|
Born and raised in Hawaii,
Shihan Tabura began his
martial arts training in a
backyard dojo under his
cousin's tutelage. Later
moving to Southern
California, Ted discovered
the Okinawa- te dojo headed
by another Hawaii-born
instructor, Shihan Gordon
Diversola. While training at
the Okinawa-te dojo, Tabura
met John Louis (deceased)
who became his final
instructor in Okinawa-te,
then LimaLama. Sensei Louis
ranked Tabura as a Black
Belt in 1968.
The martial arts has been
a way of life for Tabura and
his family. There were many
years of tournament
competition where Tabura and
his sons won trophies in
their respective divisions.
Tabura was dubbed "the
Sickle Man" by Sijo Adriano
Emperado, founder of
Kajukenbo, for his expertise
in the use of the Japanese
kama (sickles). That
nickname has stuck with
Shihan Tabura for many years
now.
During and after years of
tournament competition,
Shihan Tabura directed/choreograPhed
one of Southern California's
hoftest demo teams. They
performed in many Southern
California venues (LA Sports
Arena, Coliseum, etc.), Las
Vegas (Aladdin, Stardust,
Tropicana, Thomas and Mack
Center), Hawaii and other
states, and Japan, Taiwan,
Australia, Great Britain.
Today, Shihan Tabura
co-produces tournaments in
Primm, Nevada, and directs
the annual Festival of the
Kings Karate Championship in
Maui, Hawaii. Shihan Tabura
and Shihan Dan Sawyer have
been partners of the Primm,
Nevada, tournaments for the
past 18 years. They started
out at Don Laughlin's
Riverside Resort Casino in
the late 1980s and just
recently moved to Primm.
This tournament draws
competitors from all the
neighboring states as well
as Mexico and other U.S.
states. The 1 olh Festival
of the Kings Karate
Championship was held this
past July at the Westin Maui
Resort. Some of the
competitors came from the
New England area, Texas,
California, Arizona, New
Zealand, and Australia.
If you would like to contact
Shihan Ted Tabura to
schedule a seminar, he can
be reached at
ttabura@worldblackbelt.com
|
