It is safe to say that by most men's standard, Richard Kim lived a rich and original life. Considered by many as a true artist of life, the following offers only a brief glimpse of his fascinating passage on earth.
O'Sensei Kim was born on November 17, 1917, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He began martial arts studies with Judo at the age of five in the early 1920s under Kaneko Sensei. At about the same time he began a study of Karate. He studied under Arakaki Sensei (a disciple of Yabu Kentsu) and Tachibana Sensei. Before World War II he traveled to both Japan and China. He spent there many years studying the internal arts under Chen Chen Yuan and Shorinjiryu under Choa Hsu Lai. At the Nobori Butai he continued his studies under a number of sensei. As a young man he gained entrance to the Dai Nippon Butoku-kai in Japan. It was then that he was taught the Budoju Happan, the eighteen arts. While in Japan O'Sensei studied Daito-Ryu under Yoshida Kotaro and actually lived with the master for seven years. He became proficient in Japanese weaponry including the sword, spear, tanto and bo as well as in Okinawan weaponry including the bo, jo, sai, tonfa, tecchu, and kama. He made Yondan in 1941. In 1959 O'Sensei Kim moved to San Francisco and began to teach there on a permanent basis. Throughout the years that followed he taught in San Francisco and Sacramento. He traveled extensively throughout the United States, Canada and Europe teaching the martial arts. Along teachings of the physical aspects of the martial arts, O'Sensei taught the philosophy, history, strategy and spiritual aspects of the arts. He was an excellent lecturer and a story teller second to none. O'Sensei wrote a monthly column for "Karate Illustrated" magazine and is the author of a number of books including: "The Weaponless Warriors", "The Classical Man." and a Kobudo series. He was named Karate Sensei of the Year and later inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame. He was the Director of the American Amateur Karate Federation and Vice President for the International Traditional Karate Federation. As a testament to O'Sensei's achievements, Master Hidetaka Nishiyama of the International Traditional Karate Federation presented O'Sensei Kim with the rank of Judan at his memorial service. source & verbatim: Kokusai Butokukai Intl. A detailed biography (in french) can be found here |
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A short extract (1989) of O'Sensei's teaching.
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" Watch your toughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny. "
O'Sensei Richard Kim |
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