John Graden
Two-Minute Video Bio
Click here to see the American Karate Masters documentary profile of Mr. Graden


MATA Executive Director John Graden's Career Timeline
2008 – Author, The Impostor Syndrome: How to Replace Self-Doubt with Self-Confidence and Train Your Brain for Success
2006 – Founder, Pro-Star Mixed Martial Arts
2004 – Founder, Martial Arts Teachers' Association
2003 – Author, The Truth About the Martial Arts Business
1998 – Author, How to Open and Operate a Successful Martial Arts School
1997 – Founder – American Council on Martial Arts (ACMA)
1995 – Founder – Martial Arts Professional Magazine
1994 – Founder – National Association of Professional Martial Artists (NAPMA)
1993 – Author, Black Belt Management

In the past two-decades no single person has had a more powerful and positive impact on the martial arts industry than MATA Executive Director John Graden. An 8th degree black belt under Joe Lewis, Mr. Graden was an accomplished international competitor before he realized that he could not deposit his trophies in the bank.

MATA Executive Director John Graden's Career Timeline

Mr. Graden began to study martial arts schools that fulfilled two criteria:

1. The school had to produce excellent black belts.
2. The owner had to have a personal income of $100,000 or more.

He studied schools meeting that criteria and learned certain key, consistent strategies that were in place regardless of the school's location or style. He applied these principles to his own "Dungeon Dojo" and within a year mushroomed to over 600 students in two locations and surpassed the $100,000 income mark in 1992.

In 1993, he wrote Black Belt Management, which described those strategies. The book was a bestseller. Mr. Graden sold his schools and created the first martial arts professional association and trade journal. For the past 15 years, he has helped tens of thousands of school owners around the world to achieve success without selling out.

Joe Lewis is an American kickboxer and point karate fighter whose success in the ring in the 1960s and 1970s is legendary. He has twice been voted the greatest fighter in karate history, [1] and has attained the titles of "United States Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion," "World Heavyweight Karate Champion," [2] and "United States National Black Belt Kata Champion.[1]

 

Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez III on December 8, 1972 in Santa Monica, California) is an American mixed martial arts fighter. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight championship (renamed the UFC Light Heavyweight championship) and retired as the four-time defending undefeated champion. Frank was also crowned an Interim King of Pancrase and WEC Light Heavyweight Champion. He has also been the Strikeforce Middleweight champion. He has been named "Fighter of the Decade" for 1990's by the Wrestling Observer, "Best Full Contact Fighter", by Black Belt magazine (1998), and three time "Fighter of the Year" by Full Contact Fighter Magazine. He is the adopted younger brother of former UFC Champion Ken Shamrock.

Tokey Hill is a figurehead in both the martial arts, and sports entertainment worlds alike.[citation needed] Known not only as a professional athlete, but an esteemed coach and promoter as well, Tokey has a unique and multifaceted insight into the intertwining worlds of competing, coaching, and promoting. In 1980, he made history in Madrid, Spain, by being the first American to ever win the WKF World Championships; to date, he has won more international medals than any other karate practitioner in the United States.

The President and Founder of the International Shorin Ryu Karate Kobudo Federation is Grandmaster George W. Alexander. He is acknowledged as the "World pioneer of Shorin Ryu Karate". He began his training in 1964 while serving in the United States Marine Corps. His Marine Corps assignments enabled him to journey to the orient including mainland Japan, Okinawa and Southeast Asia. He began training in Shorin Ryu Karate in 1964 while stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He quickly earned a reputation as a rugged fighter in the Marine Corps. During his career he trained with a host of noted masters. He made it a point of seeking out the best instructors.

Ridegly Abele is a member of the Inner Council for the International Shuri-Ryu Assoc. He is the founder of the International Shurite Yudansha-Kai, a worldwide organization of black belts dedicated to the research and development of Karatedo, Jujutsu & Kobudo. Abele was elected to the Trias International Society as one of the most spirited fighters in the country

Master Roger Jarrett has over 39 years experience of studying, teaching, training, and competing in the martial arts. Throughout those years, he has sought out and trained with some of the foremost martial arts experts in the world. A former National Champion and Karate All-American himself, he has trained numerous national, international, and world karate champions. He now travels the world refereeing, coaching, training, and teaching

Kyoshi John Therien is the Executive Director of the World Kobudo Federation.The WKF is the most active and non-political Martial Arts organization in the world, with affiliated schools in 30+ countries, counting over 20 000 members

In 1980, Jean-Yves Thériault won the title of the World Middleweight Kickboxing Champion, a position that he held for 15 years! He is a natural athlete who trains extremely hard, and has the greatest disposition. His ring name is "The Iceman" due to his intimidating icy stare and his cool demeanor in the ring

The founder of the popular Combat Hapkido system, John Pellegrini is a Kukkiwon certified 9th degree black belt and one of the most in demand seminar leaders in the martial arts

Pablo Zamora is a successful kung fu instructor and school owner in McAllen, Texas. Pablo Zamora has been teaching and leading in the martial arts in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas since 1983. He opened the first Kung-Fu school in the valley when all the other schools were either Karate or Tae Kwon Do. His school was the first full-time professional facility in the valley. His schools are known nationwide as some of the most successful martial art schools in the country.

A five-time World Kickboxing Champion, Kathy Long holds a Master Degree in Kung Fu San Soo, is a published author, a CDT Tactical Master Instructor, and has been on the cover of over 35 magazines

Europes Largest Martial Arts Franchisor Joins MATA Board of Advisors Matt Fiddes is a dynamic martial arts leader and father of three. His chain of martial arts clubs is the largest in the UK and Europe.

Kathy Marlor
John Graden's highest ranking black belt student, Kathy is one of the most experienced martial arts business coaches today as she served as NAPMA's Senior Business Consultant for seven years.

 

Mike Anderson
Tireless champion of sport martial arts worldwide, Mike was the co-founder of the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) and the Professional Karate Association (PKA)

 

Don Warrener
President of Rising Sun Productions and goju karate expert, Don Warrener has excelled in all areas of martial arts as an instructor, owner, competitor and entrepreneur.

 

Vince Morris
is a world-renown expert in kyusho-jitsu (the Okinawan/Japanese version of dim-mak) and the founder of the Kissaki-Kai branch of karate. He also has years of experience adapting the most functional elements of his karate style to the needs of law enforcement officers and security personnel and has taught these specialized skills to government agencies all over the world. Kissakikarate.com kissaki@comcast.net

 

Scot Conway
Scot Conway is a Black Belt, School Owner and Attorney at Law and ACMA Board Member.

 

Phil Toomey
A practicing attorney and has studied martial arts for over 42 years, Phil is an ACMA certified instructor, and has received advanced self-defense training in Korea with the prestigious 2d ID Warriors.