Richard Kim (karate)

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

Richard Kim
Born	(1917-11-17)November 17, 1917 Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Died	November 8, 2001(2001-11-08) (aged 83)
Style	Okinawan Kobudo Shōrinji-ryū Karate[1] Tai chi[2] Judo Baguazhang Daito-ryu Aiki jujitsu Yi Quan[3]
Teacher(s)	Yoshida Kotaro Arakaki Ankichi Chao Hsu Lie Chen Chin Wuan Kaneko-sensei Toyama Kanken Yabu Kentsu Mizuho Mutsu[4] Kenichi Sawai[5] Tachibana Sensei Wang Xian Zhai[6]
Rank	10th dan
Other information
Notable students	Brian Ricci[7] Cal Avila Richard Lee Raymond Castilonia Leroy M. Rodrigues[8] Don Warrener Raymond Moore[9] Peter Urban Douglas Mortley Patrick McCarthy Frank Gaviola Eileen Dennis

Early life and career

Kim was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. His parents immigrated from Nagasaki, Japan to Hawaii, and were Japanese citizens of Korean heritage. Kim began studying judo as a child in the early 1920s, under Kaneko. Around the same time, he also began studying karate under Arakaki Ankichi.^[10] Before World War II, his service in the United States Merchant Marine took him to east Asia. In 1937, he studied tai chi, pa kua and Shorinji-ryu kempo under Kenichi Sawai while pursuing university studies.^[11] He cited many martial artists as his teachers, including Tachibana and Chen Chen Yuan.^[12] He moved to Japan in 1939, where he continued training under Sawai and also studied Daito-ryu aikijujutsu, and Japanese and Okinawan weaponry under Kotaro Yoshida, who he considered his primary sensei and with whom he lived from 1945-1952.^[11][13] During this time, he also trained with Gogen Yamaguchi and Masatoshi Oyama.Kim stated that he had in his possession the Daito-ryu scrolls and had been granted the Daito-ryu menkyo kaiden, which was confirmed in 2024 by the Zen Bei Butoku Kai, which now has the scrolls in its archives.^[14]

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 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.^[15] As well as teaching the physical aspects of the martial arts, Kim taught the philosophy, history, strategy, and spiritual aspects. According to the Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia, “Kim became the foremost karate historian residing in the U.S.”^[15]

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,^[16] 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.^[17] Kim was the Director of the American Amateur Karate Federation, Vice-President for the International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF),^[18] and coaching staff for the 1980 U.S. National Karate Team.^[15] He continued to teach, lecture and lead martial arts activities until his death.

Kim died on November 8, 2001.^[19] At his memorial service, Hidetaka Nishiyama of the ITKF presented Kim with the rank of Judan (10th degree black belt) posthumously.^[20] His teachings continue through a number of organizations: the Zen Bei Butoku Kai International, founded by two of Richard Kim’s senior students, Brian Ricci and Frank Gaviola; the Kokusai Butokukai, founded by some of Richard Kim’s senior students, including Jean Chalamon; and the Bu Toku Do, founded by Don Warrener, a senior student of Richard Kim.

Publications

1. The Weaponless Warrior. (1974). ISBN 978-0-89750-041-8
2. Kobudo, Volume 1: Okinawan Weapons of Matsu Higa. (1984). ISBN 978-0-920129-03-6
3. Kobudo, Volume 2: Okinawan Weapons of Hama Higa. (1985). ISBN 978-0-920129-08-1
4. Kobudo, Volume 3: Okinawan Weapons of Chatan Yara. (1993). ISBN 978-0-920129-10-4
5. The Classical Man. (1999). ISBN 978-0-920129-01-2