Richard Kim

Who was Richard Kim?

Richard Kim was an American karate teacher. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, he began studying judo as a child in the early 1920s, under Kaneko. Around the same time, he also began studying karate under Arakaki Ankichi. Before World War II, his service in the merchant marines took him to east Asia. He cited many martial artists as his teachers, including Tachibana, Chen Chen Yuan, and Choa Hsu Lai. While in Japan, Kim studied Daito-ryu under Kotaro Yoshida and lived with him for seven years. Kim stated that he had in his possession the Daito-ryu scrolls and had been granted the Daito-ryu menkyo kaiden. Kim also studied and taught Japanese and Okinawan weaponry.

In 1959, Kim began teaching martial arts in San Francisco. He traveled extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe teaching wherever he went. As well as teaching the physical aspects of the martial arts, Kim taught the philosophy, history, strategy, and spiritual aspects. He died on 8 November 2001.

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.