Following the passing of Osensei Skipper Ingham, www.islandstats.com will host a Live Broadcast with former students, colleagues and friends of Ingham.
O-Sensei Skipper received his rank from his sensei (teacher), the late Grandpatriarch Peter Urban, who introduced goju to the eastern USA in the early fifties after study in Japan. Urban was a student of Gogen Yamaguchi, who had popularized goju karate in Japan, as well as Richard Kim, who trained with Matsutatsu Oyama, founder of Kyokushinkai.
Ingham also trained with Latino Gonzalez, a founder of Philippine karate, and with other teachers in Tokyo and Nagoya during his career as a merchant seaman. He was assistant coach of the Atlantic World Karate Team (later the Trans World Oil Karate Team, working with top international point fighters from 1987 to 1990. Since the early 1990’s Ingham trained with Eiichi Miyazato in Okinawa to reconnect with the basics of the style. Following Miyazato's death, he continued training in Okinawa under Hicihiya Yoshio.
Skipper has been interested and active in some form of martial art for over 60 years and maintains an active schedule of training and teaching in karate and iaido. He also incorporates weight training into his personal workout program and is an advocate of weight training for martial artists. From 1988 to 1990 he was active in seniors kata on the open circuit in North America, placing in the top four at a number of prestigious tournaments. One of his best performances was in October 1989 at the LAMA Nationals in Chicago, where he placed first in that category and was runner-up to grandchampion Hosung Pak for overall kata grandchampion. Hosung later did the martial arts part for "Raphael" in Ninja Turtles lI. Skipper had arthoscopic repairs to his knee in September 1990 and had to halt most of his competitive activity, but made an excellent recovery with conscientious application of physiotherapy.
From 1988 Skipper has maintained a membership for Bermuda in WAKO and since 1990 also in WKO (previously WKF and IPKF). To promote Bermuda's participation in the competitions of these two organizations he formed a Bermuda charity (WAKO/WKO BERMUDA), which was provisionally recognized from January 1992 to January 1994 and then received indefinite nonprofit status. Under its new (Bermuda Karate Organization, BKO) the charity's aim is to develop local athletes in the martial arts to the level of international competitiveness, to encourage local martial arts competitions and to financially assist Bermudian martial artists to represent Bermuda abroad. Skipper as coach of the combined team, has maintained a team training schedule for the WKO and WAKO events since 1990. Bermuda's entry at the World Championships in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in 1996 marked the seventh time he had taken a Bermuda team to a world championship.
In the years since the opening of Bermuda Karate Institute, Skipper has taught hundreds of people, possibly over 1000, the basics of karate technique and the karate philosophy of life. Many of his students have achieved black belt rank or higher. Several including his wife Kristina, his son Zenji, Gladwin 'Roots' Phillips and Geoffrey Rothwell have reached instructor level under his direction. Skipper's activities in competing abroad, fostering local and international participation and promoting Bermuda through the martial arts have generated millions of dollars of revenue for Bermuda, with the BIG years stimulating at least two million dollars.
Skipper likes to encapsulate his philosophy of the karate life and training in the following favorite quote from his instructor, Peter Urban:
"Strength comes from health, speed comes from effort, technique comes from experience, will power comes from faith, serenity comes from old knowledge, progress comes from new knowledge - today is now!"
