Traditional heritage

Sei-Do-Kan karate club was formed in 1964, shortly after the first Japanese instructors landed on our shores and in the late sixties produced the winning team in the first “North of England all comers championship” in the Free Trade Hall, Manchester. A member of this winning team was John Lowcock. John was a founder member of the club and an instructor in the group. Along with co-instructor Danny Connor, John opened the Sale club at Sale Leisure Centre on the day it first opened in 1973. Today the club trains at Bramhall Leisure Centre.

What is Wado Ryu Karate?

Wado Ryu Karate is a Japanese martial art founded by Hironori Ohtsuka Sensei in 1934. Ohtsuka Sensei developed Wado Ryu after studying the Samurai martial art of Jiu-jitsu, and Shotokan (another style of Karate). This combination, according to Ohstuka Sensei, is a softer, more natural means of self-protection. The full name of the style is Wado Ryu Karate-Do. The term Wado Ryu means “way of peace” or “way of harmony”, indicating Ohtsuka Sensei’s original intention to use training in Wado Ryu as a means of solving problems in a non-violent way. Karate-Do means “way of the empty hand”, as Karate is, for the most part, studied without the use of weapons.

Wado Ryu Karate In England

The United Kingdom, in particular, became gripped with the spread of Karate. After a Wado Ryu Karate demonstration at a Kendo club in London, the Japanese Karate Federation was asked by a British student who had seen the demonstrations to send a Karate instructor to the UK. In 1964 Mr Tanabe was sent to the UK as an official delegate of the Japanese Karate Federation, where he founded the All Britain Karate Association. This was the first Wado Ryu Karate organisation to be established in Europe. Mr Tatsuo Suzuki soon followed, when he moved to London to teach Wado Ryu Karate. In May 1965, Mr T. Kono travelled to the UK to join Mr Tatsuo Suzuki, and later that year Mr Masafumi Shiomitsu arrived. Meanwhile, Mr T. Kono moved to the Netherlands to spread karate to the European mainland. In 1966, Messrs T. Takamizawa and Hayakawa transferred to the UK to help Mr Tatsuo Suzuki and Mr Masafumi Shiomitsu meet the growing demand for quality Wado Ryu Karate. In 1968 Mr K. Sakagami, followed by Mr Kobayashi in 1969, also arrived in the UK, whilst Mr. S. Suzuki travelled to Ireland; furthermore, Mr Maeda arrived in the UK. Although a number of these Wado Ryu Karate instructors have returned to Japan, and others have replaced them, the first wave of Japanese instructors pioneered Wado Ryu karate in the UK, and they have left an indelible impression upon the current practice of the art. This dedicated team of Japanese Sensei built the strong foundations of contemporary Wado Ryu karate in the UK; their contribution can never be forgotten.

The Danny Connor story

Danny Connor was one of the founder members of the Sei-Do-Kan karate club. He was interviewed by ‘Traditional Karate’ magazine in 1988. You can read a transcript of the Danny Connor story here.