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Howard Collins (born 1949) is a Welsh master of Kyokushin karate based in Sweden.[1] He holds the rank of 8th dan (2015) and the title of Shihan.[1] Collins learned directly from Masutatsu Oyama, founder of Kyokushin karate, and was a prominent competitor in world karate tournaments through the 1970s. He has been teaching his martial art since the 1960s, and has written several books on karate.
| Howard Collins | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1949 (age 74–75) Mountain Ash, Wales, United Kingdom |
| Residence | Gothenburg, Sweden |
| Style | Kyokushin Karate |
| Teacher(s) | Masutatsu Oyama |
| Rank | 8th dan karate |
| Spouse | None |
| Website | www |
Collins was born in 1949[2] in Mountain Ash, Wales, around 20 miles from Cardiff.[1] His father died when he was eight years old.[1] As a schoolboy, Collins played rugby and trained in athletics.[1] He began training in Kyokushin karate at the age of 15, at the Cardiff School of Budo.[1] It was around this time that he first read about Masutatsu Oyama and decided that he would eventually travel to Japan to train.[1]
In 1967, Collins decided to join the London Metropolitan Police—but only three weeks after he had set off on this endeavour, his mother died.[1] He worked in London for two years before joining the merchant navy, with the aim of working his way to Japan.[1] Collins was 21 when he eventually left for Japan.[1]
In 1971, Collins arrived in Japan and, at the rank of 3rd kyu, began training at the Kyokushin honbu dojo (headquarters training hall) under Oyama.[1] On 22 October 1972, he competed in the 4th Open Karate Tournament in Tokyo, and came second after Miyuki Miura.[3] According to Collins, he completed the 100-man kumite two years after beginning training in Japan,[1] but a Scottish source reports 1 December 1972 as the date.[4] In any case, he became the first person to complete the test compulsorily in one day.[4][5] Collins later recalled: "At the start it was easy my condition was excellent as I had been training every day for two years. Slowly though I was becoming tired the referee would ask me if I wanted to give up (I can not print my reply). I thought what can they do, kill me. Three and a half hours later it was all over."[1]
In 1973, Collins returned to the United Kingdom and began teaching in British and other European dojo.[1] He was listed at 6' 5" (196 cm) in height and 198 lb. (90 kg) in weight in that year.[6] In September 1973, Collins was ranked 3rd dan.[7] In November 1975, he competed in Kyokushin's 1st World Tournament, but was defeated by Toshikazu Satō on a judge's decision, following several extensions and a rematch.[8] Following an invitation from Attila Meszaros, Collins emigrated to Sweden in 1977.[1] He competed in Kyokushin's 2nd World Tournament, in November 1979, and came fifth.[9]
In 1980, Collins was ranked 4th dan.[10] Oyama promoted him to the rank of 7th dan in 1993. During the World Tournament in Japan October/November 2015 or rather during the seminar afterwards, he got 8th dan.[1] Collins has written several books, including: The Kyokushinkai Knockdown karate book (1980), The Absolute Karate: Applications of Kyokushin (1995),[11] The Shodan (2003), and The Gateway (2004). Currently, he is the head of the Gothenburg Kyokushin dojo in Sweden.[2]
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