Senior Students of Richard Kim

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SENIOR STUDENTS OF SENSEI KIM

Sensei Richard Kim taught literally thousands of students over his career. In one seminar alone he taught well over 550 students at one time.

Following is a list of his students who were the most prominent over the years, from his first American student, Peter Urban, to his students in Canada, France, Australia and the famous Chinese YMCA dojo in San Francisco.

We have listed them by the year that they attained their black belt from him rather then the highest rank or alphabetical order.

We realize that there were many more students and we do apologize for the poor quality of some of the photos but these are the best we could get.

PETER URBAN (1934-2004):
Peter Urban made Shodan around 1955.
“I was the only one fortunate enough to train under Japan’s big three: Oyama, Yamaguchi and my Sensei, Richard Kim” ....1982.

JAMES MIYAJI:
Born in June 17, 1928, James Miyaji made Shodan in the late 1950s.
“I trained with Sensei for nearly 40 years.”

RAYMOND DUKE MOORE (1915-2003):
Earned Shodan in the 1940s.
“Yes, I knew Biggie really well. He was something else.”

RICHARD LEE:
Made Shodan in the early 1960s, around 1962.
“A master of masters – a traditional and modern day samurai – Sensei Kim’s short stories of Budo are like a dictionary of Martial Arts, a guide to each reader for a deeper understanding.”

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ANTHONY 'TONY' TROCHE:
Born in 1929, Tony Troche made Shodan in the 1950s.
“One of the skills I learned from Sensei Kim was the extensive grappling applications present in Karate kata.”

JOHNNY PEREIRA (1941-1993):
Pereira made Shodan in 1964.
"The purpose of training karate is to become a good teacher.”

LEROY RODRIGUEZ:
Rodriguez made Shodan in 1964.
“The most important lesson I received from Sensei Kim was the power of a creative imagination.”

URBANO TEJO:
Urbano Tejo made Shodan around 1965.
“Never forget who you are and where you came from.”

KEN SHOCKEY:
Born in 1939, Ken Shockey made Shodan in 1964.
“Say what you want about Richard Kim, we did learn plenty and he was an interesting and fascinating character.”

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CHUCK SIANI:
Siani made Shodan around 1965.
“His judo ground work was the best.”

ROBERT (BUNG) "MR. LUCKY" LEONG:
Born in 1923, Mr. Leong made Shodan in 1966.
“The thing I will never forget is when Sensei asked us to bring our dictionaries to class and he made us look up and cross out two words, ‘TRY’ and ‘IMPOSSIBLE’. To this day, they are still crossed out of my dictionary.”

CAL AVILA:
One of Sensei Kim’s strong right arms during the late 1960s and early 1970s, Cal Avila was known for his strong techniques and his excellent...

LENORE S. TEJO-GAVIOLA:
Born in 1948, Lenore made Shodan in 1966.
“I never realized how much both my father and Sensei meant to me until they were both gone.”

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ROD SANFORD:
Born in 1946, Sanford made Shodan in 1966.
“My family and I have dedicated our lives to preserving and teaching traditional Martial Arts as taught by O’Sensei Richard Kim.”

DON WARRENER:
Born in 1948, Warrener made Shodan in 1968.
“Master Kim taught me Oriental culture, philosophy and psychology that I use every single day and every breathing minute. His impact on my life is only equaled by my parents who gave me life.”

FRED JACKAMAN:
Jackaman made Shodan in 1968.
“I remember when Sensei said, ‘fighting is not intellectual, it is emotional.’”

JIM LARKIN:
Larkin made Shodan in 1969.
“Sensei Kim treated you like you allowed him to treat you.”

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ROSAMUND SIANI:
Rosamund Siani made Shodan in 1969.
There were only a few who can say that they were on par with Rosamund Siani when it came to kata...

GREG MELLOR:
Born in 1955, Greg Mellor made Shodan in 1970.
“Sensei Kim was nothing short of incredible.”

EILEEN DENNIS:
Eileen Dennis made Shodan in 1970.
“I remember Sensei’s jokes. He had the best jokes. I can’t remember them there were so many.”

ANTONIO MOLINAR:
Born 1950, Molinar made Shodan around 1970.
He began his training in 1967. Molinar was, without a doubt, one of Sensei Kim’s best kata performers.

RON LOK:
Ron Lok made Shodan in 1970.
"Sensei (Kim) taught me my favorite kata, which is Kusanku Dai.”

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LOUIS JEMISON:
Louis Jemison made Shodan in 1971.
“O’Sensei was a major influence on my life, from my 15th birthday until his death in 2001, and next to my parents there is no person that I feel more grateful to then O’Sensei Richard (Biggie) Kim.”

ED GEETER:
Ed Geeter made Shodan around 1971.
“Follow in the footsteps of someone you respect, who has gone before you in the direction you want to go in life. You can go on your own but you are more likely to step on minefields. This was one of the hundreds of terrific lessons I learned from Sensei Kim.”

DR. RAY CASTILONIA:
Dr. Ray Castilonia made Shodan in 1972.
Castilonia, Kyoshi and founder of Aoinagi-ha Shito Ryu under O’Sensei Kim, was a true artist of life. He was a physician, earned an MD and PhD, was an avid mountaineer, a scuba diver, a certified mountain rescue team member, a college professor on environmental issues and a loyal son. But he considered himself, first and foremost, a martial artist.

BRIAN RICCI:
Brian Ricci was born in 1950, and made Shodan in 1972.
“There is simply no one phrase that I can share with you as to the major impact he had on my life.”

FRANK GAVIOLA:
Frank Gaviola made Shodan in 1972.
“Kata is the primary method of Traditional Martial Arts practice. It is a device to bring together the intuitive body and rational mind.”

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DENNIS FARBATIUK:
Dennis Farbatiuk made Shodan in 1960s and started training under Sensei in the early 1970s.

JEAN CHALAMON:
Jean Chalamon was born 1935, and made Nidan in 1975.

LONNIE FRANCIS:
Lonnie Francis was born in 1959, and made Shodan in 1976.

YULIA DE WOLFE:
Yulia de Wolfe made Shodan in 1976.

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RICK MARSHALL:
Rick Marshall was born 1946, and made Shodan in 1976.

PETE McHENRY:
Pete McHenry was born in 1953, and made Shodan in 1976.
“Sensei taught us that every class begins and ends with compassion, gratitude and respect. I have tried to cultivate this in every aspect of my life.”

PATRICK McCARTHY:
Pat McCarthy was born in 1954, and made Yondan in 1978.
“Among tall trees, Richard Kim stood the tallest and provoked the pride of strong winds.”

Thousands of students trained with Sensei Kim over the years but, in an attempt to protect those who actually did train with him from the fraudulent ‘wannabes’ who want to make the claim that they were his students, we have listed everyone we can think of that actually spent time training with him enough to be considered students, – not those who just took a few seminars with him.

These people, although we do not have bios on them, were students of his – most definitely:

Bill King, Dr. Murmane, Louis Di Piccari, Ron Forester, Raoul Castillo, Linda Castillo, Hamilton Williams, Ralph Corvino, Robert Saballa, Dr. Herbert Weiner, Neville Billimoria, Paul Billimoria, CC Chung, Frank Yuen, Joe Papu, Sam Samurrai, Scott Greg, Kathy Greg, Kay Belle, Glee Miranda, Benny Abaka, David Benividedas, Brian Conaughton, Terry Dumphy, Rick Atix, Ernie Wong, C. Lee, Joe Trent, Debbie Bilton, Selby Houseman, Joe Corcoran, Joe Fournier, Lynn Marquist, Andre Lefond, Bruce Fox, Jane Hedgepath, Patrick O'Neil, Naomi Larkin, Richard Fantiles, Claire Young, Dawn DeCunaha, David Kowalchuk, Maria Molinar, Tun Lee, Bob Polapos, Tamio Mansfield, Herbert Lee, John Vandenberg, Manuel Abuda, Benny Allen, and Bob Dalgleish.

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WITH STUDENTS

Sensei Kim presenting Urbano Tejo with a Ju Jitsu Dan Ranking Certificate.

Sensei Kim and Mr. Leong.

Sensei Kim and Don Warrener in San Francisco’s China Town, 1975, at a banquet celebrating the first time the Canadians brought a huge contingent to train with Sensei at the YMCA.

Sensei and Brian Ricci.

1977 Japan Tour, waiting to depart San Francisco International airport.

San Diego official camp instructors, including Senseis Shirai Mabuni, Kim and Nishiyama, plus many more.