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There were very few major tournaments in 1966 so it was common to go to as many as possible to sharpen your fighting skills. The California State Championships was held in San Francisco's Civic Auditorium and everyone made it a "must attend" to get ready for the International Karate Championships held in August. The host of the event was Professor Ralph Castro who was in partnership with SGM Ed Parker, and they made it a very professional event drawing all the top names on the West Coast and occasionally from as far away as the Eastern seaboard, Mexico and Canada.