| abstract | - In 1973, Bill Taylor began studying Wado-Ryu under Newton Harris at the Bushido School of Karate. At the time it was the first and only karate school in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Taylor started training with Bill Herzer who also trained under Newton Harris. In 1974, Herzer took over the Bushido School of Karate as the owner and Chief Instructor. Taylor earned his Sho-Dan (1st degree Black Belt) under Sensei Herzer in 1978. He was promoted to Roku-Dan (6th degree Black Belt) in 1995 and his Sichi-Dan (7th degree Black Belt) in 2003. In September 1975, Taylor was able to work out under the direct supervision of Hironori Ōtsuka, the founder and Grandmaster of the Wado-Ryu style of karate. In pursuing Wado-Ryu he went to Tokyo, Japan in 1994 to work out under the direct supervision of Hironori Ōtsuka II, the present Wado Ryu Grandmaster of Wado-Ryu at Meiji University. Taylor has also studied under Tatsuo Suzuki and Masafumi Shiomitsu (8th degree Black Belt). He continued to train under Sensei Cecil T. Patterson until his death in 2002. Up until 1980, Taylor competed in amateur point Karate tournaments, which included wins at both The Battle of Nashville and The Battle of Atlanta. After that, Bill Taylor began pursuing a professional kickboxing career and stopped competing in point tournaments.
|
