Sempai Victor Martinez

American Okinawan Karate Academy

Sierra Vista, Arizona

     Sempai Victor Martinez first got into martial arts when his father put him class at the age of eight, in a local YMCA. He did not stay their long but always remembered how much he loved it. Later on when he joined the United States Marine Corps he learned take downs and a little Aikido from instructors that trained in Okinawa Japan.

     Five years after getting out of the Marine Corps, he looked for a martial arts school for his daughter. He found American Okinawan Karate Academy, and remembered his training with the Marine Corps. His daughter asks him to join her so she would not be scared, he agreed. He received this Back belt in September 2008, when he steps up to take over his Sensei class. He now runs the Sierra Vista City Dojo.