Nisei Week 2025 - 66th Annual Shotokan Karate of America Exhibition and Tournament

Описание: http://www.skaniseiweek.com

65th Annual Nisei Week Karate Exhibition & Tournament
Come see the essence of Shotokan Karate of America and celebrate the heritage of the Los Angeles area’s historic Nisei Week.

This year will feature an international team tournament with groups from multiple countries competing for first, second, and third place.
Saturday, August 10, 2024
1:00pm to 4:00pm

Terasaki Budokan
249 S Los Angeles St
Los Angeles, CA 90012

The event is open to the public. Admission is free.
For more information please contact SKA Headquarters at (213) 437-0988 during office hours, Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm (PDT).

Thank you to the Terasaki Budokan and Little Tokyo Service Center for the use of the footage found in this video:
   • Budokan Informational Video  

After graduating from Waseda University where he was captain of the school’s esteemed karate club, Tsutomu Ohshima immigrated to the United States in 1955. He had been a direct student under Master Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of modern karate who brought karate to mainland Japan from Okinawa. Mr. Ohshima’s reputation in the world of karate had preceded him and it wasn’t long before he was teaching the first American karate students.

In 1957, Tatsuo Inouye, the leader of the local judo federation, invited Mr. Ohshima to participate in the Nisei Week Judo Exhibition at Koyasan Buddhist Temple in the center of Little Tokyo. Because he was the only black belt, Mr. Ohshima performed much of the demonstration. This was the first official public demonstration of traditional karate in the United States, and has since become an annual activity for Mr. Ohshima’s students.

That first 15-minute exhibition included 15 to 20 original members, including: George Murakami, Roe Suzuki, Fred Suzuki, Frank Kawana, Mas Norihiro, Takaaki Endo, Mike Shibano, and Akimasa Futami. Stan Tashiro, also an original member, provided commentary. Several of these students would later become the first American karate black belts.