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Richard Kim is a figure of some controversy in the martial arts world. He was a renowned karate instructor, and Black Belt magazine instructor of the year in 1967. He edited a column for Karate Illustrated magazine. A number of informal biographies exist on the Web, authored by his students. Richard Kim is sometimes credited with being a Meijin, or spiritual master, although the only accrediting body for a 'Meijin' is the organization for Go masters in Japan. Richard Kim appears to have accumulated honorific titles, and his students claim that he received multiple doctorates from St. John's and Towa Universities in China the 1920s. It appears that Towa University, a science and engineering university in Fukuoka, Japan, was not created until 1956.
Richard Kim founded the Zen Bei Butokukai, which was long advertised as the foreign branch of the Dai Nippon Butokukai in Kyoto, where Richard Kim claimed to have studied in the 1930s. Richard Kim's organization used the Dai Nippon Butokukai logo for many years. The relationship between the organizations does not exist, and the foreign representation for the Dai Nippon Butokukai is managed by Tesshin Hamada. During the 1930s, the Dai Nippon Butokukai sponsored military training, including hand grenades and military glider techniques. It is not clear that the organization accepted foreign students during this time.
Richard Kim published a number of books, including informal histories of the Japanese and Okinawan martial arts, and instructional books on Okinawan weapons. It is claimed by many of his students that Richard Kim was the greatest living historian of the martial arts, although the informal style of his books, and his apparent lack of any formal academic or research training would cast doubt on this claim. There has been some controversy that his book 'The Weaponless Warrior' (Ohara Publications, 1974) was plagiarized from the journals of Okinawan Karate instructor Eizo Shimabukuro.
Richard Kim was a remarkable and colourful figure who influenced many serious students of the martial arts, although it appears his cult status has eclipsed the truth in some instances. For many years he attended, with many of his students, a karate summer camp in San Diego, California with the JKA, and Sensei Hidetaka Nishiyama. In the evenings, after training, Richard Kim would entertain students in his lodgings and discuss Philosophy.
What style of karate did Kim teach? What did he call the style that he taught (if different from the previous question)? I've heard he called his style shorinji-ryu karate. What styles of karate are the root arts of his style? These are questions that should absolutely be in this article. Further, this article should also have more biographical facts (DOB, where he grew up, where he lived, etc). The current article is woefully inadequate, horrendously biased, and entirely non-encyclopedic. I hope somebody can update it soon to a much higher standard. Jrdx 18:29, 4 February 2007 (UTC)
Richard Kim taught 'Shorinji-ryu' Karate (transl. 'Shaolin Temple Style'), which was a system he invented, based almost entirely on the JKA style of Shotokan Karate. It is unrelated to Shorinji Kempo. One significant exception was the teaching of Okinawan and traditional Japanese weapon systems. Richard Kim also encouraged the study of, and taught, Tai Chi. Additionally, Richard Kim used the Japanese 'On' pronunciation in the naming of kata. The Japanese 'On' pronunciation or 'On-yomi' is a Japanese approximation of the original Chinese pronunciation of a particular character. Each character may have multiple 'On' and 'Kun' (Japanese) pronunciations. For example, the Shotokan kata series 'Heian' became 'Pinan' in Shorinji-ryu. Use of the 'On' pronunciation can give a more 'formal' or traditional air to a word. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.168.238.7 ( talk • contribs)
This may be useful as a reference for many of the points already in the article:
misc:
-- Asterphage 03:14, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
From Tode Sakugawa, we inherit the kata Kanku Dai and Sakugawa no Kon and the philosophy of the Dojokun.
Sakugawa's student Sokon Matsumura served as security agent for the Okinawan royal family until his retirement, when he began to conduct karatedo classes at Shuri. Among his students were Anko Itosu and Chomo Hanashiro. Hanashiro instructed Jiro Ogasawara, who brought our system of Shorinji Ryu from Okinawa to Japan.
Several answers can be found at the following links:
From Tode Sakugawa, we inherit the kata Kanku Dai and Sakugawa no Kon and the philosophy of the Dojokun.
Sakugawa's student Sokon Matsumura served as security agent for the Okinawan royal family until his retirement, when he began to conduct karatedo classes at Shuri. Among his students were Anko Itosu and Chomo Hanashiro. Hanashiro instructed Jiro Ogasawara, who brought our system of Shorinji Ryu from Okinawa to Japan.
RE: Style of Karate links (above) - the Shorinji-ryu chronology looks a little misleading. I think there should really just be an arrow from Shotokan to Shorinji-ryu. Technically, the (non-Kobudo) basics and kata of Kim's Shorinji-ryu and JKA Shotokan are nearly identical. Shorin-ryu is very different from either. Compare, for instance Kim's Shorinji-ryu kata Pinan Shodan and its Shotokan equivalent, Heian Shodan, to the Shorin-ryu Pinan Shodan. The Shorin-ryu Pinan Shodan corresponds to Heian Nidan or Pinan Nidan in Shotokan and Kim's systems, respectively, albeit with major technical differences. In comparison, the Shotokan and Shorinji-ryu katas are practically identical. Also compare Shorin-ryu Passai to Shotokan Bassai-dai and Shorinji-ryu Patsai-dai. Shotokan and Shorinji-ryu katas are nearly identical, and Shorin-ryu version shows major technical variance from both. There are many similar examples.
The chronology diagram makes it look as though Shorinji-ryu had as old a genesis, and an equally long, independent development as styles such as Shotokan, Wado-ryu, Matsubayashi (Shorin) ryu and Goju-ryu. This is misleading. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.135.122.154 ( talk • contribs)
I have corrected two inaccuracies in the first discussion submission (above) - Richard Kim did not organise the JKA camp with Hidetaka Nishiyama, but attended himself and encouraged his students to attend; additionally, it shouldn't be implied he drank all the Heineken! He enjoyed his beer, and his students were strongly encouraged to bring Heineken to his apartments in the evenings at camp, after training, where he held audience.
I studied with Richard Kim, attended the camp for years, and understand the respect his students have for him. He was an outstanding Karate teacher.
Never the less, Wikipedia is not an obituary column. As stated above, Richard Kim was a colourful and sometimes controversial figure. The veracity of many of his claims can not be proven, and there is strong evidence that many were also exaggerated. The article itself was a flattering testament to Richard Kim, but did not qualify as an encyclopedia entry, and has been edited according to Wikipedia guidelines. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.168.238.7 ( talk • contribs)
Did he have them? Did he receive a menkyo kaiden from Kotaro Yoshida? User5802 02:28, 13 September 2007 (UTC)
I removed the reference to Daito-ryu scrolls and menkyo kaiden due to lack of evidence, and the exaggerated biographical claims of the subject. Much of the biographical material in the references was supplied by Richard Kim himself. In many cases there is no corroborating evidence, and the timelines and claims of achievement don't bear up under scrutiny. For example, as a dropout from the University of Hawai'i, he joined the merchant marine, claiming to have worked during the Second World War in Shanghai as a translator for a Japanese officer. He claimed to have earned a doctorate from St. John's University, but he does not show up on the alumni lists; St. John's University did not grant doctoral degrees at the time (students were able to pursue doctoral studies with affiliated US universities), there is no record of a doctoral dissertation, and no reference or evidence in his biographies or personal accounts of any academic research carried out. It is unclear how a U. of Hawai'i dropout would have gained entry to any program in one of the most selective universities in Asia at the time. Additionally, it is not clear how even the most gifted researcher could fulfill the requirements of doctoral study while serving the Japanese military in war time, while also embarking on serious study of Chuan Fa, Tai Chi and Pa Kua, as Kim claimed. There are many other cases where the biographical achievements appear to be outright fabrications, or clear exaggerations - for example, Richard Kim claimed to have received exhaustive knowledge of the history of Karate from various teachers, some of which is published in his book 'The Weaponless Warriors'; but the recent, English translation of Eizo Shimabukuro's book 'Old Grandmaster Stories' (2003), originally published in 1964, shows quite clearly that Kim's material was taken in large part directly from Shimabukuro's original work. According to Wikipedia guidelines, the article on Kim has been edited to display only claims that are corroborated by 3rd party evidence (existing diplomas, photos, etc.) 65.205.251.51 22:09, 13 September 2007 (UTC)
Per User5802's request, I've reviewed the article, and the discussion so far. I suggest creating a "Controversy" section in the article, and listing a few (not all) claims Kim made that have been contested/disproved. Also, a couple reliable sources are needed: there is currently a non-referenced biography, and two Amazon searches. Not exactly accurate. · AndonicO Talk 09:23, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
This reference is given next to the style listed in the infobox, and provides a link to Duke Moore's page which states the style Kim taught and promoted him in. User5802 20:14, 15 October 2007 (UTC)
There is no evidence Kim studied or taught Shornji Kempo. His style of karate was called 'Shorinji Ryu', which is entirely different (see comparison to JKA Shotokan, above) and I believe Duke Moore is conflating the two. I removed all of the references that refer to unsubstantiated works, either written by Richard Kim (e.g. 'The Weaponless Warriors'), or the products of Kim's students where the information came directly from Kim. Sadly, there is no real corroboration of his achievements, and (per the discussion above) he is an unreliable source. Accounts that came from Kim and were told, second hand, by his students, have been removed as references. 216.168.238.7 21:56, 17 October 2007 (UTC)
I studied Shotokan Karate in Indio, California in the mid-70's, under Sumner Hardy (who had studied under Nishiyama in Los Angeles). Richard Kim came to visit twice when I was there. He demonstrated Tai Chi and weapons, told stories, and taught us kata that probably weren't part of Nishiyama's curriculum at the L.A. dojo: Gojushiho, which I've heard associated with Shotokan in other books and articles, a Tamari-Te kata called "Anunka", and kata with bo, nunchuku, tonfa, and sai. Some of our people attended his San Diego camps.
In the evenings of his visits we'd meet at our instructors house. "Mr. Kim" as we called him, did drink champaign and told stories mostly the same as were written in The Weaponless Warriors. Some, though, got into anecdotes of psychokinesis and levitation, and he also mentioned some research that the "soul weighed 3 ounces" (maybe it was two) based on someone weighing people before and after they'd died. I'd actually read the same "research" in the National Enquirer some time before that, which a classmate had brought to school. He didn't tell any tales of sexual exploits.
The fantastical stuff notwithstanding, I'd credit him with preserving Okinawan kata traditions that could otherwise have been discarded as karate schools standardize their curricula (or worse, where "independent" instructors feel free to rewrite them).
Carl Ponder ( talk) 06:58, 16 April 2008 (UTC)
I removed the POV tag because the article seems to represent the outcome of discussion and nothing stuck out to me as objectionable. If anyone has any problems with the existing text, feel free to either edit it or re-add the tag. -- Beland ( talk) 00:39, 30 September 2014 (UTC)