About the Author

Henry Plée was a French martial artist who many consider as the 'father of European and French karate'. He was one of the rare 10th dan karate masters living outside of Japan, and one of the few Westerners who held this rank. At the time of his death, Plée was also the oldest and highest karate ranking Westerner alive, with more than 60 years of fighting arts, including 50 in martial arts. Henry Plée started his sports career with gymnastics, weight lifting, French savate, English Boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, Ju Jutsu, and fencing. He diversified into Judo in 1945 at the 'Judo Club de France', Mikonosuke Kawaishi's second club. He discovered aikido with Minoru Mochizuki, then karate from an article in Life magazine with Fukuda Rikutaro, his Judo Kodokan magazine's translator. Fukuda Rikutaro confided in him that he learnt karate in Tokyo with Gichin Funakoshi. This was the start of his karate career in 1953, with help from Donn Draeger in Japan.He taught the four pillars of Japanese martial arts at his school: Karate, Judo, Aikido, and Kendo. For 21 years (1950-1971) he financed and published the first bilingual (French/ English) karate magazine named Budo Magazine Europe. He also published another magazine named Judo Kodokan, which was a translation of the Japanese magazine of the Tokyo Kodokan.