List of famous karateka
A.
- Hidetaka, Abe - Japan (Japanese 阿 部 秀 孝, Abe Hidetaka), master of Wadō-Ryū Karate
- Asato, Ankō - Japan (* 1827, † 1906), master of early karate in Okinawa
- Aghayev, Rafael - Azerbaijan (* 1985), 4-time world champion and 10-time European champion
B.
- Blanks, Billy - USA (born 1955), American martial artist, trainer and actor
- Ben Salah, Makram - Germany (* 1986), World Champion 2010 and multiple German Karate Champion
- Boden , Uwe - Germany (* 1959), German Budo teacher
- Brachmann, Ralf - Germany (* 1962), multiple German champion in karate
C.
- Chibana, Chōshin - Japan (* 1885; † 1969), Kobayashi / Shorin-ryū
D.
- Dietl, Toni - Germany (* 1961), founder of the Karate Kollegium , 7th Dan, state and national trainer DKV until 2007
E.
- Egami Shigeru - Japan (* 1912; † 1981), founder of Shōtōkai ryū and oldest student of Funakoshi Gichin.
- Egea, José Manuel - Spain (* 1964), multiple European and world champion, youth national coach Spain
- Enoeda, Keinosuke - Japan (* 1935, † 2003), karate master (9th Dan)
F.
- Feitosa, Faith - Brazil (* 1973), Kyokushin and K-1 fighters
- Funakoshi, Gichin - Japan (* 1868; † 1957), Shōtōkan / Shōtōkai
- Funakoshi, Yoshitaka - Japan, (* 1906; † 1945), third son of Gichin Funakoshi
- Fugazza, Carlo - Italy (* 1951), student of Hiroshi Shirai , also active as a teacher in Germany
G
- Gruss, Gilbert - France (1943–2016), 9th Dan, former national karate trainer in Germany and France
H
- Habersetzer, Roland - Germany (* 1942), expert in Shōtōkan and Wadō-Ryū karate
- Hantzsche, Roland - Germany (* 1941), 9th Dan, from 1994 to 2012 President of the German Karate Association
- Hayashi, Teruo - Japan (* 1924; † 2004), karate master (10th Dan)
- Hess, Sandra - Germany (* 1976)
- Hug, Andy - Switzerland (* 1964; † 2000), winner of the K-1 World Grand Prix 1996
- Horne, Jonathan - Germany (* 1989), World Games winner 2009 and 2013
I.
- Itosu, Yasutsune - Japan (* 1832 - † 1916), grand master
J
- Jorga, Ilija - Serbia (* 1940), founder of Fudokan , former student of Taiji Kase, Tesuji Murakami and Hidetaka Nishiyama
K
- Kanazawa, Hirokazu - Japan (* 1931; † 2019), 10th Dan, former student of Funakoshi Gichin
- Higaonna, Kanryō - Japan (* 1853, † 1916), founder of the karate style Shōrei-Ryū
- Kase, Taiji - Japan (* 1929; † 2004), student of Funakoshi Gichin
- Kono, Teruo - Japan (* 1934; † 2000), 8th Dan Wadō-Ryū Hanshi , student of uktsuka Hironori
L.
- Leuci, Antonio - Germany (* 1960), 6-time German champion, 3-time European and vice world champion
- Lewis, Joe - USA (1944-2012), World Heavyweight Karate Champion (10th Dan)
M.
- Mabuni, Kenwa - Japan (* 1890, † 1952), founder of the Shitō-Ryū style
- Miyagi Chōjun - Japan (* 1888; † 1953), founder of the Gōjū-Ryū karate style
- Mohr, Günter - Germany (* 1950), 9th Dan Shōtōkan , former German national karate trainer, Vice World Champion 1977
- Modl, Andreas - Germany (* 1961), 7th Dan AKS-Karate in DKV, 6th Dan Wado Ryu
- McKay, Pat - Scotland (* 1957), 5-time world champion, 13-time Scottish champion
N
- Nagai, Akio - Japan (* 1942), 8th Dan, national trainer of the SKID
- Nishimura, Kosei - Japan (1942; † 2007), master of Shōrin-ryū
- Nishimura, Seiji - Japan (* 1956), Wadō-Ryū , national coach
- Nishiyama Hidetaka - Japan (* 1928; † 2008), Shōtōkan karate master
- Nöpel, Fritz - Germany (* 1935), Saikō Shihan and founder of Goju Ryu in Germany
- Norris, Chuck - USA (* 1940), world middleweight champion 1968, later film actor
O
- Ōtsuka, Hironori - Japan (* 1892, † 1982) , founder of the style of Wadō-Ryū , holder of the honorary title Meijin
- Ochi, Hideo - Japan (* 1940), Shōtōkan, world champion in 1966 and 1967 in Kumite and Kata , head coach of the DJKB and chief instructor of JKA Europe
- Ōyama Masutatsu - Korea / Japan (* 1923; † 1994), Kyokushin
- Otto, Wayne - Great Britain (* 1966), world champion, national coach Norway
P
- Pflüger, Albrecht - Germany (* 1941), 9th Dan Shōtōkan (Koshinkan)
R.
- Reimer, Heinrich - Germany (* 1945), 7th Dan AKS-Karate in DKV and 6th Dan Wadō-Ryū.
S.
- Shirai, Hiroshi - Japan, (* 1937), 10th Dan, student of Nishiyama and Kase, competitive success in Kumite and Kata, national trainer in Italy, also engaged in Germany.
- Sugimura, Koichi - Japan, Switzerland (* 1940), 8th Dan
- Tatsuo Suzuki - Japan, (1928-2011), Wadō-ryū , brought Wadō-ryū karate to Europe
U
- Unger, Guido - Germany (* 1967), World Champion of the World Shotokan Karate-Do Association 1997
V
- Van Damme, Jean-Claude - Belgium / USA (* 1960), European middleweight champion, then film career.
- Valdesi, Luca - Italy (* 1979), 5th Dan, 15 European and 9 world championship titles
- Voss, Willy - Germany (* 1952), multiple German champion, European champion, runner-up world champion
W.
- Wiegert, Hans-Peter - Germany (* 1962), 5th Dan Shōtōkan , karate world champion of the WKA 2008 and 2010.
- Wallace, Bill - USA (* 1945), 7-time World Champion of the Professional Karate Association (PKA)
- Wichmann, Wolf-Dieter - Germany (* 1948), 9th dan karate, multiple vice world champion
Z
- Zwartjes, Rob - Netherlands (* 1932) 9th Dan Wado-Ryu, 6th Dan Ryukyu Kobujutsu, 2nd Dan Judo.
- Ziemer, Nadine - Germany (* 1975) 20-time German champion. World Games winner 2005.
See also: