Harold M. Mitchum
Encyclopedia
Harold Marion Mitchum is a tenth degree black belt
Black belt (martial arts)
In martial arts, the black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. It is often associated with a teaching grade though...

 in the Isshin-ryū
Isshin-ryu
is a style of Okinawan karate founded by Tatsuo Shimabuku  and named by him on 15 January 1956. Isshin-Ryū karate is largely a synthesis of Shorin-ryū karate, Gojū-ryū karate, and kobudō. The name means, literally, "one heart method"...

 karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...

 system. He learned under the founder of Isshin-ryū, Shimabuku Tatsuo
Shimabuku Tatsuo
Tatsuo Shimabuku was the founder of Isshin-ryū karate.-Family:Tatsuo Shimabuku was born in Kyan [Chan] village, Okinawa, on September 19, 1908. He was the first of ten children born into a farming family. By the age of 12, he had a strong desire to study martial arts...

, while serving three tours in Okinawa (spanning approximately five years and 10 months) with the U.S. Marines. Though Mitchum himself claims that he was on Okinawa and trained under Shimabuku for seven-and-one-half years, this is not the case. A Black Belt magazine
Black Belt Magazine
Black Belt is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports founded in 1961 by Mitoshi Uyehara. During the early years of the publication, Uyehara was a hands-on owner and publisher...

 article from December 1978 indicated that Mitchum left Okinawa as a black belt in 1959. Indeed, as corroborated by his service record, Mitchum's first tour on Okinawa lasted from February 19, 1958 until May 1, 1959. Mitchum returned to Okinawa in October 1959 and, as evidenced by photographs from February 1960, participated in demonstrations hosted by Shimabuku's dojo. In November 1960, Mitchum left Okinawa again, whereby he did not return for his third tour until the following May. Later, on June 10, he was appointed President of Shimabuku's newly formed American Okinawan Karate Association.

In 1961, Master Harold Mitchum became the first of Shimabuku's American students to be promoted to 8th degree black belt by Master Shimabuku, which ranked him as the most senior American student. Though the high black belt ranks Shimabuku awarded to his American students were rescinded on June 10, 1961, Mitchum again received promotion to 8th Dan prior to leaving Okinawa for the final time in November 1964. During Master Shimabuku's second visit to the United States in late 1966, three other American students were promoted to 8th Dan: Don Nagle (1939–1999), Steve Armstrong (1931–2006) and Harold Long (1930–1998).

When Mitchum and Steve Armstrong gave Shimabuku a red belt to wear, Shimabuku removed the red and white belt he had on and gave it to Harold Mitchum to wear (red belts are generally reserved for those masters having achieved 9th or 10th dan, while red and white belts are reserved for the ranks of 7th and 8th dan).

Mitchum retired from the Marine Corps on June 30, 1973 and settled in Albany, GA. He opened his first permanent dojo there in 1974.

On June 5, 1988, Masufumi Suzuki, then head of the All-Japan Budo Federation and the Seibukan Academy in Kyoto, Japan
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

, promoted Master Mitchum to ninth dan
Dan rank
The ranking system is a Japanese mark of level, which is used in modern fine arts and martial arts. Originally invented in a Go school in the Edo period, this system was applied to martial arts by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo and later introduced to other East Asia countries.In the modern...

. Masafumi Suzuki was a close friend of Master Shimabuku's and said that he had heard him speak very highly of Mitchum. Then on March 20, 2004, the board of directors of the International Isshin-ryu Karate Association presented Mitchum with a 10th dan certificate.

Master Mitchum was inducted into the Isshin-ryū Hall of Fame
Isshin-ryu Hall of Fame
The Isshin-ryū Hall of Fame is both an annual event of recognized Isshin-ryū practitioners and the associated list of past inductees. The annual event includes a karate tournament of Isshin-ryu practitioners.-History:...

 in 1982. He is the founder and the current director of the United Isshin-ryū Karate Association (est. 1977).
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