Richard Kim

Richard Kim (November 17, 1917 – November 8, 2001) was an American martial artist. He was an instructor of various disciplines, including Shōrinji-ryū Karate, Okinawan Kobudo, Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu, and Tai Chi. Kim was known for spreading traditional martial arts in North America and Europe.

Early life and career Richard Sun Sung Kim was born in Pāpaʻaloa, Hawaii. His father was Mong Young Kim, a Japanese citizen of Korean heritage, and his mother was Tok Nam Park, who was of both Korean and Japanese descent. His parents immigrated from Nagasaki, Japan to Hawaii prior to his birth.0'Sensei Richard Kim — Zen Bei Butoku Kai Kim began studying martial arts at age 6, starting with judo under Kaneko. After seeing a demonstration by Kentsū Yabu, who spent most of 1927 in Hawaii, Kim began studying karate under Arakaki Sadao (not to be confused with Arakaki Ankichi), who represented Yabu in Hawaii. In the 1930s, Kim also trained with Mutsu Mizuho, Tachibana, and at Sato’s Boxing Gym. In 1937, he began studying tai chi, pa kua and Shorinji-ryu kempo under Kenichi Sawai while pursuing university studies. In 1939, in addition to continuing to train under Sawai, Kim began studying Daito-ryu aikijujutsu, and Japanese and Okinawan weaponry under Kotaro Yoshida, who he came to regard as his primary Sensei. When the Attack on Pearl Harbor occurred, Kim was serving on the SS President Harrison and found himself behind enemy lines. The next day, on December 8, 1941, the ship was intercepted and the crew was taken as prisoners of war (POW). Because of his Korean-Japanese heritage and because he spoke English, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Russian, Kim was made a translator for the Japanese army. Kim remained a POW in China for the remainder of World War II, during which he studied Tai Chi under Chen Chen Yuan, Pakua under Chao Hsu Lie, and Yi Chaun under Wang Xiangzhai. During this time, he also trained with Sawai, Hiroshi Kinjo, Toyama Kanken, Nobuyoshi Tamura, Morihei Ueshiba, Gogen Yamaguchi, and Masatoshi Oyama, another martial artist of Korean-Japanese lineage. These are the Daito-ryu scrolls passed down from Yoshida Kotaro to Richard Kim to the Zen Bei Butoku Kai International.

Teaching career In 1959, Kim moved to the US permanently and began teaching martial arts in San Francisco, particularly at the Chinese YMCA. He traveled extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, teaching wherever he went. He founded branches of the Butoku Kai in the U.S., Canada, France and Germany.

Kim wrote a monthly column for Karate Illustrated magazine, and wrote a number of books including: The Weaponless Warriors, The Classical Man, and an instructional series on weaponry (Kobudo). There has been some controversy surrounding The Weaponless Warriors, published in 1974, as the bulk of the work appears taken, without acknowledgement, directly from Eizo Shimabukuro's 1963 work Old Grandmaster Stories, which was translated into English for the first time in 2003. Kim was named Black Belt Magazine'''s "Karate Sensei of the Year", in 1967, and was later inducted into the Black Belt Magazine'' Hall of Fame. Kim was the Director of the American Amateur Karate Federation, Vice-President for the International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF), and coaching staff for the 1980 U.S. National Karate Team. He continued to teach, lecture and lead martial arts activities until his death.

Kim died on November 8, 2001.

Publications

The Weaponless Warrior. (1974). Kobudo, Volume 1: Okinawan Weapons of Matsu Higa. (1984). Kobudo, Volume 2: Okinawan Weapons of Hama Higa. (1985). Kobudo, Volume 3: Okinawan Weapons of Chatan Yara. (1993). The Classical Man. (1999).