JKA - Enoeda, Kanazawa and Ohta

[ryoanji.budo]

Who knows what went on, and what caused the JKA/KUGB to split and then fragment. I've recently started training with the JKA in London and find the instruction superb. Sensei OHTA is great. I've also trained with Master KANAZAWA and his association on many occasions and was really impressed. I've trained several times with Sensei HAZARD and Sensei BUTLER who were all involved with the JKA and KUGB in the early days in London. All seem to be like minded and share an amazing passion for Karate-Do. What happened? Why did KANAZAWA get expelled? Did him and ENOEDA fall out. Was there hard feeling that Sensei OHTA was asked to run the JKA England when ENOEDA passed? Does anyone have the true facts? I'm only curious as I've been reading a few biographies and lots of karate history of late and can't fatham out what went on. Any ideas? None of the books really make it clear. OSS

[isshinryu5toforever]

Ego

[Dobbersky]

I was told by a Senior Karateka that Enoeda Sensei and Kanazawa Sensei had a LONG history with each other. I was advised they also had a genuine dislike of each other (Note I DO stand to be corrected as I know how "tales" get passed and "enhanced" as they get moved around) I was also advised that the Kumite competitions where they competed against each other were "Full

Contact" and they aimed to "hurt" each other.

I took the stories with a pinch of salt as I still believe they are both Karateka we can all be proud of.

OSU!!!!

[brickshooter]

Ego + money.

It's the same with all organizations.

Same reason the Gracie family split. Same reason martial arts organization and non-martial arts organization splits.

Once in a while, there is a philosophical difference. But it's usually ego and money.

[sojobo]

Have you tried contacting Harry Cook about it?

He is very approachable and probably better to get it from the horse’s mouth.

Sojobo

[Shizentai]

When asked about why he split from JKA in an interview for a book called Karate Masters (ISBN-10: 1933901225 ISBN-13: 978-1933901220), Kanazawa responded with his account of the last event in what I'm sure was years of conflict. I highly recommend reading the book, as I can't quote it directly (since I'm about 500 miles away from my bookshelf atm). Though as I recall he said something about decling a position. Apparently JKA headquarters appointed him to a position in another country, but Kanazawa declined the appointment in written form. JKA read the letter and thought he was resigning the organization, not the position. They wrote him back saying that they were very sorry to hear he was leaving the JKA. According to Kanazawa, he kind-of just took the misscommunication in stride and made his own organization after that.

[tonydee]

Shizentai's post prompted me to pull said book off the shelf... it's a little different, so I quote below (a small except from a 338 page book, so fair use under copyright):

Q: Why did you split from the JKA and create Shotokan Karate International?

A (Kanazawa): I never wanted to create my own organisation. That was never my goal. When I was in Europe, making plans to go to Montreal University in Canada to teach for a few months, I sent a letter of resignation to the JKA - not as a JKA instructor - but as the director of a section of the JKA. I just didn't feel I could function in that capacity while I was out of the country. Three months later, when I returned to Europe, I received a letter from the JKA informing me that I was summarily dismissed.

Q: How did you feel?

A: I was completely shocked. But I said to myself that I wouldn't go back to Canada but would struggle on in Europe. Giving up would have been against the Budo spirit of everything I had been taught. So I decided that if the JKA was against me, I had to defend myself.

[brickshooter]

Seems like when Kanazawa was out of the country, a rival faction took advantage of the situation and pushed him out.

[Shizentai]

Thanks Tony! I just got home and was about to quote it directly when you beat me to the punch! ^_^

[Shotoianjkaonly]

I will explain the main reason for Kanazawa sensei's leaving JKA. Kanazawa Sensei was asked to leave JKA. He was devasted by the request that was formally done by Nakayama Sensei personally. The reason was that Kanazawa Sensei would present a seminar in a foreign country on behalf of JKA. At the end of the seminar he would do a Dan examination and test the students of they country for first Dan ...and then these students would not test with the federation of that country. The first country that made a formal complaint to JKA was France. Kanazawa Sensei was asked by JKA to stop doing that. He did not do so and as a result he was formally asked to leave. This decision was very hard for Nakayama Sensei but he didn't see any other way.

Oss