-gatekeeper- at 15:05, 28 March 2014

2014-03-28T15:05:57Z

-gatekeeper-: Created page with "''Black Karate Federation Crest''

'''Black Karate Federation'''
Also Know as:
[[BKF Kenpo

Country of Origin: USA
..."

2014-03-28T15:01:12Z

Created page with "''Black Karate Federation Crest'' '''Black Karate Federation''' Also Know as: [[BKF Kenpo Country of Origin: USA ..."

New page

[[File:bkflogo.jpg|200px|thumb|right|''Black Karate Federation Crest'' '''Black Karate Federation''' Also Know as: [[BKF Kenpo]] Country of Origin: USA Creator: [[Steve Sanders]], [[Donnie Williams]], [[Jerry Smith]], [[Cliff Stewart]] Lineage: Mitose/Chow Notable Students: Lenny Ferguson - Sam Pace - Ernest “Mad Man” Russel - Carl Scott]]
'''Black Karate Federation''' - The BKF Kenpo, was founded by four skilled martial artists, [[Steve Sanders]], [[Donnie Williams]], [[Jerry Smith]] and [[Cliff Stewart]].

== History ==
As the 1960's came to a close, a small group of young black men gathered together at [http://learn.southsuburbancollege.edu/theatre/groversmill/VanNestPark.html Van Ness Park] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Los_Angeles South Central Los Angeles]. They were training in a relatively new art form of fighting that had only been instructed openly in the mainland US since the late 50's.
Members included; [[Steve Sanders]], [[Jerry Smith]], Ron Chapel, [[Donnie Williams]], Karl Armelin, Frenchie Humble, Curtis Pulliam, Isaiah Williams, Curtis Faust, Lloyd Francis, Charles Murphy, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Kelly_%28martial_artist%29 Jim Kelly], Bob Owens and Hugh Van Putnam. Some of these original martial artists became known as "The Magnificent Seven", and from this line up the [[Black Karate Federation]] rose to be one of the most powerful fighting systems, dominating the tournament circuit in the 1970's. [[The Black Karate Federation]] was formed in 1969 in response to an environment of racism against black competitors in martial arts tournaments in Southern California. Black martial artists were forced to compete against each other as a way of eliminating many from reaching higher levels in tournaments. Missed calls and tainted or prejudiced decisions created an unbalanced and unfair disadvantage against black martial artists. The decisive event that helped to motivate the black martial artists of Southern California to answer the constant prejudice and unfairness displayed in tournaments was in 1969 when [[Steve Muhammad]] lost against [[Joe Lewis]] in a highly contested decision. The [[BKF]] was designed to act as a means of representation for black martial artists just as the [[Japanese Karate Association]] ([[JKA]]), and the [[Chinese Martial Arts Association]] represented their members. Of the group of the “[[Magnificent Seven]]” the most prominent was [[Steve (Muhammad) Sanders]]. He became the “catalyst” that helped to bring together the other fighters, and when the [[BKF]] was officially launched, he was unanimously elected to be the first President. Vice President was [[Jerry Smith]], Secretary was [[Cliff Stewart]]. In 1971 the first official [[BKF]] School was opened in [[Los Angeles]], and was known as the “[[103rd Street School]] ”The [[BKF]] became a force to be reckoned with in [[Sport Karate]] tournaments. With [[Jerry Smith]] as captain, the [[BKF]] team won the [[International Karate Championships]] three times in the early 1970’s.

== Founders ==
* [[Steve Sanders]] (aka Steve Muhammad) 
* [[Donnie Williams]] 
* [[Jerry Smith]] 
* [[Cliff Stewart]] 

== Coat of Arms/Crest ==
[[File:BKF-Patch-70.jpg|100px|thumb|left|''Black Karate Federation Crest'']]

==References==

* [http://www.kenponet.com/flame/whoswho/whoswho/steve_muhammad.html Founders of the BKF]

* '''Steve Sanders''': (Landers, Frank (1985). Frank Landers Seishindo Kenpo, vol.3: Encyclopedia of Knowledge, ''FACTA Publications'').

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-[[File:bkflogo.jpg|200px|thumb|right|''Black Karate Federation Crest''<br><br>'''Black Karate Federation'''<br>Also Know as:<br>[[BKF Kenpo]]<br><br>Country of Origin: USA<br><br>Creator: [[Steve Sanders]], [[Donnie Williams]], [[Jerry Smith]], [[Cliff Stewart]]<br><br>Lineage: Mitose/Chow<br><br>Notable Students: Lenny Ferguson - Sam Pace - Ernest “Mad Man” Russel - Carl Scott]]
+[[File:BKF-Patch-70.jpg|200px|thumb|right|''Black Karate Federation Crest''<br><br>'''Black Karate Federation'''<br>Also Know as:<br>[[BKF Kenpo]]<br><br>Country of Origin: USA<br><br>Creator: [[Steve Sanders]], [[Donnie Williams]], [[Jerry Smith]], [[Cliff Stewart]]<br><br>Lineage: Mitose/Chow<br><br>Notable Students: Lenny Ferguson - Sam Pace - Ernest “Mad Man” Russel - Carl Scott]]
 '''Black Karate Federation''' - The BKF Kenpo, was founded by four skilled martial artists, [[Steve Sanders]], [[Donnie Williams]], [[Jerry Smith]] and [[Cliff Stewart]].
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 * [[Jerry Smith]]<br>
 * [[Cliff Stewart]]<br>
 == Coat of Arms/Crest ==
 [[File:BKF-Patch-70.jpg|100px|thumb|left|''Black Karate Federation Crest'']]

Black Karate Federation - Revision history

-gatekeeper- at 15:05, 28 March 2014

-gatekeeper-: Created page with "''Black Karate Federation Crest'''''Black Karate Federation'''Also Know as:[[BKF KenpoCountry of Origin: USA..."

-gatekeeper-: Created page with "''Black Karate Federation Crest''

'''Black Karate Federation'''
Also Know as:
[[BKF Kenpo

Country of Origin: USA
..."