Ian MacLaren 6th Dan
Born in Glasgow, Scotland on the 2nd of April 1942, he moved to England with his parents in 1955. Educated at Shrewsbury and Cleveland Colleges, he later attended Leeds Polytechnic where he attained degree qualifications in Photographic Science.
He joined the Civil Service and was appointed to the Ministry of Defence as a Technical Officer in 1960 and remained with them ever since, finally retiring in 2008.
He started training in York in 1964 with the renowned Japanese Karate Master Hirokazu Kanazawa, gaining 1st Dan in 1968, 2nd Dan in 1974, 3rd dan in 1980, 4th Dan in 1992, 5th dan in 2005 and 6th dan in 2014.
He has trained with many of the world’s most respected instructors including Masatoshi Nakayama, Keinosuki Enoeda, Yoshiharu Osaka, Katsunori Tsyuma, Masao Kawazoe, Yuchuko Tabata, and Morio Higaonna. He has also tudied Kobudo with Grandmaster Teryu Hayashi and Master Kiyoshi Yamazaki from 1972 to date.
The 1977 Team Kata Champion Cheshire & N Wales, he has co-authored 3 books on Kobudo and was a contributing author to Fighting Arts Magazine 1980-1998.
- He is a Registered Expert witness to the Courts on Martial Arts Weaponry and History.
- Head of the KUGB’s Archive and Research unit.
- The current Chairman of the Northern Region of the Karate Union of Great Britain.
- Karate Instructor to Torashin Karate Club.
- Karate Instructor to Ampleforth College Karate Club.
- He is also a KUGB Assessor for Instructor Qualifications and holds a British Red Cross Emergency Aid Certificate.