Richard Kim (karate)

Richard Kim (November 17, 1917 – November 8, 2001) was an American martial artist. He was an instructor of various disciplines, including Shōrinji-ryū Karate, Okinawan Kobudo, Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu, and Tai Chi. He was known for his assertion of an encyclopedic knowledge of martial arts history and kata, and for spreading traditional martial arts to North America and Europe.

Richard Sun Sung Kim was born in Pāpaʻaloa, Hawaii. His father was Mong Young Kim, a Japanese citizen of Korean heritage, and his mother was Tok Nam Park, who was of both Korean and Japanese descent.^[10] His parents immigrated from Nagasaki, Japan to Hawaii prior to his birth.[4] Kim began studying martial arts at age 6, starting with judo under Kaneko.^[11] After seeing a demonstration by Kentsū Yabu, he began studying karate under Sadao Arakaki, who represented Yabu in Hawaii. In the 1930s, Kim trained with Mutsu Mizuho, Tachibana, and at Sato’s Boxing Gym.^[10]

In 1935, he joined the United States Merchant Marine and, before World War II, his service took him to east Asia.^[10][12] In 1937, he began studying tai chi, pa kua and Shorinji-ryu kempo under Kenichi Sawai while pursuing university studies. In 1939, in addition to continuing to train under Sawai, Kim began studying Daito-ryu aikijujutsu, and Japanese and Okinawan weaponry under Kotaro Yoshida, who he came to regard as his primary Sensei.^[12][13] When the Attack on Pearl Harbor occurred, Kim was serving on the SS President Harrison and found himself behind enemy lines. The next day, on December 8, 1941, the ship was intercepted and the crew was taken as prisoners of war (POW). Because of his Korean-Japanese heritage and because he spoke English, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Russian, Kim was made a translator for the Japanese army. Kim remained a POW in China for the remainder of World War II, during which he studied Tai Chi under Chen Chen Yuan, Pakua under Chao Hsu Lie, and Yi Chaun under Wang Xiang Zhay.^[10][13] While in Shanghai, he once again met Yoshida, who was working as a Japanese spy.

On September 27, 1945, following the Japanese surrender, he and other POWs were transported by ship to Japan and then the US.^[10] From 1945-1959, Kim traveled back and forth between the US and Japan to continue studying under Yoshida, with whom he lived several years.^[10][13][14] During this time, he also trained with Sawai, Hiroshi Kinjo, Toyama Kanken, Nobuyoshi Tamura, Morihei Ueshiba, Gogen Yamaguchi, and Masatoshi Oyama, another martial artist of Korean-Japanese lineage.^[10] There is some controversy about whether or how much he studied under some masters, and the lineage of the “Yang” form of tai chi that Kim taught his students. Regardless of these questions, it is clear that Kim had an encyclopedic knowledge of diverse martial arts, as evidenced by the thousands of students in dozens of dojos across the world who practice the hundreds of kata that he passed down. He and his karate-ka progeny consider kata the heart of karate, among them various versions of Kūsankū, Passai, Seisan, Gojūshiho, Pechurin/Suparinpei, Lohai, Bo (weapon), Sai (weapon), Tonfa (weapon), and others, suggesting many sources of knowledge in Kim’s martial arts training.

Kim stated that he had in his possession the Daito-ryu scrolls and had been granted the Daito-ryu menkyo kaiden by Yoshida.^[10] This claim that had been questioned by some in the martial arts community until it was confirmed in 2024 by the Zen Bei Butoku Kai, which has the scrolls in its archives.^[15]

In 1959, Kim moved to the US permanently and began teaching martial arts in San Francisco, particularly at the Chinese YMCA. He traveled extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, teaching wherever he went. He founded branches of the Butoku Kai in the U.S., Canada, France and Germany.^[16] As well as teaching the physical aspects of the martial arts, Kim taught the philosophy, history, strategy, and spiritual aspects. According to the Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia, “Kim became the foremost karate historian residing in the U.S.”^[16]

Kim wrote a monthly column for Karate Illustrated magazine, and wrote a number of books including: The Weaponless Warriors, The Classical Man, and an instructional series on weaponry (Kobudo). There has been some controversy surrounding The Weaponless Warriors, published in 1974, as the bulk of the work appears taken, without acknowledgement, directly from Eizo Shimabukuro's 1963 work Old Grandmaster Stories,^[17] which was translated into English for the first time in 2003. Kim was named Black Belt Magazine's "Karate Sensei of the Year", in 1967, and was later inducted into the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame.^[18] Kim was the Director of the American Amateur Karate Federation, Vice-President for the International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF),^[19] and coaching staff for the 1980 U.S. National Karate Team.^[16] He continued to teach, lecture and lead martial arts activities until his death.

Kim died on November 8, 2001.^[20] At his memorial service, Hidetaka Nishiyama of the ITKF presented Kim with the rank of Judan (10th degree black belt) posthumously.^[21] His teachings continue through a number of organizations: the Zen Bei Butoku Kai International, founded by two of Richard Kim’s senior students, Brian Ricci and Frank Gaviola; the Kokusai Butokukai, founded by some of Richard Kim’s senior students, including Jean Chalamon; and the Bu Toku Do, founded by Don Warrener, a senior student of Richard Kim. Dozens of dojos carry on the legacy of O’Sensei (Great Teacher) Kim, including in California, Michigan, Massachusetts, Canada, France, Germany and the Caribbean.^[22][23]

1. The Weaponless Warrior. (1974). ISBN 978-0-89750-041-8
2. Kobudo, Volume 1: Okinawan Weapons of Matsu Higa. (1984). ISBN 978-0-920129-03-6
3. Kobudo, Volume 2: Okinawan Weapons of Hama Higa. (1985). ISBN 978-0-920129-08-1
4. Kobudo, Volume 3: Okinawan Weapons of Chatan Yara. (1993). ISBN 978-0-920129-10-4
5. The Classical Man. (1999). ISBN 978-0-920129-01-2

• KOKUSAI BUTOKUKAI – Official Homepage
• Zen Bei Butoku-Kai International