A Lost Black Belt Photo from 1967: What's the Story Behind These Two Men?
- Black Belt Team
- 8 hours ago
- 1 min read
Who Were These Two Gentlemen and What Was Their Place in Karate History?
Read on to find more...
The All-Japan Karate Championships, founded in 1957, has long stood as the ultimate proving ground for Japan’s top karateka. Organized annually by the Japan Karate Association (JKA), the event brings together the best of the best to test their skill in Kata and Kumite.
When the very first championship was held, it was strictly a domestic affair - only Japanese competitors were permitted to take the floor. For a decade, the tournament was a showcase of homegrown talent, reinforcing Japan’s central role in shaping modern karate.
That all changed in 1967.
For the first time, two foreign competitors stepped onto the tatami: Brian Adams, a black belt from New Zealand, and David Kostinchuk, an American karateka. Their groundbreaking participation was chronicled in the September 1967 issue of Black Belt magazine, the same issue that featured Joe Lewis on the cover.
This moment marked a milestone: the door to Japan’s most prestigious karate stage had finally opened to the wider world.
The presence of Adams and Kostinchuk signaled the beginning of a new era. What had once been an exclusively Japanese competition evolved into a stage for international talent, helping spread the spirit and influence of karate far beyond Japan’s borders.
Today, the All-Japan Karate Championships continues as a living tradition — both a proud national event and a beacon of global competition, carrying forward the legacy forged by those first daring steps onto the mat.
