Influential karateka

Itosu Anka

Born in 1832, Anka was a native Okinawan karateka whose campaign saw the introduction of Karate into the Okinawa school system.

Gichin Funokoshi

One of the first Okinawa karateka to demonstrate Karate on mainland Japan, Gichin Funokoshi was instrumental in introducing the central philosophies of Karate to the wider world.

Hirokozu Kanazawa

Kanazawa spent his early years training in Judo but went on to learn Karate under the instruction of Funokoshi. Kanazawa later won numerous competitive events, including the All Japan Karate Championship in 1957 and the kata and kumite titles in 1958, part of which he fought with a broken wrist.

Chuck Norris

An American martial arts practitioner and film actor, Chuck Norris starred in several films which helped bring Karate into popular culture. On an official level, Norris most famously won the professional middleweight Karate championship for six consecutive years.