My first dojo, the Cardiff school of Budo at the Regal and then Japan and Honbu.
I was awarded my 8th dan in November 2015 by the WKO. My 7th dan was awarded by Sosai Mas Oyama in 1993. I am one of the technical directors of the WKO (World Karate Organization). I was brought up in Wales where rugby is supported fervently. My father died when I was eight years old. He played for Wales as an amateur and later became a professional. My school days were full of rugby and athletics, karate at that time was almost unheard of.
Completed 100-man kumite in one day
One of the highest grades in the world
Chief instructor at Gothenburgs Karate Kai
One of the first Uchi Deshi
Howard Collins One of the technical directors of the WKO
I have been the chief instructor of Göteborgs Karate Kai since 1977. The dojo was established 1965 and is one of the oldest karate clubs in Sweden. My goal has always been to offer qualified pedagogic educated instructors. One of my many aims is to give my students the kind of training that will help them in their daily life. My lessons are built on the traditional Kyokushin way of training.
Probably movies and friends who trained judo. There were not so many films that featured karate, those that did limited themselves to simple techniques as a judo chop. I was fifteen when I started to train Kyokushin karate. My first club was The Cardiff school of Budo, Cardiff is the capital of Wales. I was born and brought up in Mountain Ash, twenty miles from Cardiff. When I left school I found work with a company installing televisions and antennas. In the meantime I had become the chief instructor for the club. Our first instructor had left and so had many students, I seemed to be the only one who kept going. About this time I read an article about Sosai Oyama and how hard the Kyokushin Karate training was in Japan. I decided I would go to Japan and train. That was the plan.
I was nearly eighteen when I decided that I would try to join the Metropolitan Police in London, 1967. But I had to be nineteen so I joined the police cadets until I reached the age of nineteen. Three weeks after I left home to start my new career my mother died. During my time in London I continued my training although because of my work I could not train as often as I would have liked. I had lived in London for two years when I decided that if I was going to Japan I needed money. I left the police force and joined the merchant navy to work as a seaman. Here I thought I could travel and save money. I managed to do both for one year. Then it was time to move on, next stop Japan.
I was twenty-one years of age when I left for Japan. I was a green belt 3 kyu when I started to train in Honbu, 1971. The training was hard and repetitious, every lesson was the same and they would last between two and two and a half hours. During the early weeks Sosai said that I must try the HUNDRED MAN FIGHT. I said osu and that was that, two years later the day came. There is not much to say about that day only I was determined to do my best. I had already witnessed two failed attempts at the hundred man fight so I knew what to expect.
The 100 man fight was not something I asked to try, today you read about people who decided they would try the 100 man kumite, thats fine. I had just arrived in Honbu and Sosai told me I should try. He had never met me before or new anything about me but for some reason he told me to try, I said Osu and that was that about two yers later I was told to try. 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. Many years later I found out that I was the first one to have completed the test in one day. All I wanted to do was to drink I was very tired and dehydrated. I had cramp all night so I did not sleep very well. The next day I was feeling much better, time to buy some presents and go home. On returning home in 1973 I started to teach in local kyokushin dojos and in dojos in Europe.
Kyokushin is a way of life.
A way of living
A lifestyle.
Kyokushin Kihon
Now available for streaming. Click on the button to visit the streaming page.
