On August 6, 2009 the Martial Arts world lost a living legend, Grandmaster George Edward Anderson.  His unexpected and untimely death has left a hole in the heart of thousands of Martial Arts students, instructors and masters.

Hanshi Anderson was one of the most respected and influential figures in modern martial arts.  His leadership skills and foresight helped bring both Karate and Jujitsu into the Olympic family and set a path for the future of martial arts both as a sport and as a way to better enhance a person’s life.  He served in many different position of authority is several martial arts organizations and systems and held high dan ranks in many martial arts to numerous to mention here. If you simply look him up on the internet, you will be astounded at his accomplishments. 

Just to mention a few of his ranks, Hanshi Anderson held a 10th Dan in Karate, 10th Dan in Tae Kwon Do and in June 2009 he was awarded his 10th Dan in Jujitsu.  He was by far the highest ranking and most senior Martial Artist in the United States and most possibly the world.  All of us in the Olympic Karate movement owe so much to Hanshi Anderson.  We wouldn’t be where we are today without his leadership.  Just to name a few karate leaders today that he trained, developed and set the path for are:  Julius Thiry, Joe Mirza, William Millerson, Antonio Espinos, Tommy Morris, John DiPasquale, Patrick Hickey, and, of course, myself, Roger Jarrett.

(St. Albans, West Virginia, Saturday, February 7, 2009) – Getting an early start on the tournament season, many athletes from across the east coast including, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, and West Virginia travelled over the mountain roads this weekend to compete in the USA-NKF Regional Qualifier held in St. Albans, West Virginia.

The event was open to traditional karate competitors from West Virginia and surrounding regions that competed to qualify for the 2009 USA-NKF National Karate Championships which will be held July 17-20th in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

The USA National Karate-do Federation (USA-NKF) is the National Governing Body (NGB) Sport Karate within the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee. It is at the USA-NKF National Championships that the Official USA Karate Team is chosen for both adults and juniors to represent the United States in international competitions.