One of the founding members of ASK and DKA (George Cambell) had the honor of being trained and graded by Sensei Kimura along with other names synominous with the UK karate world such as Terry Pottage.
George Cambell joined KenYuKai Karate in 1980 with his club and style of Ken-Shu-Do. The name of Ken-Shu-Do was presented to Sensei Campbell by Sensei Kimura. Sensei Campbell decided to make the move to form his own association and formed the ASK with two other senior shukokai Instructors.
It was at this point that Sensei Campbell retired the Ken-Shu-Do name to his private dojo and formed the Dragon Karate Academy.
Chojiro Tani (Tani Chojiro) was born in 1921, and started his formal karate training under Miyagi Chojun, who founded the Goju-ryu style, while a student at the Doshisha University in Kyoto. After a few years, Miyagi Chojun returned to Okinawa and the founder of Shito-ryu, Kenwa Mabuni took over the teaching. Upon graduating from university, Tani began learning Shuri-te and then Shito-ryu from Mabuni as well. After many years of training under Mabuni and becoming one of his most senior students, Tani received the certificate of succession from him and became the head of Shito-ryu, enabling him to use the name Tani-ha Shitoryu.
Chojiro Tani began teaching the Karate style Shukokai (meaning the way for all) at a dojo in Kobe, Japan in 1946. Shukokai was designed around the study of body mechanics, is very fast due to its relatively high stance aiding mobility, and is known for the double hip twist, which maximises the force of its strikes; making it one of the hardest-hitting Karate styles. Sadley, Sensei Tani died on 11 January 1998.
Tani's most senior student, Sensei Shigeru Kimura, left Japan in 1965 to teach Shukokai in Africa. He developed Shukokai emphasising its power and strength; and was regarded as an expert on the style. He continued to teach after travelling to Europe, before settling in the United States in 1970 at the age of 29, where he taught at Yonezuka's Cranford dojo for two years; creating the first Shukokai World Tournament in 1981. Sensei Kimura 10th Dan tragically died of a heart attack at the age of 54.
