Gōgen Yamaguchi

Gōgen Yamaguchi (1909 to 1989), born Jitsumi Yamaguchi in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, was a Japanese martial artist and a student of Chōjun Miyagi who founded the International Karate-dō Gōjū-kai Association. He took up karate in primary school, studied law at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, and in 1930 helped found the first karate club there. In 1934 he introduced jiyū-kumite, the free sparring that became the basis of tournament fighting, and in 1935 he formed the All Japan Karate-dō Gōjū-kai Association. Captured in Manchuria in 1942, he was held as a prisoner of war and taught karate to Soviet guards. After the war he built a worldwide network of schools, known as the Cat for his gliding walk, and in 1964 helped unify Japanese karate organisations into what is now the Japan Karate Federation. The Emperor decorated him in 1968 with the Blue Ribbon Medal. He died on 20 May 1989.