50 Years of Karate History

Where did Goju-Ryu in Scotland originate:

What are our roots and what other groups share our origins?
Derek Cawkwell 3rd Dan IOGKF Scotland
November 2019
My brother Alan had joined a local Karate club and invited me to come along so, on 24th November 1972, I went to my first training session at the Fife Institute of
Physical and Recreational Education (FIPRE) in Glenrothes. The instructor was James Johnston, 1st Dan, who taught Yoseikan-style karate. His time in the martial arts
began in Dunfermline where he trained under Sensei John Webster, who taught Chito-Ryu karate until he returned to Canada around 1969, leaving the club under
Sensei James Wood. Sensei Wood was unable to secure higher instruction for the Chito-Ryu group and subsequently established links with Enoeda Sensei of the Japan
Karate Association. He remains with the JKA and was awarded to MBE for services to Karate, leaving Scotland some years ago for Western Australia. He currently
holds the rank of Shihan Kai 7th Dan and continues to teach Shotokan throughout Australia.
Sensei Wood had trained Jim Johnston to 1st Dan but during the unsettled period where future of Chito-Ryu was looking doubtful, Jim Johnston established links with
Sensei Vernon Bell. After serving in the Second World War Bell became interested in Judo and graded to 1st Dan in 1952, reaching 3rd Dan in 1958. He also held a Dan
grade in Jiu-Jitsu. In the 1950’s he developed an interest in Karate and travelled to Paris to train under Henri Plee, an early pioneer of Karate. Through Sensei Plee he
met Minoru Mochizuki, the founder of Yoseikan Karate. On April 1st 1957 Bell became to first Briton to qualify as Black Belt in Karate and he subsequently formed the
British Karate Federation in London.
Some of his earliest students include household names in the Karate world such as Andy Sherry and Terry O’Neill. Bell was responsible for arranging for a party of
Japanese instructors to visit Britain and demonstrate Karate. He also obtained permission for Sensei Hirokazu Kanazawa to stay for a year and teach in North London.
In time the Karate Union of Great Britain was formed under the stewardship of Sensei’s Enoeda and Kanazawa and a substantial portion of Bell’s students parted
company with him to train in the KUGB. Sensei Bell returned to teaching Yoseikan and following his link up with Bell, Jim Johnston set up his class in FIPRE Glenrothes,
as mentioned earlier.
When I joined Jim’s club Karate was still an obscure sport in Scotland and student numbers were typically around 8 per class. Jim’s senior student was Jim McKelvie,
then a blue belt. His students were mainly in the 30+ age bracket. For those who did not live through the early 70’s, the culture at that time would have been
unrecognisable. FIPRE was a large, monolithic building with extensive parking to front and back and only a handful of spaces ever seemed to be occupied. Diet and
exercise were not issues which weighed on the average British mind. Joggers were regarded as odd people who had succumbed to an American fad and could be the
butt of jokes in TV adverts. Only football appeared to attract robust support.
 Sensei Johnston demonstrating with student
However, the release of a series of Bruce Lee films changed that, at least in the martial arts, for the next decade. Suddenly interest boomed and new recruits flooded
into dojos. In order to capitalise on this Jim Johnston had his students open dojos around Fife and beyond. As questionable as this may seem today, as a 6th kyu green
belt I found myself teaching a class in Kinghorn which peaked at 70 students one night. Needless to say, the realisation that new students would not become stunningly
acrobatic martial artists in a week or two thinned the ranks but still left a healthy core of the next generation who would be the future of our group in Central Scotland.
It may seem a little defensive but I will pass comment that I started the Kinghorn class as a green belt and when it finished a year later and the remnants were
absorbed into other clubs, some of them wore green belts.
Another aspect of 70’s training that would not be apparent to more recent practitioners was the approach to fitness. Classes were typically two hours long and the
entirety of the first hour was given over to exercise. This was not just light warm up and stretching but a punishing routine which included running around the room
and stopping for push-ups on knuckles, fingertips, backs of wrists, spread hands or single hands / fists. A similar variety of sit-ups was available. My “favourite”
involved jumping up on a partner and locking your legs around his waist then leaning head back to the floor and sitting up to his chest.
Other exercises included punching while “bunny hopping”, “duck walking”, carrying a partner while running, “wheelbarrows” (holding your partner’s legs while moving
forward briskly as he / she walked on their knuckles) and many other forms of punishment. Rapid departures from the Dojo were quite frequent. For those who
endured, even for those whose techniques would never be polished, they would certainly be fit. Even as we entered the 90’s one instructor’s classes still unfailingly
included 2 x 2 rounds of 50 sit-ups and 2 x 2 rounds of 50 push-ups as a brief part of every warm-up.
As the post-Bruce Lee period continued, classes continued to flourish and a younger crowd was attracted. Our first encounters with Goju-Ryu date back to 1973.
Sensei Len Sim clarified the source of guidance which Vernon Bell acquired; this was Masafumi Suzuki, a 2nd Dan from the Kyoto Seibukan who was a chef working for
Japan Airlines. On a visit to London in 1973 I remember training with a blue belt on the Gekisai katas at Bell’s Dojo. Subsequent to this, contact was established with
the Rousseau brothers. The first contact most Scottish students had with a Goju instructor was when Sensei Peter Rousseau visited our Glenrothes dojo at FIPRE. At
some stage, perhaps in 1974, there was a split between Jim Johnston and Vernon Bell and the decision was made that our future lay with Goju-Ryu. This did not go
down well with all students and one of these, Ray Wood, who taught at a dojo in Leslie, parted company with our group and continued her links with Yoseikan. Ray
is now deceased but her direct student, David Dempster, still heads up a Yoseikan group with a presence in Kirkcaldy.
During this period, we made our first foray into tournament and a small group of us fought at the Scottish Open Championships at the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow in 1973.
In 1975 I fought along with Jim McKelvie and John Lambert at the British Open Championships at Bellevue, Manchester. Valuable experience but no medals for the
Scottish contingent.
By then Jim McKelvie had passed his 1st Dan and the “next generation”, including those who would shape the future of the organisation passed their 1st Dan on 1st
September 1975 under Peter Rousseau. That group consisted of John Lambert, Jim Flannigan, George McLelland and myself. From this time on we sought out more
senior instruction. At this time, there was not the frequency of Gasshukus we see today; there was one per year and these alternated, one year at a European venue
and the next at a “worldwide” venue. In November 1975 Hiromi Suzuki visited Scotland and in July 1976 a group of Scots including myself set out in a campervan to
visit Sensei Suzuki in Stockholm. Sensei Len Sim also visited in ’76. We received a visit from Sensei Teruo Chinen in March 1977, accompanied by Bob Greenhalgh, and
Sensei Suzuki made a return visit in June 1977. Meantime, Jim McKelvie attended a Gasshuku in South Africa in 1976 and stayed on for 3 months to benefit from the
senior instruction available at that location.
 Sensei Jim Johnston’s first Dan grades (Jim McKelvie absent)
Our clubs continued to expand. A thriving club opened at Forfar in April 1975 with Derek Keith as the senior in charge. This still remains the case though Derek chose
to seek another source of senior instruction and is currently a 6th Dan and part of the Jundokan group (see final photo). Jim Flannigan opened classes, initially at
Markinch and Leven but ultimately at Buckhaven. John Lambert instructed at Lochgelly and George McLelland at Glenrothes. George helped out with administration
of our group at this time but left in the mid ‘70s. I understand he is still active in Shotokan in Dundee.
I opened a class at Kirkcaldy around this time and other classes were opened by those who came through ranks, at Clackmannan, Kincardine and Kinross, the last
location being where David Lambert, John’s brother, had his first dojo. Instructors included Neil Bloomfield, who taught in Kirkcaldy and Jim Forbes, whose Burntisland
club had 10 brown belts. At one grading, Jim saw 47 students of his students succeed in a range of grades from 9th kyu to 1st kyu.
1979 was a significant year for our group. Word reached us that a Gasshuku was being organised in Poole and would be attended by attended by the senior instructors
for our style; Sensei James Rousseau, European Chief Instructor, Sensei Teruo Chinen and Higaonna Sensei. It was at this time that the IOGKF was formed.
Our instructor, Jim Johnston, firmly attempted to dissuade any of us from attending. I did not go to this Gasshuku but the feedback from those who attended was
overwhelmingly positive and it became apparent that the consensus view was that our future lay with the IOGKF. I believe that John Lambert was the leading figure
behind the move and liaised with Jim Flannigan to confirm the course for the future as these were the two instructors from our group who, between them, had the
majority of students. I received an invite to the meeting we held with Jim Johnston outside the rear of the FIPRE when we broke the news to him that out future lay
elsewhere.

Training with Sensei Hiromi Suzuki, Stockholm, Sweden 1976

In 1980 a contingent from Scotland set off for the Spanish Gasshuku. For me, this was my first session training under Higaonna Sensei. One of my outstanding
memories of the Gasshuku was the start of senior grade training. Higaonna Sensei had us take up neko-ashi-dachi and kick chudan mae-geri, drop our foot and
rebound with jodan mawashi-geri, 10 times. Then we repeated this on the other foot. Then we continued to repeat this, left side then right side – for an hour.
I also remember that when the junior grades joined us later, as one of them walked around a corner and set eyes on us, a look of absolute shock came over his face.
It was at this Gasshuku that David Lambert, later to become Head Instructor in Australia, passed his somewhat-overdue first Dan.
 Senseis Higaonna and Rousseau, Sayonara Party, Spanish Gasshuku 1980
The next part of our quest for improvement was to establish links with Sensei George Andrews and we undertook a series of visits in the early 80’s to train with him
at the marble factory dojo in Camberwell. In 1980, at Reading, John and Jim passed their 2nd Dan and I followed in 1981 at Camberwell, with James Rousseau presiding
on all occasions.
One aspect which gained wide acceptance among our group at this time came about due to one of Jim Flannigan’s student, Andy Anderson. Andy trained regularly
with weights and the benefits were so obvious that this became almost the norm for Jim, all his students and for me. Jim and Andy became competitive bodybuilders
and developed impressive physiques. Even with less intensive training I put a few inches on my thighs, upper arms and upper body. I remain a firm advocate of weight
training for martial arts students.
Independent of these roots, this aspect of training also appealed to Sensei Callum Dick who trained at the same gym as Jim and his students although not as part of
that group. In order to assure competent instruction and minimise injuries, Callum had his group train in Olympic Weightlifting under a national coach, Gilmour
Stevenson, at FIPRE. Callum continues to train and his nephew, Sensei David Steele, 4th Dan, based in Dundee with fellow instructor Jens Tilsner, has developed an
impressive physique training in Cross Fit and competes in ultimate fitness competitions. Sensei Callum’s group also continues the interest in Jiu Jitsu, created during
Vernon Bell’s time. Callum was a 1st kyu in Judo, nearly qualified to sit his 1st Dan and, in the time around 1984 – 85, trained in the Jiu Jitsu club run by John McNab
and his brother, former students with our karate group.
During the early 80’s Jim McKelvie’s interests had moved away from karate and towards Jiu Jitsu. He left our group, taking a number of students with him such as
John McNab, now a 6th Dan and head of that group and Alec Chapman, a 4th Dan instructor. Callum told me during my research that one of the themes of training
with Higaonna Sensei at the 2005 Gasshuku was throwing techniques. Callum further diversifies his training by studying Qi Gung.
Our pursuit of training led to attendance by a Scottish group at the 1982 Gasshuku (Belgium), in the USA in 1983 and South Africa in 1985. Apparently, a debt was
incurred at the ‘85 Gasshuku by Len Sim who credits John Lambert with pointing out an attractive female karateka who later became Len’s wife! Scotland staged the
1984 European Gasshuku at Glenrothes. Meantime we continued to participate in local tournaments and the Scottish Open Championships through the period from
the late 1980’s to the early 90’s, meeting with some success. Twice, John Lambert and Derek Keith won through to the final eight who returned to decide the Kata
Championship while, on one occasion, 0.1 of a point separated me from that group. It seems fair to say that 3 of our small group were rated in the top 10 practitioners
in Scotland. Bearing in mind the number of World Championship competitors and Scottish / British Team members based throughout Scotland at that time this
appears to be no small achievement.
 Scottish Contingent, Belgian Gasshuku 1982
Having passed his 2nd Dan in Belgium in 1982, shortly afterwards Dave Lambert left Scotland for a life in Australia. He soon met the person who would become his
wife and opened a Dojo at JT Fitness in Goulburn. In 1991 he was appointed Chief Instructor for IOGKF Australia. Dave progressed rapidly through the grades, sitting
his 5th Dan in 1994 and establishing a firm relationship with Higaonna Sensei. Also, in 1994 he was awarded Shihan status and made a member of the IOGKF
International Committee. Dave subsequently built a Dojo at the rear of his house in Goulburn, naming it the Bujutsukan. He taught and demonstrated at events across
the globe including the 1998 Okinawa Budosai and Chojun Miyagi Festivals and visitors to his Dojo, apart from Higaonna Sensei, included Senseis Nakamura, Laubscher,
Molyneux and Larsen.
In 1986, John Lambert passed his 3rd Dan at Quimper, France followed by Jim Flannigan who passed at Sensei George Andrews Dojo in Camberwell. In 1987, at Forfar,
at a grading presided over by Sensei James Rousseau, I passed my 3rd Dan.
For me, an interesting aside at this time is that I moved to Edinburgh for the next 3 years and, in order to augment my training, I started to attend a Dojo run by Jim
Collins, a Wado Ryu stylist and the 1984 World All-Styles Middleweight Kumite champion. Jim was quite capable of dealing out a sweat-fest and was a good, technical
instructor. It also goes without saying that he was unbelievably fast. I still regard it as an achievement that, during a brief light sparring session, I managed to block
his mawashi geri jodan and I remember those training sessions with fondness. Training with seniors from other styles included a group of our members attending a
session with the deeply impressive Shotokan Sensei Terry O’Neill when he visited Fife and a kumite course in Kirkcaldy run by Gene Dunnett, the last man out for the
British Team in the 1975 World Championships. Dunnet clinched 1st place for Britain.
We also kept good company in local tournaments. One held a few times in the 80’s was a Goju – Shotokan – Wado fixture. The Wado team was part of Hamish Adam’s
(Winning-team member, World Championships 1975) Kirkcaldy Red Gate club and the Shotokan team featured Alec Duncan (British Team member). Results varied
but at one event we took 1st place. On a personal note, a well-delivered scoop kick meant I finished one tournament with a broken bone in my foot and, following a
hospital trip later that evening, sported a plaster cast for 6 weeks.

Senseis Higaonna and Rousseau Demonstrate at Scottish Gasshuku 1984

I had returned to Fife in 1990 and, by this time, had been experiencing health issues for about 3 years. Arthritis was suggested and there was some evidence for this
though I felt the main issues concerned pain and inflammation of the connective tissue. I continued to train as well as I could with both John and Jim but in 1995, I
felt I could not keep this up any longer and left formal karate training. Meantime our group progressed under the guidance of John and Jim who, along with a group
of students, attended a Gasshuku in Okinawa in 1991 during which both John and Jim passed their 4 th Dan. Unfortunately, Jim suffered a continuing deterioration in
the number of students attending his Dojo and decided to retire from this in the Summer of 1998. An attempt was made to keep it afloat, briefly by David Sneddon
and subsequently by Laura Campbell but after about a year it closed. This left the Scottish group under the guidance of John Lambert as the sole Chief Instructor.
In early 2000 Dave Lambert became ill. His health rapidly deteriorated and in May of that year he passed away and was buried in Goulburn. Higaonna Sensei awarded
Dave his 6th Dan around a month before his death. His Dojo passed to his senior students and David Jnr. Australia was re-organised into 2 groups, with students of
David Snr. in both. David Jnr’s Dojo is the largest IOGKF organisation in the Oceania region, having over 250 students. Sensei David Jnr. has singled out Sensei Paul
Parlett as being outstanding in his support of karate in Australia.
From 2000 onward I returned to weight training and bag work and by 2005 felt fit enough to return to karate training with Sensei Callum Dick for a few months. All
was going well but my hips rapidly deteriorated and in 2007 I had a double hip resurfacing operation, finishing any idea of high impact training, or so I thought.
Meanwhile our IOGKF group continued to thrive and sought senior instruction by travelling to England to train with James Rousseau or George Andrews, or arranging
for them to visit Scotland. There were not the same training opportunities as there are today and there are a number of reasons for this.
In the 1960’s virtually no Briton travelled abroad. Mass travel began in the 1970’s and was then largely limited to package tours to Spain. As wealth increased and the
comparative cost of travel decreased people began to travel further afield to locations including the USA and, as we entered the 90’s, long-haul locations came within
the grasp of more travellers. Coincident with this, as we enter the 2000’s (some groups may have experienced this earlier) more courses were opening up. Looking at
the licences I have examined indicates that our present seniors were typically attending one foreign course but another 2 domestic courses in the early 00’s and we
had representation at the 2004 and 2008 Okinawa Gasshukus. This pattern has continued and as we enter the current decade there are more instances of attendance
at 2 foreign courses along with those available domestically. Certainly, in “my time” up to 1995, there was not the ready availability of Gasshukus with senior
instructors throughout the year in, say, Germany, Denmark, Czech Republic, Belgium, etc. that now occur regularly.
On 28th June 2010 John Lambert 5th Dan, Senior Instructor IOGKF Scotland, died following a battle with cancer, an event with repercussions for IOGKF Scotland and a
cause for sorrow for those in the organisation and many who were not, as confirmed by the outstanding turnout at his funeral, which I also attended. Following the
2011 Gasshuku in Portugal, Higaonna Sensei visited Scotland and conducted weekend training, with the funds raised being donated to the Lambert family. A decade
earlier, a tree had been planted in a churchyard in Lochgelly in memory of Sensei David Lambert and during his visit, Higaonna Sensei, along with David Jnr, James
Lambert and other members of the Lambert family scattered Sensei John’s ashes at that location. During the visit, Higaonna Sensei chaired a meeting along with
Sensei Ernie Molyneux and all senior grades from Scotland were invited. That group were instructed that Scotland would become a Kambukai, a group of clubs with
no national Chief Instructor. Senseis Kenny Morrison and Gary Adams jointly kept Sensei John Lamberts classes in Glenrothes operational for a number of years, as
he had requested. Following this period, Sensei Kenny was extended support by Sensei’s Ernie Molyneux and Roy Flatt for which he was, and remains, deeply grateful.
Sensei Kenny was also sent a letter of appreciation for keeping Sensei John’ s classes going by Higaonna Sensei.
Training continues under Sensei’s Callum Dick, Kenny Morrison, Gary Adams, Stevie Biggar, David Steele and Jens Tilsner. When Sensei Gary passed his 5th Dan, aged
32, he became the youngest ever IOGKF practitioner to achieve that grade. From the sample of licenses I have examined, attendance at national and foreign courses
is regular at 3 or 4 courses a year. One of the more significant events of recent years appears to have occurred at the Malaga Gasshuku of 2015 when Higaonna Sensei
convened a meeting and laid out a strategy for unifying katas and bunkai throughout the IOGKF to ensure a uniform standard throughout the world.
On a personal level, in early 2014 I returned to weight training and bought a punch bag and treadmill. My confidence in my fitness grew and in September 2016 I
returned to training at the Lambert Dojo under Sensei Kenny Morrison 5 th Dan at the age of 60, following a 21 year absence. I chose to wear a white belt upon my
return, despite some urging to put my black belt on after a short period, and I feel this was the correct decision bearing in mind the drop in my performance and
knowledge. In July 2016 I attended a panel which carried out a 2 hour review of the syllabus for 3rd Dan and, having satisfied them I put a black belt on and continue
to work towards achieving a credible standard.
My return raises a question or two. As I approach the 47th anniversary of beginning my training, with a 21 year gap in it, what changes have I noticed since my return?
In a recent conversation on this subject, Sensei Callum countered my comments by talking of the performance of kata “growing”. This a fair point for someone whose
training has been continuous since before my long term departure from the Dojo. However, having recently returned, I rapidly became aware of the far more
sophisticated approach to kata. Far more attention is devoted to the “tempo” of kata and the manner of performing these utilising “muchimi”, “ma”, “kime points”
and other variations in pace, strength and breathing.
The roots of the strong emphasis on fitness training for a prolonged part of the class before starting actual karate training lay more in the period prior to our links
with Goju Ryu, although that emphasis continued for many years. Do I miss those gruelling sessions? No. Karate these days is more inclusive and accessible to persons
of varying degrees of fitness. I cannot deny the “old times” bred fit, tough students but if the classes were still conducted in that manner, I strongly doubt that I could
have returned aged 60. That manner of training would ensure that karate remained a “young man’s game”. Instead, I feel confident that I can continue to train
regularly, despite continuing health issues, and enjoy the benefits of being part of such an enthusiastic group as the IOGKF.

Sensei Derek Keith and his student Alan Leslie (Jundokan) training with IOGKF Friends (September 2019)
Senior Instructors at 2019 Grading: Right – Sensei Kenny Morrison, left – Sensei Gary Adams, wearing tie – Sensei Stevie Biggar, to his left Sensei Brian Malcolm.
Not present in this group: Sensei Callum Dick, Sensei David Steele, Sensei Jens Tilsner.