The Journey

ALASKA

Beluga, Alaska. Population 30

My story began in one of the harshest environments in America. Long winters. Isolation. Survival.

Before Green’s Karate existed… before the students, the medals, the television appearances, and the national stage…

There was Alaska.

From Alaska to Chattanooga. From survival to purpose.

Soldotna

A new town. A new beginning

I was bullied.

Like many kids searching for where they belong, I felt like an outsider.

But sometimes adversity does not break you.

Sometimes it prepares you.

Karate entered my life.

The mat became more than training.

It became purpose

The First Spark

The first spark

I was searching for direction

Karate gave me one.

The discipline. The challenge. The structure.

For the first time, I found something that felt like home.

The mat became more than training.

It became identity.

Long before Green’s Karate existed… karate was already shaping the person I would become.

Finding My Place

Like Many children, I struggled to find where I fit.

Bullying became part of the experience.

Martial Arts became the answer

Structure.

Direction.

Confidence.

What began as training became purpose.

Years later, that search would lead to something bigger.

A place where others could find their place too.

Growing up in Alaska

Before Karate, There was Alaska.

Hockey, Winter. Competition.

At age 10, my team won the championship during my final season.

One year later, my parents divorced.

Life Changed.

Like many children, I struggled to find where I fit.

Martial arts would eventually become the path forward.

Discovering Karate

I was not born in to an easy path.

My early years were shaped by isolation, harsh winters, close calls, and eventually bullying after moving to Soldotna.

Martial arts did not enter my life as a business.

At seven years old, karate gave me something I needed.

It entered my life as a lifeline.

At 7 years old, karate gave me something I needed.

Confidence. Structure. Direction.

What started as survival became purpose.

That purpose would eventually become Green’s Karate

The Dream / Opening Green’s Karate 1998

January 17, 1998

At 20 years old, I took out a $1,500 signature loan, rented a small gym space in Soldotna, Alaska, and bet on a dream no one could see yet.

Rent: $718 Sign: $300 Office setup: $200

The rest went toward insurance and survival.

I had little money left.

What I did have was belief.

Within the first two weeks, Green’s Karate generated nearly $3,000.

For the first time in my life, I felt something I had never truly experienced before

Freedom.

Expansion

The empty room became a school.

The school became a mission.

What started with a $1,500 loan was beginning to grow.

Leaving Alaska / Starting Over

Alaska was home.

It was where I grew up.

Where I learned resilience

Where Green’s Karate began

But growth often asks for a price.

Eventually, I made the decision to leave everything familiar and move to Tennessee.

I was not chasing comfort.

I was chasing possibility.

Alaska would always be a part of me.

But the next chapter was waiting somewhere else.

Chattanooga / Building Again

I arrived in Tennessee with experience.

But experience does not build a school.

You build it one student at a time.

One family at a time.

One class at a time.

Green’s Karate would have to built again.

From the beginning.

The dream survived Alaska,
Now it will need to survive Tennessee

Expansion / Growth

Once location became more.

Classes grew.

Students Stayed.

The vision expanded.

Every move carried risk.

Every expansion carried responsibility.

But Green’s Karate kept growing.

Legacy / Impact

What began as one small school… became something bigger.

Students grew.

Families stayed.

Lives changed.

Some made history.

Ryan Rogers

One year before making U.S. Karate Team history

Ryan would later on become America’s first athlete with autism on the U.S. Karate Team.

Ryan made history 10 times from 2012 to 2019.

Joel Westbrook

Gold medal. First seat secured.

History made.

Joel became the first male wheelchair athlete on the U.S. Karate Team.

Improbable / The Story

Some lives follow a normal path.

Mine didn’t.

Bears. Avalnches. Tornadoes.

Building Schools.

10,000 rides

Students who made history.

Loss.

Survival.

Purpose.

This is the story behind Green’s Karate.

Coming Soon

Improbable

The Story Behind Green’s Karate

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