Sensei Bob Rhodes 7th Dan Bob Rhodes was born in Middleton, Leeds on the 3rd March 1946. He was educated at Harehills School, Leeds and he quotes his early interests a "Sports in general, swimming, cricket, and football in particular". He intended to join the Merchant Navy as a draughtsman, but his paper were delayed and by the time they arrived, he had changed his mind. In his 'teens he heard about a karate club in Leeds town centre which he promptly joined. He picked up karate quickly, and it was not long before he realised that the standard of tuition left a lot to be desired. In 1967 at the age of 20, he discovered a club at Armley called the Leeds Shotokan Karate Club. On visiting, he immediately realised that the standard of karate was much higher, and he became a member. His first teacher at the club was KUGB International Team member Ron Wade. Bob made rapid progress at the club and was soon fighting as a member of the Leeds team at local, regional, and national championships. He was also a member of the victorious British All-Styles Squad which beat Japan to win the 1975-77 World Championships in Los Angeles. In 1971, he was first selected as a KUGB Grading Examiner and in 1974, he became a full-time instructor of the KUGB. He is also a member of the KUGB Technical Committee, and is also a qualified international referee. He is noted for his hard dynamic fighting style, and he was strongly influenced by Sensei Enoeda, as can be evidenced from his specialisation of Kuzushi-Waza, that is, the application of foot-sweeps, trips, and throws to defeat an opponent. He is also noted for his creative applications to Shotokan Kata. A staunch and supportive member of the KUGB, he says he will continue to work for the future development of the organisation. Return to Instructor Profiles

Sensei K. Enoeda 9th Dan 1935-2003 Sensei Enoeda was born in Kyushu, an island in the South of Japan, on July 4th 1935. A strong and natural athlete, he initially took up baseball, kendo ... more