Dave Hazard
Encyclopedia
Bow, London
Bow is an area of London, England, United Kingdom in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a built-up, mostly residential district located east of Charing Cross, and is a part of the East End.-Bridges at Bowe:...
, east London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in 1952 is a well known British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
7th Dan Karateka and instructor of Shotokan
Shotokan
is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi and his son Gigo Funakoshi . Gichin was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing karate through a series of public demonstrations, and by promoting the development of university karate clubs, including...
karate and was one of the few students present at the very beginning of British Karate. He is a former KUGB national champion and British team member. Like many of the early karateka he first trained in judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
before starting karate in 1969 at the Blackfriers club in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he trained under Keinosuke Enoeda
Keinosuke Enoeda
was a Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He was a former Chief Instructor of the Karate Union of Great Britain. Enoeda was ranked 8th dan in Shotokan karate, and was widely renowned as a formidable karateka . Following his death, Enoeda was posthumously awarded the rank of 9th dan.-Early...
, Hirokazu Kanazawa, Kato and Takahashi.
In 1977 Hazard went to Japan where he studied in JKA instructor classes under Masatoshi Nakayama
In 1984 Hazard joined with Mick Dewey to found SEKU, the South of England Karate Union, later the Shotokan of England Karate Union, as grading examiner and technical director. At this time he lived in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
and ran a black and brown belt club there, which is now run by Jess Lavender a 6th Dan.
Hazard later left SEKU and is now the chief instructor of an international association in the form of the Academy of Shotokan Karate, which he founded in 2003, feeling in need of an environment that would allow him personally to evolve his approach to Shotokan Karate-Do. He is assisted within the ASK by senior instructors and karate-ka like Jeff Westgarth, Jess Lavender, Simon Staples and Paul Herbert
Paul Herbert
Paul Herbert is an English martial arts champion and instructor who became known for his success in Shōbu Ippon competition which enabled him to achieve titles of English, British and International champion in both Kata and Kumite and attain the Shotokan Karate rank of 5th dan.Born in South...
. He is also the former Kata
Kata
is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practised either solo or in pairs. The term form is used for the corresponding concept in non-Japanese martial arts in general....
coach for the English national squad, due to the restructuring of the EKGB. He brings to many training courses his expertise in kata
Kata
is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practised either solo or in pairs. The term form is used for the corresponding concept in non-Japanese martial arts in general....
and their applications to differing situations.
Early years
David Frederick Hazard was born in BowBow, London
Bow is an area of London, England, United Kingdom in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a built-up, mostly residential district located east of Charing Cross, and is a part of the East End.-Bridges at Bowe:...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1952. His father's family owned a road haulage company and a public house, while his mother's family worked in the docks. At first the family lived in the upper two rooms of a four room terraced house in Stepney
Stepney
Stepney is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London's East End that grew out of a medieval village around St Dunstan's church and the 15th century ribbon development of Mile End Road...
, with a shared outside toilet. When Dave was seven the family moved Harlow
Harlow
Harlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889...
new town in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, to a house with two inside toilets, space for everyone and a garden. A few years later when Dave was about thirteen however his parents separated and his mother took the children back to the east end of London to a flat in Leyton
Leyton
Leyton is an area of north-east London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, located north east of Charing Cross. It borders Walthamstow and Leytonstone; Stratford in Newham; and Homerton and Lower Clapton in the London Borough of Hackney....
. While his mother worked hard to support them he went to Ruckholt Manor Secondary School, an old and tough place. Refusing to join a gang he was picked on by both sides. After a bad beating by a group of boys one day his mother took him round to their houses so that he could fight and beat them one at a time, after which he had little more trouble. Not being a model student he had a regular Friday afternoon appointment with the headmaster for a caning. On one occasion the drama teacher challenged Dave to a fight for disrupting his classes and gave him a beating. The following day he took Dave out to the pub for a beer and advised him to use his brains constructively. On another occasion a teacher who had beaten a boy about the head causing temporary blindness was thrown out of a second floor window by older boys, breaking his legs and hips.
Working
Hazard left school aged sixteen and became an apprentice hairdresser in an old fashioned barbers shop where he became skilled at cutting hair. While working in another barbers shop a customer told him about Blackfriars karate club where there were Japanese instructors. In August 1969 he went to watch his first session, with Keinosuke Enoeda teaching assisted by Kato, and decided he wanted to become as good as a yellow belt he watched there. In 1972 Dave passed his first Dan grading. At the following training session he was still wearing a brown belt and Enoeda swapped belts with him, telling him to keep the black belt with Enoeda's name embroidered on it. Not long afterwards he was selected for the English national team. By the time Blackfriars dojo closed, the building being needed for a different use, Hazard had risen from beginner to run the club. As a professional instructor Hazard taught a girl called Katy at Goldsmiths College karate club who was known as "Ee-ee" because of her squeaky kiaiKiai
is a Japanese term used in martial arts. There are numerous examples of the battle cry in other cultures: kiai is perhaps primarily a development of this. In the representation of Asian martial arts in cinema and in animated cartoons, Modern Kiai are often written by westerners in Romaji as...
. Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
was later seen on television singing her high pitched hit song "Wuthering Heights" with dance moves that Hazard said appeared to come from karate. As well as also working as a doorman Hazard worked in a number of jobs including auto-electrics with his uncle and steel fixing, putting concrete reinforcing bars in place.
Training in Japan
In 1977 Hazard travelled to JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to train with the top masters. On leaving London he was surprised to find Tomita waiting at the airport to see him off. He had met Tomita when he had first come to England and now Tomita was repaying him. Training at the JKA headquarters in Ebisu, Tokyo
Ebisu, Tokyo
is a neighborhood in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Conveniently near Roppongi and central Shibuya, Ebisu is easily accessed by the JR Yamanote and Hibiya lines via Ebisu Station...
he was recommended by Enoeda to study the technique of Mikio Yahara
Mikio Yahara
is a Japanese Shotokan karateka and Chief Instructor of the Karatenomichi World Federation. He is famous for his performance of the Unsu kata.After graduating from Kokushikan University, he became Kenshusei in the Japan Karate Association and had a competitive career from 1974-84.In April 2000 he...
who was of similar build. The two of them got on well and trained hard against each other.
Joining SEKU
In April 1982 twenty clubs in the south of England, led by Mick Dewey of Portsmouth club decided to leave the KUGB and formed a new association, The South of England Karate Union. When clubs from northern England later joined this was changed to The Shotokan of England Karate UnionSEKU
The Shotokan of England Karate Union , founded in 1982 is a federation of Shotokan karate clubs in southern England, with about thirty clubs from Helston in Cornwall to Bromley in Greater London...
. In 1985 ,with SEKU growing, Dewey asked his old friend Hazard to join the organisation as Technical Director. To be a SEKU grading examiner Hazard needed to have his own club, so he moved from London to Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
where he took over the running of Brighton Karate Club, building it into an elite dojo training black and brown belts almost exclusively. At SEKU Hazard started an instructors' class on the lines of that he had trained in Japan, to improve quality and uniformity of teaching.
Founding the Academy of Shotokan Karate
In 2003, after nineteen years with SEKU (technical director since 1985), Hazard left to set up his own federation the Academy of Shotokan Karate (ASK)ASK is an international organisation founded to promote excellence in Shotokan karate as a martial art rather than as a sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
.
Emphasis is placed on study of the kata
Kata
is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practised either solo or in pairs. The term form is used for the corresponding concept in non-Japanese martial arts in general....
and their applications in self defence. This direction was approved by the late Keinosuke Enoeda
Keinosuke Enoeda
was a Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He was a former Chief Instructor of the Karate Union of Great Britain. Enoeda was ranked 8th dan in Shotokan karate, and was widely renowned as a formidable karateka . Following his death, Enoeda was posthumously awarded the rank of 9th dan.-Early...
, whose principles are continued by the federation. The founding clubs were mostly former members of SEKU
SEKU
The Shotokan of England Karate Union , founded in 1982 is a federation of Shotokan karate clubs in southern England, with about thirty clubs from Helston in Cornwall to Bromley in Greater London...
and were joined by clubs from Ireland and Canada.
The association's competitions are held biennially in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, England. The first competition was attended by Enoeda's widow, who was presented with a photograph of her husband from the 1960s which she had not seen before. At the 2006 Shobu Ippon international competition at Guildford Spectrum
Guildford Spectrum
Guildford Spectrum is a leisure complex in Guildford, Surrey, England. Owned by Guildford Borough Council, it was opened on 28 February 1993 at a cost of £28 million. It is the home of ice hockey team the Guildford Flames, and other sports clubs...
a five man ASK kumite team, all from Kihaku Dojo, won the inter federation team fight, and the federation has placed high in the Shobu-ippon medal table in subsequent years.
The Grading Examiner and Senior Instructor for the South of England is Jess Lavender who took over Hazard's Brighton Dojo, after Hazard relocated to Nottingham.