Derek Lorrison

Derek Falcus Lorrison 5th Dan 1939-1994

The story of Gendo-Kai Karate is the story of one unique man’s life. In fifty-five years, Sensei Derek Lorrison achieved more than most people could in a century, and is remembered as one of Britain’s first and most complete martial artists. This is testified by his obituary, which appeared in Combat magazine in 1994.

Holding Dan grades in Wado-Ryu, Shotokan, Ju-Jitsu and Judo, as well as training under the world renowned Tatsuo Suzuki, would normally be more than enough to represent a martial arts expert. In the mid sixties when Sensei Lorrison first gained his black belt, practitioners and teachers of karate were so rare that Derek had to travel from Hull to Birmingham to receive his tuition. Therefore, when Sensei Lorrison took his training one step further by forming Gendo-Kai Karate in 1966, he was one of a handful of Dan graded martial artists in the entire Yorkshire region; today there would be hundreds. Derek ultimately gained a 5th Dan black belt in Gendo-Kai Karate. The uncompromising style took a firm root as Sensei Lorrison formed Gendo-Kai clubs all over Yorkshire including one at Hull University in 1968. This of course makes the British Gendo-Kai Karate club at Hull University proud to be by far the most established and longest running martial arts club at the University.

The whole ethos of Gendo-Kai Karate reflects Sensei Lorrison’s views on karate; how it should be trained and taught. As well as retaining only the most practical and effective techniques, Sensei Lorrison abandoned the mystical connotations that had often been attached to karate training, and focused instead on physical and mental conditioning.

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