Bobby Lowe (karateka)
Introduction __NOTOC__'''Edward 'Bobby' Lowe''' (August 23, 1929 – September 14, 2011) was a prominent Chinese American master of Kyokushin karate. He was the first ''uchi deshi'' (live-in student) of Masutatsu Oyama, founder of Kyokushin karate, and established the first Kyokushin school outside Japan. Lowe held the title of shihan and was the Senior Instructor and an International Committee Chairman of the International Karate Organization founded by Oyama.
Early life Lowe was born on August 23, 1929 in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Sidney See Hing Lowe and Ivy Leong . His family is Cantonese, and emigrated to Sydney, Australia, before emigrating to Honolulu, Hawaii in 1928.His father was a teacher of sil lum pai kung fu, and taught this art to his son. The young Lowe also studied judo and jujutsu under Seishiro Okazaki before studying kempo karate under James Mitose. At 23 years of age, he was ranked 4th ''dan'' in judo, 2nd ''dan'' in Kosho-ryu kempo, and 1st ''dan'' in Yoshinkai aikido.
Kyokushin karate Lowe first met Oyama at a demonstration the latter gave in 1952 in Hawaii. From late 1952 to early 1954, Lowe trained daily under Oyama. Oyama promoted him to the rank of 1st ''dan'' in 1953.In 1957 in Hawaii, Lowe opened the first Kyokushin ''dojo'' (training hall) outside Japan. Oyama promoted him to 4th ''dan'' in or before 1957, 5th ''dan'' in 1965, 7th ''dan'' in December 1976, and 8th ''dan'' in October 1984.Lowe wrote three books on his martial art:* ''Mas Oyama's karate as practiced in Japan'' (1954)* ''The 'Young Lions' of Mas Oyama's Kyokushin karate headquarters'' (1985)* ''Kyokushin karate: Self-defense techniques'' (1999)
Later life On September 17, 2005, Lowe was recognized for his contributions to karate by the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, at the Celebration of Lifetime Achievement dinner for 2005.Lowe was ranked 8th ''dan'', and was the International Committee Chairman for North America and the South Pacific in the International Karate Organization led by Shokei Matsui.On September 14, 2011, Lowe died peacefully in hospital in Honolulu. He was survived by his wife, daughter, and son. Lowe was posthumously awarded 10th ''dan'' ranking by Matsui on November 6, 2011, during a memorial service at the 10th World Tournament.
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