Grand Master Dan Jones, 10th Degree Black Belt - President

Grand Master Jones was promoted to Ju-Dan, 10th degree Black Belt on July 8, 2023 by Grand Master Bill Wright and the Okinawan Karate Do Union (OKU) Board of Directors. He was promoted to Ku-Dan, 9th degree Black Belt in 2002 by Grand Master Allen Wheeler (10th-Dan) and the Okinawan Karate Do Union (OKU). Master Jones studied under both Grand Master Allen Wheeler and Master Joe Smith.

Master Jones was one of the founding fathers of the OKU. He was a police officer for 13 years and an instructor and training manager for the Illinois Police Training Institute.  

In 1999, Master Jones was inducted into the World Karate Union Hall of Fame and in 2003 was named "International Martial Arts Master of the Year" and inducted into the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame. In 2004 he was presented the Okinawan Karate Do Union's highest award, the "Master Shimabuku Award".  

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Grand Master Bill Wright, 10th Degree Black Belt 

Master Wright was promoted to Ju-Dan, 10th degree Black Belt on July 8, 2023 by Grand Master Dan Jones and the Okinawan Karate Do Union (OKU) Board of Directors. He was promoted to Ku-Dan, 9th degree Black Belt in 2001 by Grand Master Allen Wheeler (10th-Dan). Master Wright holds the title of Professor in Wheeler's Method of Pressure Points awarded by Grand Master Allen Wheeler and Grand Master Rick Moneymaker.  

Master Wright was inducted into the World Martial Art's Hall of Fame in 2000.  He is a proud member of a very select group of dedicated students that Master Wheeler referred to as his "Mafia".

Master Wright was a Green Beret and served with MACV-SOG as a team leader of a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol in Vietnam. Before that he served as an advisor to the Vietnamese Paratroopers.

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Master Keith Bice, 9th Degree Black Belt 

Master Bice was promoted to 9th Degree Black Belt by the Okinawan Karate Do Union (OKU) Board of Directors in 2021. He has studied martial arts since 1972 and has experience in Tae-Kwon-Do and Shorinryu. In 1979, he began focusing on Isshinryu.

Master Bice studied under Master Roger Pratt, Sensei Dewayne Loveless, Grand Master Allen Wheeler, and Master Harold Long. Master Bice competed nationally, earning over 400 trophies and has taught for over 34 years.

Master Joe Arvidson, 8th Degree Black Belt

Master Jim Blankenship, 7th Degree Black Belt 

Master Jim Blankenship was promoted to Nana-Dan, 7th degree Black Belt in Isshinryu Karate on July 8, 2023 by Grand Master Bill Wright and the Okinawan Karate Do Union (OKU) Board of Directors. He started Isshinryu Karate in January of 1992 under Grand Master Allen Wheeler. He then continued studying under Grand Master Bill Wright. Master Blankenship was promoted to Roku Dan in 2015 by Master Wright, with consultation of OKU board members.

Master Blankenship also holds the title of Master Instructor in Wheeler's Method of Pressure Points under Grand Master Allen Wheeler and Grand Master Rick Moneymaker.

He was inducted in the World Martial Art's Hall of Fame in 2000 as Instructor of the year. Master Blankenship is a proud member of a very select group of dedicated students that Master Wheeler referred to as his "Mafia".

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Sensei Bob Noel, 6th Degree Black Belt 

Sensei Bob Noel became involved in Uechi-ryu Karate in 1978 and has been a student for over 40 years. He has taught Uechiryu for over 30 years, first in Massachusetts and now in Knoxville.  Sensie Noel is ranked a Rokudan (6th degree Black Belt) and also holds a Renshi Certificate (first level Master).

Sensei Noel is a Shihan (Senior/Chief Instructor) of Knoxville Uechiryu Karate School. He was fortunate enough to study under and with some of the best American Uechiryu Masters. Sensei Noel is a founding member of the American Self-Defense Federation (ASDF) and Knoxville Uechiryu Karate School. He is also proud to be a part of the International Uechiryu Karate Federation (IUKF) as well as the OKU.

Grand Master Brad Hatcher, 9th degree Black Belt

For the majority of his life, Brad Hatcher has been committed to pursuing excellence in the martial arts. He began his training in 1977, spending seven years studying Isshin-ryū karate, before reaching the rank of Black Belt. He comes from a respected lineage of teachers, having trained under GrandMaster Harold Long, Grand Master Rickson Graice, Grand Master Allen Wheeler, Grand Master James Ogle and GM  Phil Little.

Grand Master Hatcher has earned the following:

Master David Rayburn 

Walking with Our Lord on August 12, 2023