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.

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....
David Krapes

David Krapes: Lua and Muay Thai

Raised in Southern California, David Krapes martial arts background spans over a 40-year period. In the late sixties he became a practitioner of San Soo...
Kosaku Matsumora

Kosaku Matsumora: Okinawan Karate Master

Kosaku Matsumora was an Okinawan karate master born in 1829 in the Ryukyu Kingdom. He is said to have studied Tomari-te under Karyu Uku...

Morio Higaonna: Goju-ryu

Morio Higaonna is a prominent Okinawan karate practitioner who is the founder and former Chief Instructor of the International Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate-do Federation (IOGKF)....
Hwang Kee

Kee Hwang: Tang Soo Do

Kwan Jang Nim Kee Hwang was born on November 9, 1914, in Jang Dan, Kyong Ki province where the DMZ is currently located. His...
Joe Hyams

Joe Hyams

Joe Hyams was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June 6, 1923, and he grew up in nearby Brookline, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard University, but...

Yukio Tani: Judo

Yukio Tani was born in 1881. He is known as one of the first Judoka to compete and teach outside Japan. A pioneering Japanese...

Fumio Demura America’s First Karate Performer

Fumio Demura, a master in Shito-ryu karate and kubodo, won many tournaments in his homeland of Japan, culminating in his being named All Japan Karate...
Kenwa Mabuni

Kenwa Mabuni: Shito-ryu Karate

"Those who master Karate understand the importance of cooperating with the infinite rather than continuing to resist the inevitable." Kenwa Mabuni was born in Shuri,...

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...

Tokey Hill Competitor, Coach, and Promotor

Tokey Hill is a figurehead in both the martial arts, and sports entertainment worlds alike. Known not only as a professional athlete, but an...

Ronald McNair

Ronald McNair was born on October 21, 1950, in Lake City, South Carolina. He became an MIT-trained physicist who specialized in laser research before...
Mark Gerry and Sid Campbell

Sid Campbell’s Achievements

Compiled by Mark Gerry ~ With one last breath my best friend passed away tonight at 7:55 PM (Monday, August 18, 2008). With my...
Richard Chun

Richard Chun: Taekwondo

Richard Chun, Ph.D. began studying Taekwondo when he was 11 years old. His first instructors were two highly respected teachers in Seoul, Korea, Chong...
Ted Tabura

Ted Tabura Passed Away

Shihan Ted Tabura passed away peacefully in Gardena, California, on August 12, 2013. Born on Maui in Hawaii, he was a well known practitioner of...

Toshiro Daigo: Judo

Japanese judoka Toshiro Daigo was born on January 2, 1926. He graduated from the Tokyo University of Education, and later became the judo champion...