Hanshi Fritz Nöpel († 2020) Belt: Black belt | 10. Dan Holder of the 10th DAN and pioneer of Goju-Ryu karate in this country, he passed away at the age of 85 in his hometown of Kamen. Fritz was born on 3 November 1935 in Breslau. After completing an apprenticeship as a miner in Dortmund, he moved to Sweden to study mining engineering. From 1954 to 1957, he left his studies at the university behind and set off on a journey of discovery by bicycle. His tour took him to […]
Hanshi Tomoharu Kisaki († 1996) Belt: Black belt | 9. Dan 9th Dan Hanshi from Osaka, Japan. In 1939, he joined the karate club at Ritsumeikan University together with Uchiage Kenzo and Katano Kenkichi, where he studied Gōjū-Ryū under and with Chōjun Miyagi, Yamaguchi Gōgen and others. Ritsumeikan University was not only a stronghold of Japanese Gōjū-Ryū, but also represented a tough faction in kumite matters, which was described as ‘last man standing’ mode (a witness to these fights was Ōyama Masutatsu). In 1954, he founded the Yuishinkan-Dōjō in Osaka, […]
