Mr. Chew Choo Soot
Founder and Grand Master of Karate Budokan International
Mr. Chew Choo Soot was born on
7th February 1922 in Alor Star, a Northern State
of Peninsula, Malaysia, Mr. Chew Choo Soot lost
his father when he was still an infant and was
brought up under the strict discipline of his
grand father and elderly Confucius scholar of
the old school of China. He was not given any
encouragement to partake in any branch of physical
culture, as his grandfather believed in book and education
and not in martial arts.
However, at the age of 15, Mr.
Chew Choo Soot enrolled for Weight lifting
training at one of the small body building clubs
in Epoh, where he grew up in his school days.
Due to his keen interest in the training he
progressed rapidly and eventually became the national
weight lifting champion in both the feather weight and the
light weight classes in 1939, 1941 and 1942. During
those years he also acquired an interest in
martial arts and took up judo, jujitsu and
wrestling. It was not until at the age of 20
that he was introduced to the art of karate-do.
In early 1942 when the country
was under the Japanese military occupation Mr.
Chew Choo Soot was surprised that a Japanese
Army Officer seek him out and requested him to
teach him weight lifting, as he came to know of
Mr. Chew Choo Soot from the health and strength
magazine which frequently published his photographs. When
it became known to Mr. Chew that the Japanese Army officer
was a high-ranking karate expert he requested the
officer to teach him karate in return. They then
agreed to exchange tuition and for more than 2
years they spent the evenings training together
in karate, jujitsu, judo and weight lifting
until the Japanese Army officer left for Okinawa
in 1945.
After the end of the Second
World War, Mr. Chew went to Japan and Okinawa to
further his karate training. He also made
several trips to Taiwan to learn kung-fu and
oriental weapons from a number of old kung-fu
Masters of China.
In 1966 at the request of his
friends, Mr. Chew then decided to start a dojo
at Petaling Jaya with just a handful of
students. The interest shown by the people who
wanted to learn karate was so great that he
found it impossible to cope with the classes without
seeking assistant instructors. As there was no other
karate instructors in Malaysia at that time, he then made
two further trips to Tokyo and Osaka and employed in
all 7 Japanese instructors to assist him to
conduct the karate classes, which had in 2 years
time spread the art to the North and South of
the Peninsula. Since 1982 the Japanese
instructors have returned to their own country, Malaysia
had then sufficient qualified instructors of high standard
under the guidance of Mr. Chew Choo Soot to cope
with the national and international needs of
KBI.
It was not the original
intention of Mr. Chew to start branches and
affiliated centers of KBI in overseas countries,
but it seemed that the fame of KBI went beyond
the shores of Malaysia and in the span of 4
decades about 4,000 karate centers have sprung up
throughout the world.
Mr. Chew's ambition was to be
able to travel to different countries, conduct
karate classes, when he reaches the age of 80,
rather than to spent his time amazing a fortune.
A English proverb says that "the man proposes
and God disposes", seems that this proverb was
aptly applicable in his case. He fell ill by a
paralytic attack on 4th February 1995 and breathed his
last on 18th July 1997 at the age of 76 years at Malaysia...!
Our beloved founder and original Grandmaster Mr. Chew Choo Soot.
This incredible man had the vision and determination to take a small family Karate Style and turn it into one of the leading clubs in the world. The following is the story of the birth and growth of our Karate Budokan International from it's early days in Malaysia to it's modern day presence in over a dozen countries.
This incredible man had the vision and determination to take a small family Karate Style and turn it into one of the leading clubs in the world. The following is the story of the birth and growth of our Karate Budokan International from it's early days in Malaysia to it's modern day presence in over a dozen countries.
The
Karate Budokan International is a martial art institute of
international repute, with, members and authorised instructors
throughout the world. The organisation maintains a high
standard in karate-Do and oriental weapons training among its members,
and every effort is made to ensure that the members undergo a rigid test
before being promoted to each higher rank.
The
overall administration of the Karate Budokan International is under the
authority of grandmaster Mr. Richard Chew, with delegation of authority
and responsibilities to the International Chief Instructor and examiner
of K.B.I. SHIHAN Mr. Wayne MacDonald. KBI Asia is under the control of
Asia Chief Instructor Mr. B Parmesh & Dr.Dibendu Nag.(N.D) International Independent Chief Instructor.
The History of Karate-do
No doubt you are aware of the modern history of Karate & it's origins in
Okinawa. We have delved a little deeper and discovered an interesting history that dates back to approximately 500AD!
The system of martial arts we know, Karate is believed to have originated from
India!
Yes India where the biggest Karate club is now Karate Budokan International.
Yes India where the biggest Karate club is now Karate Budokan International.
Tradition has revealed written evidence of bare handed fighting arts in a Buddhist scripture, Lotus Sutra indigenous to
India.
It
appears that an Indian monk named Bodhidharma introduced an early form
of Karate at the shaolin temple in the Hunan
province of
Northern China in around 520AD. According to legend, Bodhidharma
travelled from
India and entered into the temple to teach the Shaolin
monks Zen philosophy, but early in his instruction he found the monks to
be inattentive and physically unfit. As a result, he introduced
physical training known as 'shih pa lo han sho' or the 'eighteen hands
of Lo-Han', reputed as the basis for Shaolin chuan fa (Kung Fu). from
the Hunan province, chuan fa spread throughout China and was introduced
to Okinawa centuries later through a tributary relationship between
Okinawa and
China.
A new name emerged ' Okinawa te' ( Okinawa hand), it would eventually become Karate (Chinese hand) and, finally Karate-do (the way of the empty hand).
A new name emerged ' Okinawa te' ( Okinawa hand), it would eventually become Karate (Chinese hand) and, finally Karate-do (the way of the empty hand).
There
were originally three styles of Okinawa-te, named for the towns where
they were located: Shuri-te, Naha-te & Tomari-te.
The
most significant event, which affected the development of Karate, was
the invasion of Okinawa by Lord Shimazu of the Satsuma clan of southern
Japan in 1609. Following the occupation, a number of
ordinances were introduced, including a ban on all weapons and the
practice of martial arts; this resulted in the three schools going
underground. There is no such written history of this era as it remained
secretive until Japanese feudalism was abolished in 1870. Kata was
formulated prior to the abolishment as a moving dictionary of
Okinawa-te, it was intended to appear as a dance form but actually
consisted of disguised martial arts techniques that could be passed from
generation to generation. Most historians believe that the secrecy
remained until after 1900, when the first public demonstrations were
given on Okinawa and following mainland
Japan.
Gichin
Funokoshi, an Okinawan schoolteacher is credited with giving the first
demonstration in 1902. Funokoshi was then selected to give the first
demonstration of Karate outside of Okinawa, this occurred in 1917 at Kyoto
Japan. In 1922 Gichin Funokoshi at the age of 53 was
invited back to Japan for a second demonstration, Mr. Funokoshi remained
on the mainland following this last demonstration and Karate was
formally accepted in mainland Japan. In 1936 Funokoshi established a
full time dojo in
Tokyo. Mr. Funokoshi had a pen name 'Shoto' which means
waving pine. Funokoshi chose this name as he enjoyed the sound of the
wind through the pine trees as he took evening walks in
Okinawa. As a sign of respect his students named the
dojo the Shotokan, meaning 'Shoto's Club'. The style was never actually
named by Funokoshi, but the name of the dojo became associated with the
style itself.
Gichin
Funokoshi believed that the aim of Karate lies not in victory or
defeat, but in perfection of character. Training involves very little
education on philosophy. Students are expected to learn the underlying
philosophical principles through hard work and practice, by following
the technical directions of the instructors, the examples of the senior
students and applying themselves completely to each technique the
Karate-ka will understand the technical and philosophical aspects of
Karate-do.
So
there you have it, from these mysterious times of feudal war the
fastest growing Martial art in the world was formed. As you are about to
discover Budokan was brought to life during the Second World War in
Malaysia.
THE HISTORY OF KARATE BUDOKAN INTERNATIONAL
The following is a brief and interesting story about the founder of Karate
Budokan International and the origins of the style we practice today.
Mr. Chew Choo Soot was born on the 7th of February 1922.
At
the age of 15 he became interested in and involved in weight lifting
and fitness training. He became the Malaysian national weightlifting
champion in 1939, 1940, 1941 and 1942. He was introduced to the art of
“Karate-Do” at the age of twenty during the Japanese occupation of
Malaya. Mr Chew made it on to the cover of a local
publication and was contracted by a Japanese military officer to be his
personal fitness coach. During one of the scheduled visits the young Mr
Chew discovered the officer practicing movements, which we now know to
be Kata, the styles practiced by the officer were Keishinkan and
Shotokan. Mr chew was impressed and asked for tuition, the officer
agreed. The founders of Karate Budokan International were Mr Chew, his
sons Tony and Richard and daughter Angie, they studied a number of
martial arts including chinese Kung fu, TaeKwonDo, and several styles of
Karate-do including Shito-ryu, Shotokan and Keishinkan. Keishinkan is a
minor style of the Shuri-te strain & is not widely known even in
its country of birth. It comes from the line of Toyoma Sensei and the
excellent qualities of its instructors are well known in Australia,
Malaysia & elsewhere. With the parting of
Keishinkan in 1971 there has been no over riding influences on our
style. There was a trend in the mid 1980’s in our Kata development
towards the Shotokan style. It must be understood that Karate is an
ever-evolving art & KBI is no different in this respect. So from
these humble beginnings in a neighbourhood Malaysian Dojo K B I was
formed.
Sadly Mr Chew passed away on July 18th, 1997.
Our
Grandmaster now is his son and heir Sensei Richard Chew and Shihan
Wayne MacDonald is the International Chief instructor & Kyoshi
Dr.Dibendu Nag as the International Independent Chief Instructor of The
Kuan Bu-Ik Wushu Koon International-KBIWKI
We have now reached the 50th year of Karate Budokan International.
It is time to reflect on our humble beginnings from where our first training centre was opened, occupying a small space on the 1st floor of a shop house in Petaaling Jaya, Malaysia on 17th July 1966.
Our
Founder Late Mr. Chew Choo Shoot, was persuaded by his friends to teach
them karate so as to enable them to defend themselves in time of need. They
found a suitable premise in Petaling Jaya for the purpose, and Mr. Chew
Choo Soot felt obligated to start a karate class since his friends had
gone to such an extent as to prepare a place for the dojo. The
first course offered to the public was a “Karate Jodo Self-Defence”
3-Months Course, which would enable a student to defend himself under
normal circumstances.
In
two months time the membership grew from twelve enthusiastic students
to more than three hundred and it was impossible for Mr. Chew to find
sufficient time to train them, although he was assisted by his son Mr.
Tony Chew. He then employed from Japan two Japanese
instructors Mr. T. Yoneda and Mr. T. Ishikawa of the Shitoryu style from
Osaka, to assist him to conduct the classes, as they
could not stay in Malaysia for more than a few months the problem of
getting replacements was very acute, as the more senior members in
Malaysia were still too new to become even assistant instructors. In the meantime membership in the K.B.I. continued to grow by leaps and bounds.
With
Mr. Tony Chew and one employed Phillipino instructor to carry on with
the classes in Kuala Lumpur, Mr. Chew then went to Tokyo and selected a
new group of four Japanese instructors from
Japan to build up the strength of the panel of instructors. in 1968 when K.B.I. opened the gates of it’s first headquarters building at the Loke Yew Road, Kuala
Lumpur, we were having four Japanese instructors, one Phillipino
instructor and two Hong Kong Kung-fu instructors to assist Mr. Chew Choo
Soot to handle a membership of more than 6000 in most of the major
towns in Peninsular Malaysia. By then Tony Chew had already left for
Australia for higher education. Besides Karate, the members, who held the rank of fourth Kyu and above, were also taught oriental Wushu weapons.
The first official headquarters building of K.B.I. at the Lote Yew road,
Kuala Lumpur, was declared open on 26th May, 1968 by the honorable Encik Mohd. Khir Jhohiri who was then the minister of Education of Malaysia. We
then had a couple of years of rapid progress until November 1970, when
the Japanese instructors had completed their term of employment and
returned to
Tokyo. By then K.B.I. was celebrating its fourth anniversary and many young black belt instructors in
Malaysia has been trained by Mr. Chew Choo Soot to take over the classes from the foreign instructors. The young instructors were ready for the challenge ahead. With
continuous training from Mr. Chew and other foreign visiting
instructors brought in by him from time to time the local instructors
improved steadily...! 
We love the martial arts. We l
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We believe that there is something to the study of the martial arts, something beyond the technique, beyond what takes place in the ring - something magical and interesting and important. We respect
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learned or are in the process of learning.
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