Was awarded his 7th Dan in Japan in 2007 alongside an honourary award for his contributions to the growth of Kyokushin in Africa.
Shihan Kenny is on the technical advisory committee to IKO Japan, Chairman for IKO Africa, and South African Provincial Advisor.
Shihan Kenny Uytenbogaardt, a Kyokushin Karate man who has achieved international acclaim, started karate in 1965, and joined Kyokushin Karate in 1974.
He was the third highest placed Westerner at the 1984 World Tournament, having been prevented from participating in the 1979 World Tournament, due to the sporting ban on South Africa.
Since 1979, he was acclaimed in Japan, frequently appearing on Japanese television, and even became a comic book hero! In 1980 he thrilled a huge crowd at the Good Hope Centre, by smashing two piles of ice, each containing 5 X 90kg blocks of ice, with separate hand strikes. In 1981,
He won a Gold Medal at the South African Games for non-contact karate, and he retired, undefeated, as the South African Kyokushin Champion.