Bobby Lowe (karateka)

Early life

Lowe was born on August 23, 1929. His father was a teacher of sil lum pai kung fu, and taught this art to his son. The young Lowe also studied judo and jujutsu under Seishiro Okazaki before studying kempo karate under James Mitose. At 23 years of age, he was ranked 4th dan in judo, 2nd dan in Kosho-ryu kempo, and 1st dan in Yoshinkai aikido.

Kyokushin karate

Lowe first met Oyama at a demonstration the latter gave in 1952 in Hawaii. From late 1952 to early 1954, Lowe trained daily under Oyama. Oyama promoted him to the rank of 1st dan in 1953. In 1957 in Hawaii, Lowe opened the first Kyokushin dojo (training hall) outside Japan. Oyama promoted him to 4th dan in or before 1957, 5th dan in 1965, 7th dan in December 1976, and 8th dan in October 1984.

Lowe wrote three books on his martial art:

Mas Oyama's karate as practiced in Japan (1954)

The 'Young Lions' of Mas Oyama's Kyokushin karate headquarters (1985)

Kyokushin karate: Self-defense techniques (1999)

Later life

On September 17, 2005, Lowe was recognized for his contributions to karate by the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, at the Celebration of Lifetime Achievement dinner for 2005. Lowe was ranked 8th dan, and was the International Committee Chairman for North America and the South Pacific in the International Karate Organization led by Shokei Matsui.

On September 14, 2011, Lowe died peacefully in hospital in Honolulu. He was survived by his wife, daughter, and son. Lowe was posthumously awarded 10th dan ranking by Matsui on November 6, 2011, during a memorial service at the 10th World Tournament.