Steve Arneil

Steve Arneil (born 29 August 1934) is a prominent South African-British master of Kyokushin karate. He learned directly from Masutatsu Oyama and was a senior instructor in Oyama's International Karate Organization (IKO) until 1991, when he resigned from the IKO. Arneil is the founder and President of the International Federation of Karate (IFK), holds the rank of 10th dan, and holds the title Hanshi. He and his wife settled in the United Kingdom in 1965.

Early life

Arneil was born on 29 August 1934 in Krugersdorp, Transvaal, South Africa. When he was 10 years old, his family moved to Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), and he began training in judo there. At age 16, he was selected to represent Northern Rhodesia in rugby. By the age of 17, Arneil had earned black belt status in judo, and he had also practised kenpo and karate. He moved to Durban, South Africa, for tertiary studies in mechanical engineering.

In Durban, Arneil trained at a judo dojo (training hall) that also offered karate training. He made a practice of going down to the harbour and asking arriving Japanese people if they practised karate; if they did, he would invite them to training at the dojo. In 1959, Arneil left South Africa, bound for Southeast Asia.