927. When he turned nineteen, he started learning Karate-do under Masaji Yamagushi, a student of

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, Gichi ...

. He trained for ten years, also learning the styles of

kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread ...

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in around 1 ...

and

iaido , abbreviated , is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.Christensen, Karen and Allen Guttmann et.al (2001) ''International Encyclopedia of Women and Sports ...

Europe

In 1957, he was invited to France by

Henry Plée Henry Plée (also named H.D. Plée, Henri Plée, Henry D. Plée, or Henry-Désiré Plée, 24 May 1923; Arras, Nord-Pas-de-Calais–19 August 2014; Paris) was a French martial artist who is considered as the 'father of European and French karate'. ...

of the French Martial Arts Academy. In 1959, he was invited to Italy by Vladimiro Malatesti. By 1960, his skills and charisma had begun to draw a following of the top students in Europe. His influence progressively expanded to Germany, England, Yugoslavia, Algeria, Portugal, and Switzerland. In 1968, he traveled back to Japan where he trained with

Shigeru Egami was a pioneering Japanese Grandmaster (martial arts), master of Shotokan karate who founded the Shōtōkai style. He was a student of Gichin Funakoshi, who is widely recognized as the founder of modern karate. Early life Egami was born on Decem ...

. Influenced by Egami, Murakami improved his techniques, integrating a technique called

irimi In Japanese martial arts, is the act of entering straight into a technique, as opposed to the more indirect entrance into technique called ''tenkan''. In basic training, irimi usually looks like a step forward, straight or at an angle but usually ...

. Using what he observed, he decided to make a profound transformation in his technique and practice. He returned to Europe as the representative of the style Shotokai. His students included Louis Carvalho, Patrick Herbert, Antonio Maltoni, Borko Jovanovic, Leopoldo Ferreira, Pierre-John Boyer and José Ivo Pinto Mendes, who taught Shotokai in Panama City. Tetsuji Murakami died in 1987 in Paris.

References

1987 deaths 1927 births Karate coaches Martial arts school founders Sportspeople from Shizuoka Prefecture Shotokan practitioners Japanese male karateka 20th-century philanthropists {{Japan-karate-bio-stub