MAS OYAMA MOST LEGENDARY FIGHTER OF THE LAST CENTURY WALTER TODD HE WAS THE FIRST FOREIGNER TO STUDY WADO-RYU UNDER ITS FOUNDER HIRONORI OTSUKA. TOSHIAKI AJARI IN 1964 TOSHIAKI OPENED THE FIRST WADO-RYU SCHOOL IN THE USA. EMILIO "MEL" BRUNO IN THE EARLY 50's MEL TRAINED WITH THE FOUNDER OF SHOTOKAN GICHIN FUNAKOSHI STEVE ARMSTRONG IN 1960 STEVE OPENED THE FIRST ISHIN-RYU SCHOOL IN THE USA. GEORGE MATTSON FIRST AMERICAN WHO RECEIVED A BLACK BELT IN UECHI-RYU (1958), AND OPENED THE FIRST SCHOOL. ANTHONY MIRAKIAN FIRST AMERICAN WHO RECEIVED A BLACK BELT IN GOJU-RYU (1960), AND OPENED THE FIRST SCHOOL. PETER URBAN MOST FAMOUS FOUNDER OF AMERICAN GOJU ROBERT TRIAS HE OPENED THE FIRST KARATE (SHURI & SHOREI-RYU) SCHOOL AT THE USA MAINLAND IN 1946 ! JAMES MASAYOSHI MITOSE HAWAIIAN-BORN MITOSE OPENED THE FIRST KARATE (KOSHO-RYU-KEMPO) SCHOOL ON THE ISLAND IN 1942 ! WILLIAM KWAI SUN CHOW PROF. CHOW COINED THE TERM "KENPO KARATE", AND STARTED TEACHING AT HIS FIRST SCHOOL IN HAWAIIAN IN 1944 ! ED PARKER HE IS KNOWN AS THE FATHER OF "AMERICAN KENPO KARATE" AT THE USA MAINLAND (1954 ) KARL WILLIAM MARX MARX IS KNOWN AS THE FOUNDER OF THE FIRST KARATE STYLE WHICH WAS CREATED AT THE USA MAINLAND (1960) ! STEPHEN F. KAUFMAN SOKE KAUFMAN OPENED HIS FIRST KARATE (ISHIN & HEBI-RYU) SCHOOL IN 1958 ERNEST H. LIEB SOKE LIEB FOUNDED THE "AMERICAN KARATE ASSOCIATION" IN 1964, AND ALSO WAS THE FIRST AMERICAN WINNING THE KOREAN KARATE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE IN SOUTH KOREA THE SAME YEAR ! IN 1973 HE WAS ELECTED INTO THE "BLACK BELT MAGAZINE HALL OF FAME", AND CREATED THE "AMERICAN KARATE SYSTEM" ! DAN ANDERSON IN 1977 DAN FOUNDED "AMERICAN FREESTYLE KARATE" JOHNNY KUHL GOJU-RYU STYLIST JOHNNY WAS THE FOUNDER OF "COMBAT KARATE", WROTE ONE OF THE FIRST BOOKS ABOUT "AMERICAN KARATE", AND WAS THE PUBLISHER OF THE FIRST AMERICAN MARTIAL ARTS MAGAZINE IN 1961 ! HIS SUCCESS PROMPTED THE 1968 PUBLISHING OF THE "OFFICIAL KARATE MAGAZINE" ! TWO OF KUHL´S EARLY STUDENTS WERE AARON BANKS, AL WEISS, AND RALPH VIGGIANO ! RICK LENCHUS IN 1955 HE OPENED HIS FIRST HAWAIIN KENPO KARATE SCHOOL R.V.T.Mani father of Karate in India Close Ad Sponsored by