Hajime: Karate History in a U.S. Community

For several years I have wanted to write the history of karate in Southeastern Massachusetts However there always seemed to be other priorities that distracted my focus In 2009 I retired from my position as a police detective and having been retired from the armed forces I now had no legitimate reason not to devote as much time as possible to such a good karate idea well except for a brief period of hospitalization due to a serious surgery that kept me hospitalized for twenty seven days and then at home for three weeks under nurses care with months of recovery Karate history in general is in some cases somewhat obscured including in the United States I am willing to bet that not many people have thought of or proceeded to put in writing any historical account of karate in specific communities of the United States other than the Armed Services Judo and Jujitsu Academy in Pensacola Florida and the paper Helium by Can Tran There are a number of historical writings as to how karate was introduced to the United States however I have not come across any historical account that takes us from Japan to the United States and to a particular community There are also a number of historical accounts but only pertaining to individual organizations or instructors For this reason I decided that this may spark the interest of other practitioners of martial arts to write factual accounts to the best of their abilities so that other young martial artists may draw some knowledge from these written facts or events Even if this does not occur at least the Shotokan practitioners can have some guidance as to the historical facts at least in a certain US community The reason I emphasize the Shotokan practitioners is because I have a greater involvement with the Shotokan system of karate Perhaps this can be used as the basis of historical research or studies especially among the college clubs and even dojos I hope to keep your interest from beginning to end as