Not many may know him, if you were ever in the UK Karate scene over the last, feck, 50 years, you will.
Barry Tatlow, Hanshi, 9th Dan Wado Ryu passed away yesterday. He started training back in the 60’s in the early UK scene under Sensei Suzuki who brought it to the UK. I had the pleasure to train and to grade my first Dan under Barry in 1998, and second in 2001 and regularly attended courses and had him come train with us, I successfully qualified as an EKGB instructor too.
Despite so many McDojo’s and watering down, he maintained a standard, and if you didn’t reach it you didnt pass.
He worked with English Karate, mat judge, done it all. And he would come run a course if you paid his train fare, and bought a cigar and a pint afterwards.
He fought and beat cancer twice, the fecker got him the third time.
you know its genuine, when you could walk in any Dojo in the country wearing your black belt and know you met a standard, and actually looked forward to telling people who performed your grading with pride.
RIP Sensei.
