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Who's Who

Who’s Who in the martial arts on USAdojo.com shares biographies and articles about the Founders, the Masters, the Pioneers, the Competitors and the “Stars” of the martial arts.

Pat Worley

Pat Worley Still Winning

In 1967, Pat Worley began his martial arts training under Grand Master Pat Burleson in Forth Worth, Texas. Pat earned his Black Belt under...

Hector Echavarria

As a sickly child who suffered from severe asthma, Hector Echavarria was encouraged by his parents to use martial arts to overcome his handicap....
Yong-Sul Choi

Yong-Sul Choi Founder of Hapkido

Yong-Sul Choi was born on November 9, 1904 and passed away on June 15, 1986. He was the founder of the martial art, hapkido....

Champion Parker Shelton Won’t Quit in the Fight For His Life

If you've lived in Fort Wayne for a while, you've probably heard the name Parker Shelton. Since the 1960s, the Pineville, Kentucky, native has...
Ed McGrath Isshin-ryu

Ed McGrath: Isshin-ryu Karate

Ed McGrath began his martial arts studies under Sensei Don Nagle in 1958 training in the first Isshin-ryu dojo established in America. The dojo...

Don Nagle: Isshinryu Karate

Don Nagle was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on April 5, 1938. As a teenager in high school he began studying Goju-Ryu Karate. He enlisted with...
Eisuke Akamine

Eisuke Akamine: Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Shinkokai

Eisuke Akamine was born in Aza-mura (village), Tomishiro, Okinawa in 1925. In 1942, at the age of 17, he began the study of Yamani-ryu Bo-jutsu...

Inwan Kim: Sin Moo Hapkido

Inwan Kim was born in in 1962 in Buyeo, Choongnam providence in the Republic of Korea. In 1974 his father placed him in a...
Ed Parker Sr.

Aloha Spirit Master – A Tribute Poem to Ed Parker Senior

Michael S. Fuchs wrote a poem about Senior Grandmaster Ed Parker Sr and asked Senior Ed Parker Jr. to give him a picture to...

Ramon Dekkers Muai Thai

If there were a world championship as far as courage and heart are concerned, Ramon Dekkers would be a true champion. Even if you can...
Bong Soo Han

Bong Soo Han Passed Away

Dear Martial Arts Community, It is with a heavy heart that we tell you that Grand Master Bong Soo Han passed away on Monday, Jan...
James Mitose

Solving the James Mitose Mystery

As many of you know, I have been doing a pretty comprehensive background check on the history of James Mitose and his contributions to...
Grappling Legend "Judo" Gene LeBell

“Judo” Gene Lebell

Called “the toughest man alive” by his peers, Judo Gene LeBell has been a martial arts icon for decades. At age 12 he began training...
Frank Shamrock

Frank Shamrock 5-time UFC World Champ

Frank Shamrock became an icon to fight fans all over world when he entered the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s famous squared circle and as the...
Gokor Chivichyan Judo Great

Gokor Chivichyan Judo Great

Gokor Chivichyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia in 1963. He is an Armenian Judo, submission grappling, and mixed martial arts instructor who currently trains...
J. Pat Burleson

Pat Burleson “Grandfather” of Open Tournament Fighting in America

Pat Burleson, acknowledged as the “grandfather” of open tournament fighting in America, having won numerous national titles before retiring from competition in 1966. Mr. Burleson...