Cecil T. Patterson | |
---|---|
Born | Sevierville, Tennessee, United States | June 22, 1930
Died | October 27, 2002 | (aged 72)
Style | Wadō-ryū Karate |
Teacher(s) | Hironori Ōtsuka |
Rank | 8th dan karate |
Website | U.S. Eastern Wado Ryu Karate Federation |
Cecil T. Patterson (June 22, 1930 – October 27, 2002), among America’s earliest karateka, introduced the Wadō-ryū style of karate into the Eastern United States in 1958.[1] Before his death in 2002, he had firmly established the United States Eastern Wadō-ryū Federation, previously known as the United States Eastern Wado-Kai Federation, a successful Karate organization 20 thousand strong, according to Patterson’s statement in an interview.[2]
Born in 1930 in Sevierville, Tennessee, Patterson first enlisted in the US Navy at the age of fourteen.[3] While stationed in Iwakuni, Japan, Patterson, then 25 years of age, undertook the study of Karate. According to the USEWF website, Patterson started Wado in 1955 under Kazuo Sakura;[4] more specifically, he started training in August 1955.[5] In 1957, Patterson opened the first karate school in Tennessee, and in 1963 organized the first karate tournament in the state. In 1978 Tennessee governor Ray Blanton signed into law a state senate resolution naming Patterson the father of karate in Tennessee.[6]